Yesterday we headed into the town of Buena Vista. It was made out to be more than it was. We stopped at a local bar, had a burger and beer, and I kicked Tommy's ass in pool. At night we made a bon fire and looked through Tommy's spotting scope. There was a full moon and it was incredible. We could see the craters vividly. Sire made a new friend. We're still not sure where the dog came from or where it went when they were done but they played for well over an hour.
Today we took the Polaris out on a trail ride. We left camp around noon. We packed a lunch and hit the trail around 1:30. It took over an hour to get up the mountain and unload the Razor from the bed of the truck.
We were about a 1/2 mile from where we wanted to unload, and we noticed a car off in the ditch to the right of us. The car was completely on its side and wedged between trees. The only thing keeping it from rolling down the mountain was the trees it hit. We honestly did not know what to make of it because during the winter I'm sure alot of cars fall off the roads around here. We pressed on until we saw this young girl, around 17-18 yrs old walking barefoot up the mountain. There is nothing around so we knew something was wrong. We pulled over and asked her if she was okay. She started bawling. She was the one who went off the road. We picked her up and took her to her uncles cabin on top of the mountain. She was so upset and so scared. We felt awful for her. But thankfully she was not hurt. She was grateful.
We then dismounted the Polaris in St. Elmo. This is one of the last original 'ghost towns' that is left in tact. It was great to walk around. Every building is privately owned and no one lives in them. It is there for self preservation. It was a silver mining town that never came to fruition. Extremely cool.
While touring the town, we became inundated with chip monks. Alvin and Theodore decided to jump all over me so Tommy purchased some sunflower seeds to feed them. That was like giving candy to a baby. They were the cutest and most gentlest things. We had a lot of laughs with them
We took off for Tin Cup from St. Elmo. The trail was, by far, the roughest trail we have encountered since hitting the road. We traveled only 9 miles to get to Tin Cup and it took over 3 hours. We traveled above the natural tree line, which normally ends at 11k feet. We hit 12,400 feet at one point. And yes, I used my inhaler. We crossed the Continental Divide - again - and found the bench mark.
Tin Cup still has occupants full time and is very little. It is a community in every since of the word. With out your neighbors it would seem that you would never survive the cold, harsh, unforgiving winters. The scenery is incredible.
While we were there, I, once again, was drawn to the old cemetery. The odd thing about their cemetery was that even life after death was segregated. They had different burial grounds for Catholics, Protestants, and Jewish. We found this to be very odd. Some of the graves were only marked with railings or bed frames. It is set on a little hill over looking a pond and it is very serene. Very very peaceful.
On the way back we stopped again in St. Elmo and reloaded our ATV. On the way down the hill back to base camp we came across a tow truck pulling the young girl's car out of the woods. It was totalled. We stopped to see if she was okay by then, and she thanked us for giving her a ride. It was almost 6 hrs after she crashed that the tow truck finally made it up the mountain.
This is really sad, so if you're not wanting to be saddened, stop reading now!!!
We went home, showered, and headed out to a steak house for dinner. We parked next to a pick up truck that said. National Wildlife Assoc. on the sides. No big deal... Until... Tommy got out and saw a baby fawn in the back of the bed, dead! Last night, we actually stopped traffic, well I did anyway, because a Doe and her baby were crossing the street. Some ass was speeding by and I had a fit. We stopped him for the safety of the deer.
Long story short, Tommy approached the Wildlife Officer in the restaurant and he said it was the same baby we saw last night. We were sick. I am posting a picture of both, mom and baby that I took last night. We feel so badly for the mom. She must be crying her eyes out right now.
I'm not sure why some pictures uploaded sideways. They are straight in my saved files. Sorry.
Thanks for reading and have a good Friday!
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