COLORADO, GHOST-TOWN Exploring + Camp-Out: JULY 25th - 29th 2024

[RCinNC]

Well, I hope your surgery goes well, and you recover quickly.................If you can make it, that would be great.
I'd say just blow-off the surgery and come anyway, but I'm not going to give that kind of advice....................

If it was anything else, I would blow it off for this. Unfortunately, it's one of those "you better do this now rather than later" kind of things.

Hopefully I'll be able to return to Colorado next summer and see some new stuff.

 

[SkunkWorks]

Ghost-Town Ride #1
Friday, July 26th 2024

I'll be easing us into the Weekend with a shorter Ride-Day on Friday.

Have all of your Coffee, Breakfast, and morning "Duties" out of the way, and be preparing to Ride around 10:00am.
Anyone that might be Lodging elsewhere (in Town), be prepared to meet us at the Campground around 10:00am.
Please have your Bikes fueled-up already prior to meeting at Camp.

We will depart the Campground (Kickstands-UP) at 10:30am

Today's Ride will be 80-Miles total, including 30-miles of easy graded-gravel or hard-packed solid Dirt Road.

*I encourage everyone to wear protective Riding-Boots!*
Be aware that we will be walking around while viewing the Sites.
Either wear Boots that you do not mind walking around in, or have a way to carry a spare pair of comfortable footwear for walking.

We will be away from Town for approx 4-5 hours or so, and I do not have a Lunch-Stop scheduled for this day.
There is no place to buy Food along today's route.
I would encourage everyone to pack some snacks or a lunch to bring with you, that we can eat at one of our stops.
Have a way to bring Water with you as well!



Map of today's destinations:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/pccAHaBHJRoAYx3g9


Once we leave the Campground we will head East on Rd-306 towards Buena Vista.
We will turn North onto Rd-361 to bypass the majority of the busy part of Town. (this road is paved)
Once we meet back up with Hwy-24, we will continue North until turning West on Rd-390 at Clear Creek Reservoir.
This is where it turns to Dirt/Gravel. this is easy-flat road.

The first Site we come to is the former location of "Beaver City"

Apparently the one Cabin by the road is all that remains of the 20 or so buildings that once stood here.
We'll make a quick stop here.

After this we will continue West until we arrive at a small Parking-Area for the Ghost-Town of "Vicksburg"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicksburg,_Colorado

There is a "Museum" here that may, or may-not be open to the public........
We'll spend about an hour here wandering around.
There is also a Vault Toilet across the road at the Missouri Gulch Trailhead, in case anyone needs to use this.

Next we'll continue to head West to "Crescent Mining Camp", which I have also seen referred to as "Rockdale"
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/psicc/recarea/?recid=12461

We'll spend maybe a half-hour or so at this location with time to wander around.
The first 2 Cabins are reserve-able by the Forest-Service, and being a Friday will most likely be occupied.
Remind me to tell you a story about this while we are there..................
We can have a snack/lunch break while we are here.

We will continue West from here to the Ghost Town of "Winfield"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfield,_Colorado


There is also a "Museum" here, which also may or may-not be open to the public?
It's neat to peer into the windows also, of the buildings you can see into.
We'll make a stop at the Cemetery, which is just past the Town, before heading back out the way we came.
Maybe spend 45-minutes to an hour or so wandering around.

I'll attach the GPX files in case anyone wants them.

 

[SkunkWorks]

For the return Ride back to the Campground, we will be taking a slightly different Route.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/gLanwBJP1MsSgzVq6


We'll start by heading back East on the Gravel/Dirt road towards Hwy-24.
We turn South on Hwy-24 until we reach the cutoff at Rd-371.
We'll cross the River here, and turn South on 371. This will be hard-packed Dirt-Road as we follow along the River.
Continuing South, we'll ride through the "Midland Tunnels". A series of three short Tunnels through the Rock, as we head towards Buena Vista.


After we reach Town, we'll make a quick stop for Fuel, before a short Ride over to "Maxwell Schoolhouse"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_Park_School


From here, we will Ride back to the Campground.
Those that want to break-away here to head back into Town to eat on their own, or back to their Lodging, are welcome to do so.
I'll be preparing my own Dinner at Camp.
Those that want to prepare their own Meals are welcome to join me!

If the weather is nice, and the Day is still early, I "May" go for a Pavement-Rip just for fun, up over Cottonwood Pass and return to Camp if anyone is interested?

There will be a Campfire for those that want to hang-out after Dinner.
Bring your Beverage-of-Choice.............Adult or otherwise...........

I'll attach the GPX file.

Stay Tuned for Saturday's and Sunday's Rides posting shortly!

 

[SkunkWorks]

Hopefully I'll be able to return to Colorado next summer and see some new stuff.

Give me enough of a Heads-Up, and we can certainly get together if you'd like.

 

[RCinNC]

Give me enough of a Heads-Up, and we can certainly get together if you'd like.

I'll certainly do that.

 

[SkunkWorks]

Ghost-Town Ride #2
Saturday, July 27th 2024

Today's Ride will be a bit longer, and a bit more scenic.
We will also be starting an Hour earlier than we did the previous day.

