Sire's Play Day!

Monday, August, 30, 2010

It rained here all night so when we woke up we thought we would just be hanging around camp all day. But yesterday it did the same thing and the day turned out to be beautiful. So, we took a chance and decided to make today all about Sire. (If you not into dogs, don't read this.) Its all about him.

We drove into town and parked down by the Arkansas River. The past couple of days we witnessed dog after dog having a great time in the water. Today was Sire's turn. As soon as he smelled the water, he was in it. He had a great time. We let him get wet for a while and then took him for a long walk.

The walk lead us to an abandoned railroad yard. It just totally amazes me how everyone, all around here, just leaves. They just up and walk away and leave everything where it was when they decided to go.

We ended up back on the river and we sat on the shore  for a little over an hour playing fetch with Sire. The current was too much of a challenge for him to chase a stick, or ball,  so we sat there and watched them float downstream and  lost alot of tennis balls. Some dog will be really happy with all the balls just floating by. Kinda like prospectors panning for gold around here.Wahoo, free balls!

We then walked the town streets with him. This place is very much like Oregon. If you have ever been to Oregon, everyone rides bicycles, eats healthy and has a dog. Everywhere. Sire was nervous with all the people and traffic and busy-ness going on around him so we stopped and had lunch at an outside cafe. The women in the cafe where we ate, came out with a banana split boat filled with vanilla ice cream and said it was for our dog. I'm telling you, people are so weird about animals around here. Anyway, of course, he gulped it down and loved every bit of it.

After lunch we shopped alittle and then headed up the road to Monarch Ski Resort. It is 25 miles out of town and we were curious to see how  it compared to the other ski areas we have already seen. Just before we reached our destination we saw a gondola ride up to the top of a mountain. We pulled in and would you believe it - on the sign they have printed "Pets allowed". No way!!!

So we entered inside and took Sire along. We went across the continental divide - AGAIN - and were at 12,000 feet. It was 46 degrees up there and I forgot how very cold that is. They told us this morning it snowed for over an hour. The winds were around 40 mph so we stayed in the observatory and did not walk the path that is offered.

Sire did well in the gondola. If you know him, he is afraid of everything so this was a big ordeal for him.He survived it.

We just arrived back at our temporary housing unit and he is sound asleep. (I bet the cats enjoyed their peaceful afternoon too, without the lug.)

Overall, if Sire were a child, I think he would have had a great play day. First swimming, then ice cream, then a ride in the gondola. I think he'd fit in good with all the other spoiled dogs around here.Okay, enough about Sires day.

Tomorrow we leave Salida and head to Canyon City. I have no idea if its North, or South, or East or West. I just along for the ride.  We hope you had a good one and thanks for reading.

Still in Salida CO

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Yesterday we loaded up the Polaris and headed out of town about 20 miles. We hit the Trail Head named, Rawlings Mines. On this trail there are at least 15 different mines. We cannot find any literature on them except the names of each.

It must have been an extremely lucrative area. There were so many people who  have fought for the mining rights. When you discover silver, gold, etc. it does not have to be 'your' land. You put in a claim and it is decided by the town, county, government, etc. if you have the 'right' to mine it. If you are granted the right, and most people were because they had lawyers, then what ever you reap from the earth was yours and only your profit. You would  pay workers to mine it, and sit back and collect. It is a hard, hard work, long hours - 12 hr days in the dark. The conditions were almost primitive and it did not matter what time of year it was. There could be 15 feet of snow on the ground or it could be the middle of summer. They worked around the clock in shifts until every piece that came out held some sort of profit.

They seem to be almost on top of each other, and every mine has at least 3 shoots. Shoots are used to separate the rock and minerals and is a major part of the process that every piece of dirt that has been dug from the earth has to go through. There are tailings everywhere you look on the mountains. The tailings are the remnants of what went through the shoots. There are several steps to finding, collecting, separating, assaying, and finally cashing in on the silver or gold, or platinum, but the shoot is probably the most important. Some mines had double shoots. They must have been really busy.

Every time we found the opening to explore the mine, we were disappointed. They all either have caved in, or were blocked off by BLM, (Bureau of Land Management). In hindsight, entering the mines was not a smart idea but the ones we did go into in Utah were spectacular. We would have ventured into at least one or two yesterday, but could not. We tried! 

We found some pieces of old equipment and gloves lying around that were eaten by squirrels. And some of the buildings are still in relatively good shape. Which was good because storms just seam to appear here, out of nowhere,  and there was one coming our way and we needed shelter. The temperature dropped in what seamed like 30 seconds and the rain began. It was a cold rain and I hated it. Tommy forged on and after about 3 miles of racing down the mountain we finally made it back to the truck. Tommy was drenched. (I sat in the truck with the heat on while he loaded the Polaris.)

