Saturday, August 2, 2008

Del Norte - Home of The Rices


an old silver mine in Creede, Co


This morning we finished packing up the house and then went out for breakfast at Pura Vida on Lake Vallecito. We then drove 2 hours on Rt. 160 toward Del Norte. On our drive, we noticed we'd driven 2000 mi since leaving Salt Lake City - making our total approx 3500 mi so far! We drove through Pagosa Springs and I thought about Dan Fogelberg - Pagosa was his home out West. I could see why he lived here - it is absolutely beautiful. Chris had us stop to view Treasure Falls and we made a 1/2 mi hike up the hill to view the beautiful falls and feel the cool mist coming from them. After leaving the falls, we headed up Wolf Creek Pass - elevation 11344! Fabulous views from the top, but we couldn't help think about how difficult it would be to get through this pass on wintry days. At the top, we drove over the Continental Divide and then headed downhill toward Del Norte. It was great to see the Rice's new home in Colorado(pictured below). Nice views - only a couple of neighbors. They drove us to Creede and we toured this quaint town, pop 300. Neat restaurants, shops, a theatre and a few bars. It is an old silver mining town - we even drove up the slot canyon to the old mines. The boys made a rock path across the Rio Grande (it starts in this area) and joked about crossing the river and becoming a Mexican. I'm including a photo of an old silver mine in Creede. They're hoping to begin mining there again someday soon. Mary told us that some people wanted to get the railroad going again, but people from Creede shot at the train and exploded dynamite on the tracks as they tried to run the train again! Very neat old town - former residents included the guy who killed Jesse James (Robert Ford) and Bat Masterson. Had dinner in Creede - sat outside and enjoyed a Mexican meal. Returned to Kevin and Mary's for a nice, relaxing evening of sharing
pictures, posting on the blog and many laughs!

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