#20-Crested Butte, Pitkin & Family

Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 12 & 13

It was a weekend full of taking on the recommended rides from our book and scouting out our new surroundings. We did over 200 miles on Saturday and about 150 on Sunday. Our new campground location is about 8 miles from Monarch Pass which is between us and Gunnison to the west and that's where we headed Saturday morning. It's a pass that goes to about 11,300 ft. but we did well with our climbing in the cool morning air. We checked out Gunnison for a bit and then found a road going out of Gunnison to a town called Crested Butte. I remembered that very quaint small town from my Colorado days...oh, oh... almost 40 years ago. I guess I better not expect it to be the same, huh? It wasn't. They've actually split the town into two cities. One called Crested Butte and the other Mount Crested Butte. "Mount" is located further up the mountain and is very chi-chi. You could almost see the money floating around up there. Corporations have bought property there and must use it for bonuses or getaways. Huge condos, huge homes... wow. It's a beautiful place but sure not what I remember. I liked the old memory better.

On Sunday, our ride took us to 'Parlay & 
Pitkin.'  Finally, we found a beautiful back road with almost no traffic! After a 15 mile picturesque drive, there was this little town named Pitkin at the end of the road that was exactly what I love!  Quaint, quiet, mountainous, horses, and lots of little log cabins. We found a small cafe there so we stopped in for an ice cream and you'll never believe what was on the TV. THE PACKER GAME!!!  Oh my gosh, we were so excited. For me, to just see a TV was awesome, but one with the Packer game?!? Way too fun. Then, to top it off, we also had great WiFi!! I was in heaven and wanted to move in. That meant we were able to connect with my brother and sister-in-law, Dick & Bonnie, who had come to Colorado on vacation three days prior. We had been trying to contact one another to set up our meet but were having a little problem with internet & phone service. We finally got to talk (it was wonderful) and we made plans to meet for lunch the following day. I am so excited to have family here!  Speaking of family, I would like to wish my other sister-in-law, Lynn, a very Happy Birthday today. We wish you and Stu were here, too! 

Happy Trails.