When we got home, we napped, it was great! We showered and headed out to Quincy's Steakhouse. We found this steakhouse in Leadville, CO. It is amazing. They only serve 2 types of steak - filet mignon and prime rib. Monday - Thursday its filet mignon for $7.95. No kidding! Their alcoholic beverages - which are top shelf -  are $1.75. That is cheaper than a coke or Pepsi in most restaurants. Dinner is served with a baked potato, salad, french bread and your steak, cooked to order. There are no exceptions. Our total bill was $26.34.

We found out that there are two other Qunincy's. One in Buena Vista and one in Salida. We hit them both. Buena Vistas bill was $2.00 more and last night at the one in Salida it was the same as Buena Vista. Last night, we had Prime Rib. Friday - Sunday is Prime Rib only. It is the best deal, ever!!! We made friends with 2 guys sitting next to us - what a surprise - and we ended up closing the place.

I asked the check out girl how can they possible make money on these meals and alcohol sales. She explained to me that Quincy owns everything from start to finish with these restaurants. He owns the lands the cows are on, the feed that they eat, the slaughter house, the trucks for transport, the buildings in which they serve dinners. Everything. Amazing.

I know it not so good to eat so much red meat but I got to tell you.....it is soooo good!!! and soooo cheap!!!

Today the sun is playing hide and seek and we are staying in our temporary housing unit, in which I am excited. We stopped at Sears yesterday and purchased a new vacuum. This makes 9  vacuums since I have married Tommy. At least I'm not that bad with the video cameras, we are on # 4 of those. (Still cant find the one we just bought). Anyway, I'm excited to stay home, do laundry, clean and cook a good meal.

Have a great Sunday and thanks for reading.

Salida CO

Friday, August, 27, 2010
Today we went into the old town of Salida. Pronounced So - leeda. As opposed to the town So LI DA in CA.
It was established in the late 1800's. Elevation: 7036 feet.

Somehow we felt very comfortable and at ease in this town.

At the end of Main St. is  a huge mountain. We drove up to the top of a mountain to investigate what this house was on the very top. The dirt road up there was a little tricky and very nerve racking at times.  At the top we climbed 37 stairs to an empty house. We signed our names, as everyone else did previously.  We weren't  extravagant in our name signing as others were but we laughed at what other people wrote.

The view was incredible. We really like this town. We found this bar, sitting on the river, through the binoculars. The Arkansas River. We stopped there when we descended and had a couple of margaritas and some jalapeno poppers. Man, were they hot!!! We had fun watching the kids and dogs swim, and people tubing and crashing in the eddy that was close by. (They all spilled over!) We laughed outloud!

After leaving the Cantina we walked the main street and stopped in this bar called Hattie's. It was for sale. $45,000.00. We walked by it at first, but then when we stopped in this antique store and were paying for some purchases we inquired where we could get a good margarita and we were told Hattie's. So... we walked back up the street and entered the establishment. It was cute and before we entered, we discussed whether we would go in as patrons or potential buyers.

We sat at the end of the bar towards the back door. (We screw around with alot of people and tell them that we are in hiding and last week we both had black hair and if anyone looks suspicious we will exit, abruptly, through the back exit.). It starts alot of great conversations, especially here in the mountains. hehehehehe. (Tommy is nuts, and I just go with it!)

Anyway, we had a great time in the bar Hattie's and met the owner Terry. He makes a mean Margarita. After that we headed back to base camp and made a fire. Tommy decided to let the cats out....I could have divorced him for that! But the Hellion (King Arthur) was chicken shit - thank God - and headed straight back inside. My guy, Sir Lancelot, decided to explore...he was always in sight but I was a nervous wreck. If he saw something to chase he would have been gone. Finally, he came back and is now inside.

Tomorrow we will explore the 'old town' of Salida and plan out some trails for Sunday. We stopped by the Forest Rangers Station and picked up a map of all the trails around here. There are plenty. I have a feeling that Tommy will actually contact a Realtor here, and not just look at whats for sale.

The RV Park that we are at - the Heart of the Rockies - is a really nice park and I'm glad we found it. (Sometimes its not what the Woodall's book says it is.)

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.





Its the strangest thing, some towns we feel 'at home' and other towns we just want to pass through. Salida is one of the towns that we do not want to leave. It has that 'community' feeling and we plan to stay here a while. (If you saw our picture on Facebook and you look closely, you can see that there is a Real Estate Guide in the background. Tommy is obsessed.)