Father’s Day Weekend saw me take my first ATV trip of the year on a return visit to Lead King Basin. I had last been to Lead King in 2012.
The late spring snows Colorado received have made for a late spring in the high country. In June of 2012 the snow was melted off the trail, including side roads, and many flowers were blooming. This time around it was different story, with snow still on the trail in places and few flowers blooming.
The upside is that the waterfalls and streams are going full-tilt, and for me, waterfalls and the sound of water flowing over the rocks holds a special attraction, so it was still a great trip.
I have put together a 3:42 video for my ATV Videos page. In addition I have assembled a gallery of photos on my Galleries home page; the direct link is Lead King 2015. For this post I will show just a few of the photos that are in the gallery and add some commentary.
The trail starts at the edge of Marble, Colorado, and passes this lake:
Beaver Lake just outside of Marble
The lake is popular with fishermen, kayakers, and non-motorized boaters. It is a pretty spot.
The entry into Lead King Basin proper is very picturesque featuring white-capped mountains and a waterfall:
Entering Lead King Basin
The melting snows had two effects — the side trails blocked by snow and snow + water on the main trail in many places:
Water overflowing the trail
Snow blocking Sheep Mountain side road
Mother Nature will eventually overtake all of these trails; the Schofield Pass side road was blocked by a rockfall. The Forest Service will re-open the popular Jeep and ATV road later this year.
Schofield Pass road blocked by rockfall
The main attraction in the area is the Dead Horse (AKA Crystal) Mill just outside the old mining town of Crystal City. Here’s a photo of that structure:
Crystal Mill on the Crystal River
The mill generated electrical power for the area mines and has undergone some renovation (primarily a new roof) in attempts at preservation. It is one of the most photographed structures in Colorado, even though it takes a high-clearance vehicle, preferably a 4-wheel drive, to get to it.
I finished my trip with a visit to the old Colorado-Yule marble quarry. This quarry furnished marble for many state and federal buildings and is the source for the marble used in the Tomb of the Unknowns, formerly the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The quarry is now closed and you can’t get near it, a change from my last visit when you could view the quarry and (later) take tours while work was in progress.
Sign approaching quarry
Marble cut and stacked, awaiting orders.
What a great trip; I enjoyed my visit back to the area.
In around-the-house news, I have been working on the cistern trailer – fenders and lights are on order and some painting has been done. The hollyhocks and one lilly are blooming, giving our yard some bright colors. More lilies are budding and we hope to have quite a show in the next few weeks. Other than that, it’s been a pretty routine week.
Craig and Dianne have a weather-tight shell and are beginning the inside work for their new house on “their” lake in northern Wisconsin. Pretty exciting times for them and we are following their saga with great interest.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
Temperatures will be in the 100 degree range all this coming week. Summer has arrived.
A bit amazed at Marble’s “boom & bust” periods because of the Yule Marble, and the marble’s market price, which can approach $1.00/pound. Being unique and difficult to transport drives up the price.
Most of the work appears to be underground as they follow the seem — I imagine they cut a large surplus & lay-off most until the surplus is depleted.
‘could probably “sneak over” and cart off enough for “trim”, but it weighs 120 pounds/cubic foot (and is easily detectable by “the authorities”)…
“Moderate weather” in Wisconsin — highs in the low 80’s, occasional rain, and even the humidity is manageable.
Normally (we’d) expect the weather to get warm & dry until August from this point — we’ll see if El Nino brings a “normal year”…