Note:
I accidently posted Day 14 out of sequence so find it after day 17 then read the rest in sequence. You may have to click on older posts to find it.
Don’t be Late.
I over slept this morning so we had to hustle to get back to the main road to meet Cheryl and Dennis. Bob was a little ahead of us so he went to the road first to make sure we didn’t miss them.
As we were just getting to the road Dennis and Cheryl showed up.
Heading out.
We headed south on FR14. We were going to cross Indiana Pass which is the highest pass that the mountain bike trail crosses.
Mine Clean Up.
As we drive along, in the distance we see what looks like some sort of facility.
As we approached closer it looked like some sort of mine.
A little further along we came to this…
and this sign.
They have been trying to clean up this site for the last twenty years and have spent many millions of dollars in the process.
Apparently all the streams below this site are polluted as well.
Old Buildings.
As we continued through this area we saw some of the old mine buildings. They are kind of an eerie reminder of the old mine.
There was a neat log cabin and out buildings on a knoll below the road.
Apparently it can be rented from the forest service. I bet that ain’t cheep.
We crossed Elwood Pass which will be our 20th crossing of the Continental Divide.
Going down the other side we saw this kind of brownish pond.
We don’t know if this is part of the pollution from the Summit Mine.
Lake De Nolda.
We stopped at this picaresque lake for a short break.
Red Hills.
Here is a sign that tells what’s going on here.
Here is another picture of the mountain.
Platoro.
We continued our drive down the road and came to a small community of Platoro.
We decided to have lunch at the Café.
After lunch we toured the town.
There are some nice old houses in the town..
Pretty flowers and a horse in the yard.
The Conejos River.
When we left town we drove along the Conejos River.
We saw some fly fishermen.
Back on Pavement.
Eventually we came to Highway 17 and headed toward the town of Chama, NM and what looks like a big thunder storm.
Chama.
We stopped here for gas.
After gassing up, Bob and I published our current posts.
Back On the Trail.
When we left Chama, we drove back the way we came to get back on the trail.
We finally entered New Mexico on the trail.
The trail was a little wet and soft at first.
Dogs?
A bunch of dogs ran out to bark at us.
Indiana Pass.
Past the sheep trail begins to get a little sloppy.
Apparently on this stretch of trail the Bikers have to walk their bikes.
We finally made it over Indiana Pass 11,915 feet .
The trail just gets better with lots of water filled pot holes and a few small ponds to cross.
After a few hours of crawling through mud holes we eventually found a suitable spot for a camp.
This is our view.
The down side was that the camp was at 9,450 FT. So we are a little worried about Bob. We camped last night at about the same altitude and he did fine.
A Big Thunder Storm.
Once we got set up…
We sat around visiting when it started to sprinkle. The sprinkle got a little harder so we all went to our vehicles.
A little later the rain stopped so we all came out for a little longer.
The Moon Comes Up.
Eventually it got so cold that we all went in for the night.
The Storm.
Around 4:00 am it started to rain very hard. A thunder storm was passing right over us. With flashes of lightning, torrential rain and wind shaking the van. The storm lasted about 2 hours and then moved on.
About an hour after the storm passed, it started raining steadily and continued until around 9:00 am.
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