Wednesday's Ride to the Top of the World

On Wednesday morning, we drove down Rt. 91 past Copper Mountain Resort to Leadville...a town the ski industry forgot. It definately is a place that gives you a real feel of what Colorado mining towns once were. There were no fancy condos or greenway revitalizations...just an aging town struggling to carve out a tourist niche.

One asset they have is proximity to the Continental Divide. The divide is that part of the Rockies where water flows in one of two directions, either to the west and the Pacific Ocean or to the east and the Atlantic Ocean. Just outside of Leadville is a public use area with trails for hiking or in our case ATV riding.

Our excitement for Wednesday was to join the Contiental Divide ATV Tour Company to ride an ATV up to the top of the Divide. It was great fun riding these off road vehicles on rocky paths to over 13,000 feet. The views were spectacular as we looked over the town of Leadville and at the surrounding peaks jutting up over 14,000 feet.

On one part of our tour, our guide took us past abandoned mining villages where miners worked and lived as recently as the 1940's. Here is a picture of Mom considering purchasing a "fixer upper." It was fascinating to imagine what this area was like in its hey-day.

The weather in Colorado is unpredictable. On Tuesday, it was warm and sunny...a perfect day for a horse back ride. On Wednesday, it was overcast and chilly. Thankfully we had brought our sweatshirts. By the end of the ATV ride, a cold rain had begun to fall. Fortunately, it was at the END of the ride rather than the beginning.

Following our great adventure, we stopped by Frisco on the way back and had a delicious lunch at the Butterhorn Cafe. Their cheescake alone is worth a trip to Colorado. After lunch, we headed down the mountain to Boulder to spend some time with our friend Norma who is in Boulder for some missionary training. As always it was a blessing to spend some time with her.

We arrived back in Breckenridge at 11 p.m. tired from a very full day.

We love you and miss you!
Dad