Mighty Montrose

San Isabel National Forest

We left Canon City Wednesday late morning and drove through San Isabel National Forest and the beautiful Monarch Pass to Montrose, CO.   Part of the road was one lane only due to road work.  I don't know how he does it....I just stay relaxed and knit.

 

Road Work

 



Once at the top of Monarch Pass, it's also the Continental Divide.  We stopped here to take a short break and fix sandwiches for lunch.

Drive through Monarch Pass

Drive through Monarch Pass



Drive through Monarch Pass

We ran into a little rain but it stopped by the time we got to our KOA Campground.  We seem to have arrived in Jeep Country as there are 5 Jeeps in a row on our street.  After we got set up, we joined our next door neighbors and two other couples outside for cocktails and conversation.  All of them are experienced Jeep-ers and gave us the low-down on trails in the area.  This group, and a few others, either travel together or meet in various places to go Jeep-ing.  One couple has been here since April and not leaving until mid-September.  Serious Jeep-ers!  Our next door neighbors are also golfers and gave us some local knowledge on golfing in the area.

 

 

 

I just got up to get something to drink and HEY YOU, get outta my chair!

 

I took off Thursday morning to explore historic downtown Montrose which is very quaint and loaded with cute shops and restaurants.  My first stop was Tiffany, Etc., a local home décor shop with a large variety of absolutely beautiful things.  Next was CJ's Fly Shop and Yarn Store...yep, that's right, one stop shopping - get your rods, reels and yarn right here.  Very nice man owned the shop and he gave me a "badge" with a waterfall on it and welcomed me to Montrose...I think I like this town.  SheShe Boutique was next door so, why not?  Very nice, over-priced women's clothing, purses and jewelry.  Lastly, I stopped for lunch at Daily Bread Cafe' on the corner then headed home.  

 

Black Canyon NP

George was finishing up work so we went to Black Mountain National Park and drove along the South Rim.  We stopped in the Visitor's Center to get our National Park Passport book stamped and get a map of the park. 

 

NP PASSPORT

 

First stop was Pulpit Rock Overlook where the view was the best....until we got to Painted Wall then we thought that was the best.  Overall, we were pleasantly surprised at the grandness of this park...glad we got to see it.  We walked a lot today and I, of course, got winded as we were at or above 8,000 feet in elevation plus some of the points of interest were either up or down dirt trails.  I'll be so glad when I get my energy back.

 

Painted Wall