Big Meadows Reservoir and The Silver Thread Byway

We weren't sure exactly where in Colorado we wanted to camp next but had heard from some friends we met in Tucson that they had found the Del Norte/South Fork area interesting.  Since we had never been to this part of the state, we decided to do a little exploring.  We passed through Pagosa Springs, (regrettably, because we love the town and the hot springs here-BUT, we have Boo, and he probably wouldn't be allowed in the springs area) and headed on up Wolf Creek Pass.  Right after the summit, we saw signs to Big Meadows Campground and decided to give it a look.  What we found was perfection.  There was THE best camp site available until July 3rd.  We were a little nervous about not having a secure place for the weekend of the fourth, but decided to take it and take our chances on something becoming available.

This place had everything we love:  privacy, access to water and gorgeous views!

Found these mushrooms the first day-don't know what kind
they were, but they certainly were interesting.

These, too

Boo was a happy pup!

The area was lush and green, although there
was significant spruce beetle kill.  We are
getting quite used to that in Colorado.

This was our view from the campsite.

Lush vegetation surrounding the lake

Great hikes-our favorite was a 3 mile around
the lake.

We had a huge site at the end of the campground #6 -heaven!

This guy was hysterical.  He went out early
in the morning and didn't come back for hours.
He takes his fishing seriously!

And Boo so loves his bed!

Jim had a grand time fishing-no catches but lots of fun.

At the last minute, Gail and Harley Lyons decided to join us.
During the rains, we hunkered down under their 5th wheel.
PS  We could share a spot up on the hill with them for the
weekend of the fourth.  We totally amused ourselves trying
to work with Bob, the camp host, who was a real stickler
for the rules of the campground.  Trying to figure out how
to grab an available spot was not an easy endeavor!

We even finally had a fire-no more blistering
hot weather!

Us in front of our two rigs, squeezed together in one large space.

Expert log splitter

Happy fisherman

Makes me happy that he has fallen in love
with this sport.  He sure looks good in a fishing
vest!

The spillway across the lake

Boo is badly in need of a haircut but -
He doesn't care!  He loved digging around
for ground squirrels.

 We did a little exploring around the South Fork area in the Lyons' truck.  It is a very small town and we found a fabulous Visitor's Center where we got lots of information about the area and Jim got some quick lessons on local fishing.  We drove along the river (The Rio Grande) to Cottonwood Lodge where we enjoyed lots of cotton floating around while we ate fabulous ice cream on their outside patio.  None of the other campgrounds in the area measured up to Big Meadows.  And at the other reservoir in town, the water was completely drained and they were working on repairing the dam.

This whole area from Del Norte to South Fork and west to Creede and then north to Lake City is called the Silver Thread Byway.  It is a 117-mile beautiful stretch of road through old mining towns that follows the Rio Grande River to the North Fork of the Gunnison.

Creede Church

There was a fair in town.  You know who could not resist
the jalapeno cheddar cheese sausage wraps!

It was a small but very nice affair for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

The town of Creede is really interesting.  There
are quite a few beautiful artsy stores and cool-
sounding restaurants.  We poked around a little,
promising to come back some day.

 We were oohing and aahing about the scenery the whole way.

We got off on this dirt road to explore a campground
(didn't care for it all that much-very primitive) and
wanted to double back to see the falls, which we
passed on our way in.  But, as luck would have it,
the camp host noticed that we had a blown tire.
That changed everything!  We were halfway between
Creede and Lake City and had to choose which one
would most likely have a mechanic open on a Sunday-
Answer:  none.

 We decided to take our chances going to Lake City.  We really didn't want to retrace our steps and couldn't remember much in the way of service stations, etc. in Creede.  So, we went forward, hoping that the tire would hold til we got there.  It was a bit of a white knuckle trip over Slumgullion Pass but we did make it up and over with no problem, holding our breath the whole way.  Nothing was open, but we did notice a couple of tire shops, so decided to stay until the next morning and hope to get some help.  We holed up in the last spot at the Elkhorn RV Park which was right downtown and had a laundry facility.  We hooked up, did about 4 loads of laundry, took a shower and then walked downtown for dinner.

The town is delightfully outfitted with boardwalks
and is surrounded by the high San Juan mountains.
It feels a little like Switzerland, but with that
old west feel.  It is an historic district, which made
for a delightful walk, admiring the older buildings
with wonderful signage explaining their history.

Does this guy have it made, or what?!

WHAT A FIND!  Look at that sign.  The place is named after
Alfred Packer who famously dined on his dead companions
while trying to traverse these mountains in the winter of 1874-5.

There were four dog-friendly tables...

An outdoor fire pit and an entertainer!

We all were very happy!  We had a great burger and
a philly cheese steak.  Boo had some french fries.
The place was owned by a Slovakian couple who
have really turned the place into something special.

Couldn't resist this picture.

 Coming home in the twilight hours, we happened upon a Secret Garden which had a sign explaining that all those wandering by were welcome.  We had the gardens to ourselves and just couldn't get over the beauty of the place.  We were all soaring-even Boo.

 We went home sated-both in mind and body!  We slept well and got up the next morning, called Rene's Garage, and lucked out.  He could take us right away.

Rene's Garage

Jim stayed with Rene to be sure that things
were done right.  He needn't have worried.
Boo and I took a walk along the beautiful
North Fork of the Gunnison River.

Who could resist this cute little bakery on the side of the road.
We bought some pizzas and cookies for a lunch by the river.

When we got back to Rene's, this was our first view of
what had happened to our tire.  Apparently it probably
picked up a nail, got punctured and had a slow leak
which then rubbed against the adjoining tire and
exploded.  Geez!

This is wonderful Rene:  a Swiss man who is
hard-working, fair, capable and friendly.
 He took the tire off and put a spare on.  He
didn't have the right kind of tire to sell us
 to replace the spare, but assured us that we
could  find one in Gunnison-so, off we went.

We followed the Gunnison out of town.

And stopped along the way for lunch.

Once again, the scenery was just amazing.

Outside of Gunnison, we sidled up to Blue Mesa Reservoir
in a huge rainstorm and made it to Gunnison with
no further complications.  We loaded up on food, got a
new tire and headed on up the road to Crested Butte.