3. A Loop through North Central Colorado

Day 9: Monday, July 29

In my 2000-3 journal I wrote about the night we spent in Colorado Springs: "Woke up quite early, 4:00 AM, experiencing shortness of breath. Given the altitude of 6,500', I guess one just has to breath harder to get the normal oxygen level. Oddly enough, when I go vertical, the feeling goes away but returns when I lie down." The same happened last night. The campground is at 7,200' and I kept being awakened by a feeling of sinking into an abyss and being unable to breathe. Would then take about twenty deep breaths and go back to sleep.

Was on the road by 10:00 AM and set out on one of the most spectacular drives in my camping career. Headed north on I-25, bypassing Denver. Switched to US 36 for the drive to Estes Park, bypassing Boulder. Entered Rocky Mountain National Park (no $5 entrance fee for me, being a holder of a Golden Age card) and stuck to the Trail Ridge Road. This beautiful park road winds and snakes along mountainsides until it reaches the crest at 12,183'. Along the way are spectacular vistas of alpine meadows, beautiful valleys, lava cliffs, rock cuts, and snow fields. On the way down passed through Milner Pass (10,758') and enjoyed the view of mountain lakes in the Arapaho NRA.

Here are some photos:

Definitely felt lightheaded above about 10,000' - I guess "Rocky Mountain High."

The park road turns back into US 34 which in turn connects with US 40. US 40 was at its best just east of Winter Park, when it climbed to the Berthoud Pass (11,315'). Continued to Idaho Springs from where I took the "Oh My God" road to Central City and Black Hawk.

This dirt road is one of the two scariest roads I have taken (the other one was the Mokie Dugway in Utah) but while the Mokie is a relatively short climb up the side of a mountain range, this one goes on for miles and miles as it wiggles up the side of Virginia Canyon, occasionally permitting spectacular views of 14,264' Mount Evans to the south. But I was not about to stop to enjoy the scenery or take photos -- I just wanted to get out of there as safely as possible. Along the way also saw many old shaft houses and mine entrances. Please do not take this road unless you are comfortable with mountain driving on dirt roads and you're driving a van or something smaller.

This is gold mining country, and gold mining created the original wealth of Central City and Black Hawk. These towns were sufficiently wealthy to bring in some famous talents such as Mark Twain, John Wilkes Booth, Sarah Bernardt, and Mae West. In time the gold ran out, and the towns discovered that mining tourists could be just as profitable. A good road was built to Denver and Golden, Victorian mansions were converted into tourist traps and gambling places, and huge modern casinos were built.

The road east, US 6, is a scenic pleasure as it follows Clear Creek to Golden.

There is a city-sponsored campground in downtown Golden, convenient to most of the sights I want to take in tomorrow. However, it was filled up. They sent me to the Dakota Ridge RV Park. I don't know the secret of success of this park: the sites are very close to each other, no pool or spa, no workspace for the laptop (hook up to a pay phone), nothing really superattractive except for the bathhouse. Yet just about every spot was taken by huge rigs. Tents are not allowed and the park regulations include "It is the express right of the park management to refuse service to any vehicle which, in the opinion of management, is not in conformance with the overall level of quality and appearance of the park." $35.38 for a small back-in site that is almost level, with water, electricity, cable TV, sewer, and picnic table and a long walk to the bathhouse. Definitely not a place I would have chosen, if I had had an alternative.

Drove 270 miles today, was on the road for 8 hours. Bought gasoline at $1.499/gal and averaged 15.9 mpg. The altitude at the RV Park is 6,200' - will see what happens.

Back to trip index or go to the next section