Breckenridge, Leadville and More

Breckenridge was our destination for Friday. It was a beautiful day, the sky was cloudless when we started our drive, but true to form for the mountains, clouds started forming by mid-morning. No problem though, they just add to the pictures.

On our drive to Breckenridge we drove over Wilkerson Pass at 9,507 feet in elevation. The views from the Information Center on top were breath taking. The mountains opened into a huge valley below with mountains with some snow still on them surrounding it.

Fairplay, CO was one small town we had to pass through - I wish I had know more about Fairplay before arriving there. A very small town, but with quite a bit of history. The residents have created from dozens of old buildings relocated from nearby towns, a street that is reminiscent of a mid-1800's gold mining town, called South Park City. I would love to go back to visit this area, but alas, it will have to wait for another year. I did get a picture of the old courthouse and an interesting chapel.

Breckenridge was much more than I expected. I know that it is a major ski area but after going to Angel Fire in New Mexico and being disappointed, I wasn't sure what to expect. Breckenridge is a delightful town with lots of shops, restaurants and beautiful flowers everywhere. It's obvious that the residents there are very proud of their city. We had a very good lunch at Downstairs at Eric's and walked the main street where a good many of the shops are located. There was even a Bubba Gumps Shrimp Co. here and I wanted to get a picture but was going to take it on our walk back toward the Jeep and forgot. I was surprised at how small a place it was.

Leaving Breckenridge, we decided to drive to Leadville, CO as it would take us on a different route back to Woodland Park. This took us over another pass - Freimont Pass at 11,300 feet. Everywhere you drive here you go over passes - have I mentioned that before?

We arrived in Leadville late afternoon so didn't have the time that I would like to have to explore the city. I can tell you that Leadville sits at 10,200 feet elevation and is the highest incorporated city in the continental U.S. It came about as a mining town but was built with a Victorian architecture. I love looking at the old buildings to see the designs that are used to top the buildings - I'm sure there is a name for this - anyone know it? I took several pictures of the old commercial buildings as well as some of the homes. My favorite is the yellow one - you wouldn't have a problem finding it if you came home a little tipsy! After walking the main street, we continued our drive toward Woodland Park and arrived home around 6 pm. Yes, it was a long day, we had drove over 220 miles and we were tired. Would I do it again - Yes!

As a side note - walking here in Colorado is a challenge for us since everywhere we go the elevation is over 9,000 feet and the air is thin. The amount of walking we do is limited. We just go slow and drink water - it seems to help.

The pictures will be posted soon at: http://picasaweb/google.com/SchultzTravelPhotos