Steamboat Springs to Glenwood Springs and Delta, Colorado

Steamboat to Glenwood Springs and Delta, Colorado:

September 14-15, 2020

I take route 40 from the Meadows Campground to Kremmling, Colorado where I look around the downtown area, there are several historic buildings, but the art at the Park Avenue Hair Salon is perhaps my favorite sight here. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kremmling,_Colorado

The building looks almost fake

Art in a side window

Provocative sculpture out front, I wonder what is inside ?

I then backtrack a few miles to get on route 134 west which takes me over Gore Pass at 9,527 elevation and to the town of Toponas, hardly more than a general store.  It is a beautiful area however and real cowboy country where I had to stop on the road to let some cows pass that were being driven down the road by a real cowboy on horseback.  I then take Route 131 south to the Colorado River bridge near Bond, Colorado where I stop for lunch.  There many fishermen all along this stretch of the Colorado River. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toponas,_Colorado

Happy cows live here

Herd mentality

Nice range country

I was surprised to see an irrigation system in place here

Almost a traffic jam on the river

Nice mural

Looking downstream on the Colorado River

 I stopped at a spectacular red rock area before the river with brilliant red rock hills covered in sage, juniper and assorted wildflowers where I stopped for a few photos.

A short walk from the road

Over the road view

 I then continue on route 131 to Wolcott where I get on route 6, the traffic has increased much, too much, in this more developed area.  I then pass through the towns of Eagle and Gypsum where everything looks fairly new and everyone is racing around and I can barely negotiate a roundabout due to the constant stream of traffic.  I decide at this point it's better to just get on I-70 west as route 6 will end in a few miles anyway.   I am cruising along fine on I-70 until it enters the Glenwood Canyon where it is choked down from four lanes to two lanes due to road construction.  The interstate is then congested into tight traffic lanes as it goes through this long deep amazing canyon.  Unfortunately, there no pull offs for viewing the majesty of the canyon and the drive is simply stressful.    

The highway through Glenwood Canyon is an amazing engineering feat. It seems built on concrete and steel pillars along the canyon walls and with a couple of tunnels.   I'm thinking bad thoughts as I drive; this road is a potential disaster.  An earthquake here could trigger a rock slide, wiping out the roadway, crushing cars and people like bugs and shutting this interstate highway for years.  

Later, I see a historic sign about an avalanche in1899 which wiped out the railroad tracks and buried a train with hundreds of people trapped inside for days. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenwood_Canyon

A snow slide tragedy 

250 people stranded in the canyon

  As usual, I head directly for the downtown historic district, find a parking spot, grab the camera and start walking.  The Glenwood Springs downtown area is not very big, but there are lots of good targets, great building architecture, good old signs, the train depot, the Colorado River and bridge, the huge mineral pool complex on the opposite side of the river, the gondola ride to the mountain top adventure park and the surrounding mountain views.  I finally feel that I have returned to civilization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenwood_Springs,_Colorado

Mural on side of an old theater building

Mural on flowery Bistro wall

Downtown view

Hotel and Brewpub across from Rail Depot

Former Rio Grande tracks

Doc Holiday Tavern

The Mineral Pool facility and Hotel

View looking down the tracks into the canyon

As it’s approaching dinner time, the debate starts; should I eat somewhere here or cook in the van ?  I can cook easy stuff in the van quite well, but it’s not much fun and then you have to clean up.  On the flip side, the meals I eat out are often not that good and more costly and in these times there is the added risk with covid-19.  This time there was a compromise, I’ll eat out at the interesting Doc Holiday Tavern, but get a basic healthy salad.

Next issue is where to spend the night, as there is no close dispersed camping options, or a Walmart or a truck stop.  I ride around and find an inconspicuous dark street, but safe looking on the side of a church.  I’m up early as usual and away at 7 AM heading to a convenience store for a coffee.  

I’ve decided that I need to keep moving at a faster pace now, it’s time to return to Tucson.  As a result, I will leave by 10 heading towards Montrose,Colorado.  

