On Sunday, June 24, I took “The Griz,” my ATV, to Marble, Colorado, to ride the Lead King Basin loop. This loop served old mines near Marble and borders the Aspen Snowmass Wilderness Area. While not a long loop it was reported to be very scenic. I had to check it out.
The scenic billing was right on. The wild flowers were in full bloom. Here is a shot of one of my favorite flowers, the Colorado Blue Columbine. (This is Colorado’s state flower.)
Colorado Blue Columbine, Lead King Basin
Through the trip I saw blue, yellow, white, and red Columbine. There must have been thousands of them along with many other species of bright wildflowers.
I tried to get a few “artsy” shots, but my little point-and-shoot camera is not really the best tool for this. However, I did get a couple shots, including this one:
Columbine and Mountains
In addition to the wild flowers, this loop has water falls, always an attraction for me.
Silver Creek Falls
Jerry takes a break at the Devil’s Punchbowl
There were plenty of mountain views along the way:
Mountain Scenic from Lead King Basin Loop
This was a mining area, and a few structures and buildings remain, some in private hands. A well-known, and often photographed structure, is the Crystal Mill:
The Town of Crystal has a few cabins remaining. Some of these have been preserved as summer homes:
Cabin in Crystal
Now if Pam and I could find a cabin like this in our Land Hunt we would be delighted!
Although not long in mileage (less than 30, including back-tracking to ride side roads) this loop is long on fun and scenery. It has all the features: mountain views, flowers, waterfalls, and historic buildings. This was a great trip!
I’ve included a Photo Wall of pictures taken during this outing. I hope you enjoy it. Note: There are 2 video clips in The Wall. Look for the little triangle in a circle in the lower left portion of the thumbnail photo. Click on the triangle to play the videos. They are titled Lead King 1 and Lead King 2. Neither clip is over 1 minute long. (If you run the slide show, the videos will play automatically in sequence.) Adobe Flash is required; this is a free download from Adobe.com.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
I’ll attempt to comment on (your) last 3 posts — error during my last attempt…
The Marble/Crystal area looks surprisingly green, considering the number of front-range fires, though I imagine the front-range’s unseasonably warm/overgrowth/drought conditions don’t really apply.
Beautiful scenery, and I’d imagine a lot cooler at elevation, as compared with near 100 degree De Beque conditions.
It appears that you’re highs will remain at near 100 degrees for the next 10 days — a few degrees warmer than southern Wisconsin (but far less humidity, of course).
I’d imagine Toby isn’t enjoying similar temperatures, along with outflow from both Fort Collins & Boulder fires…
As “Toy Storage”, I’d think something in a 40′ x 60′ pole barn would accommodate everything, plus leave access & workshop room. Finding enough “flat area” for the pole barn & cabin in higher elevation recreational properties will be a bit difficult!
Extremely surprised at the rapidity of “kitten adoption” — has a “Pied Piper” come through your area recently?
Do you encounter many other ATV’ers during your outings, or do you have the trails to yourself?
such beautiful pictures!!!!
i love that second one with the flowers and the mountains–what pretty flowers!!
and my other fav is the mine with the waterfall–how cool!!!
great photographer you are!!
your 4wheeler is quite tough looking! bet you don’t get stuck much 😉