Wednesday August 5, Blue Misa Lake, Gunnison CO

Woke up and watched the sun creep down on the dunes, early morning trampers already at the summit. Early breakfast and down the track for a walk onto the sand, but didn’t get too far up, the sand was quite soft in places and made for hard walking. We crossed a small creek, which evidently in the spring is quite full with the snow melt. It was a great start to the day.

Continued south through similar country to yesterday to Alamosa. There is a really Spanish feel to this area, with the arid countryside and the adobe style housing, as well as many Hispanic people. We went into a country type store for some RV chemicals, and it was obviously where all the ranchers shopped. It was a huge plain store, with all the farm requirements as well as racks of clothing for the rancher…wrangler jeans, western boots and Stetsons.

From there we took a scenic route which soon led us into the mountains again, and more spectacular sheer rock faces. We followed the Rio Grande river which passed through the old mining town of Creede. It was nestled beneath sheer rocky cliffs, and it still has the feel of the old world to it. Enjoyed wandering through the old shops with some great galleries and antique stores.

Continued up to over 11,000 feet as we crossed the continental divide again and down to Gunnison. This area is a paradise for fly fishermen as well as four wheel drive enthusiasts, and lots of places to hire vehicles as well as fishing guides..Ian hasn’t been tempted…yet!