Roadtrip 2017 – Exploring The West – Day 3 – July 12th:
I started my day off with a warm shower, followed by a quick breakfast. Once everything was packed up, I fed and walked Marley, and then plotted a course for the days adventure.
We headed back to I-25, and headed north to RT 197, and then followed that west to SR 165. Following SR 165 north took us into the Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, and led us to Bishops Castle.
Bishop Castle – Rye, Colorado: I had learned of Bishop’s Castle online, and knew that if I made it to Colorado, it was something that I wanted to see for myself.
Bishop’s Castle is the dream of owner Jim Bishop. Jim initially began constructing a stone cabin on the property in 1969, but as the work progressed, the cabin became a castle. What you see today has been the work of one man, and has taken many years. Don’t forget that Colorado has harsh winters, and at 9,000 feet, there aren’t many months of the year here that provide warm weather, and the absence of snow.
You can freely walk through the castle and explore it. There isn’t a fee to enter, but they do have donation boxes, and there’s a gift shop on site. The money collected helps continue the build.
If you look closely, you can see an iron sphere at the top-middle of the castle with people standing in it, and walkways leading to and away from it. There are iron walkways all around the castle.
The dragons head is a chimney. It also houses a burner from a hot air balloon. The burner is lit on the weekends, and the the dragon literally breaths fire for its visitors.
See more Photos of Bishop Castle by clicking HERE or on the photos.
After spending some time admiring Bishop Castle, Marley and I continued north on SR 165 to SR 96. From there we went east to SR 67, and then north to Florence Colorado. We headed north on SR 115 out of Florence to finally link up with US 50.
Traveling west on US 50 past Cañon City, the Arkansas River meets up and follows US 50 to Salida Colorado. This area appeared to be a hot spot for rafting, and I spotted numerous groups rafting down the Arkansas River.
Monarch Pass – Continental Divide – Colorado: Continuing west along US 50, we finally reached Monarch Pass in the Sawatch Mountain Range. The Continental Divide crosses here at 11,312 feet above sea level. That’s over 2-miles above sea level. The temperature was 58 degrees, which I guess is good for this altitude and location. I’m writing this on August 7th, and a few days ago, the Monarch Pass was actually covered in snow. I guess we were lucky when we crossed.
My truck looks like it should be parked in front of a fake background, but it’s real, Monarch Pass offers some beautiful views. I’m glad when I crossed the Continental Divide, I did it here.
Marley, however, didn’t seem to understand why I was trying to take his picture, and how we had gone from 90+ Texas heat, to temps in the 50’s. He was to busy growing his winter coat back out, only to shed it in the backseat of the truck later.
There is a gift shop here at the top of the Continental Divide. After walking Marley and checking out the gift shop for a few souvenirs, we were headed west again on US 50.
Traders Rendezvous – Gunnison Colorado: Following US 50 west took us to Gunnison Colorado. While passing through town I spotted ‘Traders Rendezvous’ with antlers all over the front of the store. I forgot to take a photo of the outside, so I borrowed the one directly below from the internet.
Seeing all the antlers, and many that were from a Moose, I just had to stop and check the place out.
This place was incredible! If it lives in the forest, or is something people would hunt, this store probably has it stuffed or mounted for you to buy.
Want a bear? No problem! But be ready to shell out about $20K.
This store literally had lions, tigers, and bears for sale. Oh my.
I had bought an Indian arrow at the Monarch Crest gift shop (Continental Divide). I really liked it, but I had no idea how I would display it. While at Traders Rendezvous, I saw a pile of smaller antlers for sale, but had no idea what I could do with one. You see, when I travel, I like to find things to display as decorations in my home. Something that has a story to it, and remind me of my adventures, not something that I just picked up at my local Walmart. After thinking about if for a few minutes, I realized that if I purchased (2) of the antlers, I could use them as a holder for my Indian arrow. Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to display any of the moose antlers, but I’ll be back.
Marley and I continued west on US 50 out of Gunnison, and crossed the Blue Mesa Reservoir. It had recently rained, and the mountains, lake, and low clouds made for a great view.
When we got to Montrose Colorado, we turned on to US 550, and headed south towards Ouray. The San Juan National Forest probably has the most beautiful mountains and scenery in Colorado. And as we headed south on US 550, they came in to view.
Let me just apologize real quick for the picture quality, and tell you that a lot of my pictures were taken with a cell phone while driving. I really wanted to get a GoPro before I started this trip, but it just wasn’t in the budget.
KOA Campground – Ouray Colorado: I lucked out again on camping. I made some phone calls and found that the KOA campground in Ouray had a tent site available. Marley and I got there and had our campsite set up before dark.
The campground is on CR 23, just on the other side of the Uncompahgre River.
When we arrived, there was a family finishing up their dinner on the site next to us (with the Jeep). They asked me if I had eaten, and offered me dinner. I thanked them and refused, but they were insistent, and said they would just through the food away. I gladly accepted the left over grilled chicken, and it was delicious. There were (2) pieces, so I split one with Marley. I really appreciated their act of kindness, and passed it on to other campers when I got the opportunity.
It was another long day of traveling, but the views and experiences along the way made it more than worth it.
I was glad to finally be in the San Juan Mountains. Being in an area surrounded by 13,000+ foot snow capped mountains is going to offer some beautiful views. I couldn’t wait for morning, so Marley and I could go exploring.
Links:
Roadtrip 2017 – Exploring The West – Main Page
Roadtrip 2017 – Exploring The West – Day 4