Have all of your Coffee, Breakfast, and morning "Duties" out of the way, and be preparing to Ride around 9:00am.
Anyone that might be Lodging elsewhere (in Town), be prepared to meet us at the Campground around 9:00am.
Please have your Bikes fueled-up already prior to meeting at Camp.

We will depart the Campground (Kickstands-UP) at 9:30am

Today's Ride will be 152-Miles total, including 28-miles of easy graded-gravel or hard-packed solid Dirt Road.

*I encourage everyone to wear protective Riding-Boots!*
Be aware that we will be walking around while viewing the Sites.
Either wear Boots that you do not mind walking around in, or have a way to carry a spare pair of comfortable footwear for walking.

We will be stopping for lunch in Leadville at a historic location, so no need to bring a lunch with you. (although if you want to, that's OK too)
I would encourage everyone to bring Water with you.

Map of Today's first section:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/pYHtcEgunE2L5mu5A


Once we leave the Campground we will head East on Rd-306 towards Buena Vista.
We will turn South on Rd-321 (this is paved)
When we meet up with Rd-162 we will turn West. This road is paved until a couple miles before reaching the Ghost Town of St. Elmo. It turns to dirt just before reaching Town.

We will park in town, and wander around to have a look.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Elmo,_Colorado

The "General Store" should be open for visitors.
I'm not sure if any of the other buildings are open to the public, but there may be others.
We'll spend around an hour to an hour and a half checking out the Town.

After this we will backtrack a short way to the junction or Rd-295, where we will head South. (this will all be easy Dirt/Gravel)

Heading South for a few miles, our next stop will be the remains of the Allie Belle Mine.

There are a few Structures here right next to the road, and a few more up the hill.
We'll wander around here and see what we can see.

Next we'll continue South almost a mile to the Ghost-Town of Hancock.
https://www.uncovercolorado.com/ghost-towns/hancock/


Not much is left here except the remains of an old Saloon.
Just a "Ghost" of its former self.



I'll attach the GPX file for the first section.

 

[SkunkWorks]

After the Ghost-Town site of Hancock, we will head back North the way we came.

Here's the Map of the 2nd section for the day.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/23CAQPQHfa6PvzB17


About halfway back to St. Elmo, we will stop at the Morley Bridge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morley_Bridge

Supposedly this is Colorado's oldest dateable vehicular Truss Bridge.
We won't be able to ride over it, but we can wander over to have a look.


Once we leave here we will ride back past St. Elmo and return to pavement on Rd-162.
We will ride this East until it meets up with US-Hwy 285, where we will turn North.
We'll keep heading North past Johnson Village (where the road becomes US-Hwy 24) and Buena Vista on our way to the Town of Leadville.

Our next stop will be for Lunch at the Silver Dollar Saloon.
https://legendarysilverdollarsaloon.com/history

Here is their Menu:
https://legendarysilverdollarsaloon.com/menu

If anyone fancies Pizza instead of the Saloon Menu, there is "High Mountain Pies" directly behind the Saloon.
https://www.hmpies.com/menu


Here's the GPX file for the second section.

 

[SkunkWorks]

After Lunch we will visit a couple more Mine Sites before heading back to Camp.

Here's the Map for the 3rd section.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/HY5w3eAc5zYA5Qm37


Once we leave the Saloon we will ride North a couple blocks and turn East on 7th Street.
We will ride East as it turns into Rd-3 as it leaves Town.
About a mile outside of Town the road turns to easy dirt-road.

We will continue East to the site of the Monarch Mine Ore House.

We can wander around here for a bit before heading back the way we came.

On our way back into Leadville, we'll make a stop at the Matchless Mine.
https://www.mininghalloffame.org/matchless-mine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchless_Mine

They offer Surface Tours of the various Buildings if anyone is interested.
Their website says $10 for unguided, or $15 for guided.


From here we will ride back into Leadville, and back South on US-Hwy 24.
Once we reach Buena Vista, we'll make a stop for Fuel before heading back to the Campground.

Those that want to break-away here to eat on their own, or back to their Lodging, are welcome to do so.
I'll be preparing my own Dinner at Camp.
Those that want to prepare their own Meals are welcome to join me!

There will be a Campfire for those that want to hang-out after Dinner.
Bring your Beverage-of-Choice.............Adult or otherwise...........

Here is the GPX file for the 3rd section for Today.

 

[~TABASCO~]

This sounds fun ! Probably head up for this !

 

[thughes317]

Man....I wish I didn't have acrophobia and mild vertigo (twice as much fun on a motorcycle, as you can imagine), these mountain trips look amazing.

 

[Cycledude]

I am very impressed with all the effort and detail SkunkWorks is putting into this event !!!

 

[SkunkWorks]

I am currently working through the Route for Day-3 (Sunday)...........From the research I've looked at, it's going to require a phone call to the Ranger-Office and most likely a re-route.......

 

[merchant]

Sounds like a ton of fun. Need to see if Mrs. Merchant has anything on our calendar.