Tuesday, July 28, 2015

If The Spirit Moves You

 

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And it did early Saturday morning as some of the gang piled into our Subaru for a drive towards Red Mountain Pass and a hike to Spirit Basin. Mark dropped off his truck about three miles before we came to the trail so we could make a loop and not have to walk along the road another three miles back to our car. It was a great idea as about the last four miles of our nearly seven mile hike were all down hill.

The trail actually started off fairly level, and included a creek crossing.

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Then it climbed to remnants of an old mine.

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Then we made a steep climb into Spirit Basin, a beautiful area full of wildflowers.

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We stopped for a break and a snack.

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Then Joalenn decided she wanted her picture taken in the flowers, which led to everybody doing the same.

John and Joalenn.

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Suzanne trying to get into position as Mark stands by with the camera.

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Us (Gayle and Jim).

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Bobbie and Mark

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Everyone had to get in the act.

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The trail made one more good climb, with great views of Red Mountain ahead.

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Looking down on the snaking Million Dollar Highway.

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Another mine.

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We also saw parts of a skeleton, a bear track, and evidence of elk beds. For a good portion of the trail back down it smelled like we were in a barnyard. We spoke with a couple who had seen the herd of around a hundred elk but they had moved on by the time we got there.

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It was another great day on the trail. We’re lucky to have Mark and Bobbie as our guides, as this was a place we would not have found without them. And although it was a Saturday we  only saw four other people and they were locals.

12 comments:

  1. A beautiful hike.... Loved seeing you all doing what you love best!

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  2. The first mine is the Barstow… FYI. There are networks of tunnels (mine shafts) underneath that reach as far as Telluride and to the mountains above Ouray. It was a glorious day!
    Box Canyon Mark

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    1. Thanks, Mark. Bobbie told me the name of the mine when we were there but I forgot. I''m blaming it on lack of oxygen.

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  3. Beautiful! How fortunate to have your own personal, local guides. Love the Ouray area and surrounding mountains.

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  4. Another great day living the good life:) Great photos of the photographers taking photos!! I hope they don't have chiggers in CO:) Cute photos of the hikers in the flowers. I do believe I will need to call Jim, "Petterman" when we finally get to meet. We are Seinfeld fans so this name cracks me up every time I read Suzanne's blog and now Mark!!

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  5. Love the bear track! You certainly can't beat those amazing views!

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  6. OMG those views. I keep telling Terry I want to do more international traveling but when I see posts like this, I can't imagine leaving the western US. Love your photos!

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  7. Gorgeous photos and so funny to see the photo-booth-in-the-flowers coming together! I was looking for the oxygen tanks at the top :-) Can't imagine a herd of 100, bummer to have missed them :-(

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  8. Another great read with terrific photos, really fun to see you all together. It took me awhile to figure out that I had to be a Google+ member to let you know how much I've enjoyed keeping up with you guys. See you on the road one of these days...and hi from Pete.

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    1. Nice to hear from you! I'm sure our paths will cross again one of these days.
      Gayle

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  9. The spirit has definitely moved you into high altitude. Absolutely love the wildflowers, especially as a portrait backdrop. But that 'trail' looks like a two-track, so can't I just drive up there. ;)

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    1. Driving up would take away all of the fun! Obviously that was an old road to the mines but it is now blocked off to vehicles.

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