Gunnison, CO

Tucson/Lazydays KOA
Tucson, AZ
July 2016

Gunnison turned out to be a great place to call home for the month of July.  


The weather was incredible and it's just so dang beautiful here.

Breakfast has always been one of our favorite meals to eat out.  Voted best breakfast 2001-2015, Cafe W serves up fresh eggs, homemade sourdough bread/toast crispy bacon and yummy hash browns with friendly service and reasonable prices.      

Cafe W on Main Street..."Where the Locals Eat"   

Mario's on W Tomichi Ave.

Mario's Pizza & Pasta was our favorite choice for dinner.  It's been around for more that 40 years and the current owners are Western State Alums who worked there in their college days.  The homemade marinara sauce is the best ever !  Aside from pizza, house specialties include Nine Layer Lasagna and Manicotti.  

Speaking of alums, Gunnison is home to Western State Colorado University.  Many students stay throughout the summer to work. 


Our encounters with them were delightful...all smiles, energetic, and hard workers.   

 Gunnison got its name from the first known explorer of the area, John W. Gunnison.   He was searching for a route for the transcontinental railroad in 1853.  

This quaint little town saw its first population increase in the 1870s due to a mining surge. The railroad arrived soon after in the 1880s.

Gunnison is located at the bottom of several valleys.  Due to it's location in the Rocky Mountains, cold air in the valleys settles into Gunnison at night  with sub zero temps in the winter.    

Cattlemen's Days takes place in Gunnison during a 10 day period in July.  It started in the 1800's between calving and summer haying.  Cattlemen's Days features a county fair, parade, carnival, live music, horse shows, horse races, and rodeo events like riding and roping sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy's Association.

Our frist real rodeo...  

 My favorite was the women's barrel race...

 One of the things at the top of our list was a National Park  Ranger led boat tour into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  Last year we visited the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP when we were in Montrose.  I was blown away by it's beauty !
Check out the featured post...top right hand column...for our post about our visit there.     


The boat tour is accessed from the Pine Creek Trail (about 25 miles west of Gunnison on Hwy 50).  





The trail has 232 steps down (and yes, back up) and a 3/4-mile easy scenic walk along the old narrow-gauge rail bed that follows the river before reaching the boat dock. 

The National Park Ranger did a great job explaining the geology of the canyon from millions of years ago to today.  It was a 90 minute tour that slowly meandered along the canyon walls.   

 Aside from the sheer beauty of the canyon walls and river,  we floated our way past Chipeta Falls...  

...and Curecanti Needle which is a big A-shaped rock formation about 700 feet tall.  Its picture was used as advertisement on the narrow-gauge railroad line that ran through the Rocky Mountains from 1908 - 1921.  

We also rode through Hartman Rocks. It got it's name from the Hartman Family who were early pioneers in the Gunnison Valley.  Today 160 acres are owned and operated by the City and County while 14,000+ acres are managed by the BLM.  Hartman Rocks offers miles of biking and hiking trails as well as opportunities for rock climbing and horse riding.  


We didn't hike here, but the drive was sure pretty. 

There is an endless list of things to do and places to go in and around Gunnison.  If water entices you, there are lakes and rivers for fishing, rafting and, if you dare, swimming.  If history interests you, there are ghost towns and old mines to explore.  If adventure invites you, hiking/biking trails to mountain mesas lined with wildflowers where you are likely to be rewarded with alpine lakes go on for miles and miles.  Yep, Gunnison sure got our attention !        





 There are two more hikes I haven't posted yet.  It's kinda boring here in Tucson so don't be surprised if you have to read about them.  Also, I have pictures from the KOA I want to share.  

 So, until next time, let the good times roll !

HAPPY TRAILS !

Beckwith Pass/Three Lakes Loop Hike

Gunnison KOA
Gunnison, CO
July 23, 2016

 Joe and I headed out with Ronnie and Carol to Lost Lake Campground where the trailhead for Three Lakes Loop was located.  Lost Lake CG is located on Kebler Pass Road which is a left turn this side of Crested Butte.  It's a drive through a historic neighborhood of hodge podge homes...some really nice, some really cute, and some really run down.   

Other than a quick stop at the Visitor Center, we have not made any stops in Crested Butte.  It is always busy and congested. 



We traveled about 17 miles on Kebler Pass...a gorgeous drive through aspen forests, evergreens, and slopes of wildflowers before we made the left hand turn to Lost Lake CG.

Our hike started at the lower parking lot.  


We did a counter clockwise loop that began on the Beckwith Pass Trail which climbs up to a junction with Three Lakes Trail. 



I enjoyed the beauty and fragrance of the abundant wild roses.

 Lake 1 of 3 was Lost Lake Slough along Middle Creek.  It is much prettier and bigger than Lost Lake. 

At the first juncture we turned left and took the side trip to the 2nd of 3 lakes... Dollar Lake.

 The smells, sights, sounds and feel of the forest...makes my heart happy !

Showy Fleabane grow in large clumps from sagebrush hills to subalpine meadows.

 The last section of the loop was easy as we passed The Falls and headed down toward Lost Lake...lake 3 of 3.

Of course no hike here is complete without a creek crossing.  Here Middle Creek flows into Lost Lake. 



  

 All in all, this was a great 4.5 mile loop with lots to see, lots of shade, and lots of fun.

As we headed home on Kebler Pass, I noticed what looked like coneflowers in large bunches along the road that had already bloomed. This brought back memories of the sticks and bricks and my gardens.  Joe pulled over and I quickly got a picture.  To my surprise as I was looking in Wild About Wildflowers  I found what I had photographed.  

This is a Rayless Coneflower and what you see is what you get.  It never had petals.  These purply-brown cones of disc flowers bloom late in the summer. The guide even stated that they are abundant on the west side of Kebler Pass. 

 Our time is winding down here in Gunnison.  Today was packing up day and we hit the road early in the morning heading south to Tucson.  I still have a few more posts to do from Gunnison so will finish up when we are settled in.  

So, until next time happy trails !

Street art in Crested Butte