Colorado June 26, 2020

Friday, June 26

Dawn comes early in this time zone - about 5AM.   It is 41 degrees when we finally get up at 6:30. Feels great after the 90's of Houston!

It is a beautiful morning and we head to nearby

North Lake for breakfast of coffee, cereal and fruit.   A pair of loons make ripples on the lake.

Our first deer sighting as we stop at Cordova Pass, overlooking a beautiful meadow, followed in short order by more deer, a flock of turkeys, rabbits and ducks. The bucks' antlers are still in velvet!

 Not much traffic as we climb mountains and ease into valleys.  Lots of snow fences.

  We decide to visit San Luis, the oldest town in Colorado. It features The Shrine of the Stations of the Cross, which sits atop a mesa overlooking the town.   The parking is next to some large murals and across from the R&R Market which was built in 1857.

To reach the Shrine, you follow a footpath which winds up the mesa, passing bronze statues depicting each of the stations of the cross.  All were done by sculptor Huberto Magstas and dedicated in the 1990's. Very impressive! Here are a few...

 Jesus Falls the First Time

Simon Helps Carry the Cross

Jesus Falls the Third Time

The Shrine itself is adobe and quite lovely. Quiet and peaceful.

Back down in town, this fancy milkweed gets our attention, along with that of a friendly bee.

From San Luis, we head for 149N, known as the Silver Thread Scenic & Historic Byway.  We branch off on gravel Pool Table Road to look for rocks and a campsite.  A brochure we have mentions agate and jasper in the area, but we don't find much.

There are some interesting flowers, though.  Lots of new-to-me varieties.

  We decide to boondock in the National Forest up there, amidst a mix of evergreen and dead trees (looks like old fire or bark beetle damage). Clouds are moving in, as we discover this is "monsoon" time in Colorado.  But rather than torrential rains, it is a time of late afternoon or evening gentle showers which usually don't last very long. Not much more than a sprinkle, really.

Dinner is hamburgers and a tomato & mozzarella salad with tomatoes from our home garden.  These long days of Summer mean that we are going to bed with the sun.