We had planned to have some lunch in Buena Vista but upon arrival discovered that a parade was happening
and the place was crazy busy. After spending the last few days in the empty forests it was quite the culture
shock for us. We quickly gassed up the bikes and continued on our way. Next up on the route was a paved
section of road leading to Cottonwood Pass. Once at the top the road turns to dirt and the traffic mostly
disappears.
We took a moment to enjoy the view. The view was vast, where you could see the different weather patterns
moving through the mountain range, to one side a few peaks were being showered with rain while to our
right the mountain slopes were drenched in sunshine. At our feets was freshly fallen hail the size of peas.
We saw a few bikes on our way down the other side. Bikes and Jeeps were the vehicles of choice around
here. We ducked off the main road in search of somewhere to camp. The road started out dusty, but quickly
deteriorated into mud and there was barely any traffic. There was more free ranging cows than traffic. After
a few small water crossings we found a nice size stream so we set up camp.
The next morning started off with our road consume d by a river for a few hundred feet then quickly changed
to wide open gravel roads. We were en route to two historic towns: Tincup and Pitkin. Living in BC we are
no stranger to historic Mining or Forestry towns, so it was fun to pass through both of these places. The
route was mostly ranch land but did include a few interesting detours through the rutted grassy terrain.
We decided to treat ourselves to a bit of civilization for the evening so we camped at an RV park in Lake
City. We were the youngest ones there by about 40 years, but everyone was so friendly and nice. OUr
campsite neighbours offered us a queen size inflatable mattress when they realized we were sleeping in
a tent. We were able to walk to a local restaurant, Poker Alice, for some pizza and a history lesson of the
character that is Poker Alice. The food was great and it is always surprising to us how cheap it is in the US.