A nice & cool drive

[tamrock]

These are a few pictures of Colorado's Cottonwood Pass as I went west over it in the later afternoon yesterday. Down home it's in the upper 90's, but up here its nice and cool. Just a great place to take your time and travel nice and slow.

 

[Mattock]

Its good to get up in the altitude and cool off.

 

[diggingthe1]

Beautiful pictures Tamrock. I took the boys over Cochetopa pass today. I have always wanted to explore the area. We are camped above Saguache. I want to take them to the little museum in the morning. We had a great day but are a little sunburned from running around the hills! It sure is getting hot. Glad you made it out of the city!

 

[old digger]

Thanks for sharing the pictures!

 

[tamrock]

Beautiful pictures Tamrock. I took the boys over Cochetopa pass today. I have always wanted to explore the area. We are camped above Saguache. I want to take them to the little museum in the morning. We had a great day but are a little sunburned from running around the hills! It sure is getting hot. Glad you made it out of the city!

Yeah it's been pretty hot. I haven't been over Cochetoa in awhile. That's an ancient mountain pass used by native people for millennia. Early mountain mem said it was the one pass Buffalo would use even in winter to get from either side of the Rocky mountains in Colorado. I saw a moose one time down in the thickets along the creek of the east side. Years ago me and a couple fishing buddies would head over there to camp and fish on Tomichi creek. Its a great area that's even still a less populated during peak season. You can get some wicked thunder storms along the upper Tomichi creek that can just whip up in a moment with big time lighting strikes all around and freezing cold rain.

 

[diggingthe1]

It was beautiful. I figured you had been down there. I have been reading the history on this Salida Archive page. It is very interesting if you Google it. There was a Spanish fort we tried to find. Don't drive your VW van up there. We got stuck once but those are the memories you remember. I think it is on the Needle Creek side if anyone reads this and attempts it. Here is the first page of the article, you should Google it and read more. We could have spent a lot of time there, but we had a great time!! Here is a picture from this lookout we hiked up overlooking Tomichi! We are going back to that spot. I bet the fishing is great!! Beautiful stream!! We saw a blue heron at a lake I think, and a couple of western Tanigers came by to visit with us.

 

[tamrock]

That sounds like a good read. I was going over Cochetopa quite a bit when the Moly mine in Questa New Mexico was in operation. I'd head down there first of the week through Ft Garland to take care of a consignment inventory and then I'll go to the Mine in Ouray after that over the pass. The Moly mine closed for good maybe 6 or 7 years ago now. Yeah I'd get the clan back over there again. I guess I could just go that way instead of taking Monarch or Cottonwood just to go the long way home.

 

[diggingthe1]

With your job you sure get to see some beautiful places. Its always good for us to get a little road trip in. Everytime I get to the top of a pass in Colorado it is a good feeling!! Wow you covered some amazing ground!

 

[rginn]

Well I'm happy for you digginthe1 cause I camped over there farther south at Witches Canyon and it got up to 96 yesterday. Still, a nice breeze.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Beautiful photos!

 

[tamrock]

Well I'm happy for you digginthe1 cause I camped over there farther south at Witches Canyon and it got up to 96 yesterday. Still, a nice breeze.

Dang hot day down here on the front range today, but right now I'm in a chair in the backyard and this awesome thunder head is sucking up all kinds of atmosphere air up in it and making a very nice breeze this evening. It's moving along out east now and starting to light up from bolts of lightning.

 

[antmike915]

Nice photos

 

[A2coins]

I miss those long drives soooooo much