Before heading out there is one attraction I must see, even if it is kind of stupid.  Glenwood Springs promotes itself as the burial place of Doc Holiday, which is true, there is evidence that he died here at 36 years of age from tuberculosis.  There is a trail to his grave site in the paupers graveyard on a downtown hilltop.  When you read the sign however, you learn that they only think he was buried in this graveyard, but they don’t know for sure as there was no monument, so, they made one for him.  Another notable bad man, Kid Cury is also buried in the cemetery.  It’s funny, (no really sad ) how we make celebrities out of these men of ill repute when people who actually lived good decent lives are totally forgotten.

Potters Fiels description

Dr. John Here Holliday had a short but infamous life

Eloquent words from Wyatt Earp

A nice grave site

People leave unique things at the grave

The traffic situation in Glenwood Springs is terrible at rush hour and everyone drives like there’re late for work, (no courtesy displayed).   I am taking route 82 south with good mountain views and at Carbondale go on route 133 south.  I make my a stop at the Red Stone where there are a long string of old Coke Kilns.  There were a total of 249 ovens here which burned coal to make coke which was then shipped to a Pueblo Colorado Steel Plant in the manufacture high grade steel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redstone_Coke_Oven_Historic_District

Beautiful ranch adjacent to the Coke Ovens

A long row of well built ovens

The story of the ovens

There several rows of ovens

The road then travels steeply uphill and over McClure Pass at 8,753 foot elevation with views of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area to there east.  I continue on route 133 bordering the North Fork of the Gunnison River past the drained Paonia Reservoir which looks quite strange, but beautiful in the way the exposed sediments have formed wavy, almost artistic patterns. 

Climbing uphill over the pass

Dangerous to be a back country skier

The drained Paonia Reservoir

Beautiful Valley view

I then leave the highway to explore the town of Paonia, which soon becomes the highpoint of the day, it’s a wonderful, beautiful, artsy small town.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paonia,_Colorado

Flowery mural view

Paonia lies in a fruit bearing valley

Also sheep country

A very beautiful downtown

Love those lace curtains

Muck Rock lives here

A great restored building, loved the painted upstairs windows

Lots of art in a side street

Reminds me of a basketball hoop I once had

I continue on route 133 to the next town of Hotchkiss, which proclaims itself as the friendliest town, I didn’t feel it so much, although I just rode through, I’ll give it the benefit of my doubt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paonia,_Colorado

Cattle mural

Intersting Elks Club mural

Don't particularly like this team mascot ?

This is major coal country, this area has huge coal deposits underlying it which creates controversy and tension.  For the people working in the industry, it’s their livelihood, and they aren’t so concerned about the environmental issues which it brings.  The other side wants to shut them all down with little regard for how these people will live.   Some day this will be resolved, it’s like the railroad when half the people in town worked in the railroad shop on the steam engines, then the Diesel Locomotive came on the scene, cutting operating expenses and manpower requirements drastically.  Within a few years half the railroad shops were closed or manpower cut to a fraction of what it formally was.  The same issues apply to automobiles with internal combustion engine versus battery / electric motor powered vehicles. 

 

A huge coal mine complex 

The road becomes route 92 west at Hotchkiss which I take to the town of Delta.  Delta is a large city, priding themselves on their murals.  I tour the Main Street, they have some great murals, but most are depicting the areas history, back in the good old days, there aren't any murals with much of a free spirit, artistic flair.  There is a used car dealer with a lot filled with great vintage old cars and trucks that (most likely) will be sold to hot rodder's who will sadly butcher them up.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta,_Colorado

I parked in front of this mural, looked so real I did a double take

This is an incredible mural, one of the best ever for quality and difficulty

A mural depicting area fruit growers, very colorful

So many Colorado fruit farms  in this area !

A great window display, especially the row of hats decreasing in size 

A beautiful Egyptian Theater showing Wonder Woman !

A very prosperous looking Eagles Club

Incredible line up of vintage cars

Paint has been lightly blasted to fake a natural faded patina

Good restorable vintage cars for sale

I would love to have this one

Don't get the idea that I hate hot rodders, I'm fine with them chopping and modifying original cars when they are not in restorable condition. I actually admire the artistic element of the hot rods or rat rods.  It's when they take a good restorable original car and start hacking away that I have an issue.  I also have an issue with taking a vintage original car in relatively good condition and restoring it look like new again.        

This area around Delta to Montrose is very agricultural with many fruit and vegetable stands along the roads.  I stopped and bought fresh from the field sweet corn and it was so good !

I plan to leave in the morning and head into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River National Park.