Christine and I headed to the Buena Vista area to a Bed & Breakfast a couple weeks ago with our friends Mark and Laura. Mark performed some dental work for this lady that owned it and worked out a nice trade....well, nice for us anyway. We headed up for a weekend getaway to relax and enjoy good cookin' at http://www.larocabandb.com/
The fireplace made our morning coffee even better
Saturday morning, after some amazing breakfast, we headed up to the old mining town of St. Elmo and traipsed about. With the girls on snowshoes and Mark and I on skis, we set off on an old snow covered jeep trail, not sure what we'd find.
After stopping to have lunch and enjoy the amazing sunshine casting beams down to the Sawatch Range, the girls decided to begin heading back while Mark and I journeyed onward. We soon encountered a crossroads; continue on the jeep trail or take a sharp left where the trail steepens drastically. My usual answer? UP!
Soon we're passing old abandoned mines and mills like the one below.
A cool feature as we ascended was a trolley system. To think of these early miners building these towers by hand, ferrying the tools and supplies by their own power leaves me in awe.
Mark and I had a super fun descent, skiing throw glades and by these tattered and torn structures that once created wealth in these lands. And to think, if it wasn't for these early settlers, trying to strike it rich and enduring the harsh winters, I might not be able to see such amazing landscapes.
Sunday morning, we had another delicious round of breakfast and coffee, snapped a few pictures to commemorate the weekend and set off for the front range, where we call home.
Despite having to reenter the real world, we know the mountains will not always be in our rearview!!
