The good news is that by morning... her answer hadn't changed. So far so good!
We headed into Crested Butte to "buy" coffee. It's fun to buy something on a camping trip because you get used to making everything. Plus, it's a fun excuse to leave the vehicle behind and meet some locals.
Crested Butte is beautiful, but not for me. The town was packed to the gills. Everyone was "on" if you know what I mean. Very expensive restored classic 4x4's, Escalades etc. This was not a working town. Everyone was nice, but it seemed like even the people running or biking around had spent some time to look cool before they dared step outside. I like a more relaxed feel. Oh well, the coffee was good, but a bit watered down.
On the way out of town we saw a Bear Dog. That's what I'm going with anyway. He was huge. He also liked to stand precariously up there and he'd lean into each turn as they drove up the canyon. Scary, but I can tell the dog must do this often because he was in a state of pure happiness and concentration.
![photo DSC01694.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01694.jpg)
After a few dirt roads down the mountain and some miles of pavement we finally hit dirt again.
![photo DSC01695.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01695.jpg)
This area was beautiful. No other people around oncoming or going our direction. That sort of peace and quiet starts to put you into an extreme relaxation mode. Just some ranches here and there, but everything was spread out and the overcast skies made for perfect weather to open up the windows and sunroof. I was happy!
Eventually we made it around Lake City again and onto the lower (southern) section of the Alpine Loop. There is a turn worth taking onto road to the Carson Ghost Town. I've been there several times, but this time we eventually came around the corner to a mud pit. It was several feet deep, on an incline and covered the entire trail. There were 4 UTV's slinging the mud and trying to get through it... After watching for a while we decided to turn around. That made for some nice and muddy work just backing to a safe spot to turn around! Yum!
![photo DSC01697.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01697.jpg)
Sorry Goose.
![photo DSC01700.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01700.jpg)
Funny how one hill on a pass can be filled with flowers and the other still covered in snow!
![photo DSC01702.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01702.jpg)
![photo DSC01705.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01705.jpg)
Just amazing. Each pass and each valley is different. Sure, they are all mountains, but never the same. This valley is devoid of any trees in stark contrast to most of these areas.
![photo DSC01706.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01706.jpg)
![photo DSC01707.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01707.jpg)
One valley, gulch or whatever you want to call it over:
![photo DSC01709.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01709.jpg)
![photo DSC01710.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01710.jpg)
![photo DSC01712.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01712.jpg)
Don't drive off the edge. I repeat, don't drive off the edge. Also, don't drive into the upslope side of the hill. It can be done and you'll still end up over the edge like this guy. If you've ever driven Black Bear pass you know that there is no way to roll it here, or you'd think. Two vehicles could fit side by side on this section of trail, but the driver must have not been paying attention. Who knows. Don't be this guy!
It can get a bit steep around here.
![photo DSC01714.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01714.jpg)
Toyota Commercial.
![photo DSC01715.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01715.jpg)
![photo DSC01713.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01713.jpg)
So, after all of this exploring around we decided to go to Clear Lake. It's a nice set of switchbacks to reach it and since the Holiday weekend was ending it should be quiet up there. You climb some tight switchbacks for 45 minutes or more and are treated to this view.
![photo DSC01717.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01717.jpg)
If, like us, you go too early in summer you'll also be treated to a hike! :-) Several of the final switchbacks were still blocked with snow. So, we parked and headed up.
![photo DSC01718.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01718.jpg)
To say that it's a nice hike is underestimating it. I'm glad we had to hike. It made what was to come even more special.
![photo DSC01719.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01719.jpg)
This is not Clear Lake. This is a puddle just downhill from it. Come on Colorado, this is insane. How can a puddle be this pretty. You're just toying with us now!
![photo DSC01720.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01720.jpg)
Clear Lake... was a bit icy.
![photo DSC01721.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01721.jpg)
Still, it was amazing. The blue color was showing through and it always looks fake to me. I love it.
![photo DSC01735.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01735.jpg)
When the clouds start cascading down the hillsides around you... it's time to go! We could see the clouds moving in and knew it wouldn't be long before it was pouring rain and low visibility.
![photo DSC01737.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01737.jpg)
Then as you are hiking back to pause at the most beautiful stratigraphy you've ever seen, knowing full well it won't translate to a photo with the same gravitas it hit you with.
![photo DSC01740.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01740.jpg)
This photo is from our campsite up in the valley looking back to the switch backs we were just on. Clear Lake is right at the top of that mountain. Mind blown.
![photo DSC01745.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01745.jpg)
Ohh, flowers!
![photo DSC01746.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01746.jpg)
We found a great campsite and enjoyed the rain. We sat in the truck with the back and side windows open. We laid there listening to the rain and a Louis L'Amour book where the characters were having an adventure not far from the part of country we were currently in. It was perfect. There is no where else on earth I'd rather be. I slept like a log too.
![photo DSC01750.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01750.jpg)
The next morning I was excited to know out the beautiful, but crowded trails of Black Bear Pass and Imogene.
![photo DSC01751.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01751.jpg)
The drive up to Black Bear Pass itself is easy. Steep, but easy. To the top two way traffic is fine.
![photo DSC01756.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01756.jpg)
The only problem was the snow field in front of us on the way down... I had the pleasure of backing up a steep shelf road in reverse for a bit, but at this point it was all second nature I had done so much of it over the last few days. The view was amazing. At the far end of this valley you can almost see where two slopes come together. That's the sketchy bit of Black Bear pass you see pictured everywhere. Oh well, I'll scare her another time!
![photo DSC01760.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01760.jpg)
Well, it looks we'll be headed down and over to Imogene Pass!! You could tell that the dozers had just carved a path on Imogene. This wouldn't have been passable with that help!
![photo DSC01765.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01765.jpg)
Made it!
![photo DSC01766.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01766.jpg)
The top of Imogene was crowded and it seems there are less people every day that know basic offroad etiquette. I was tired of being stuck behind slow drivers who refused to use turnouts so we took a couple quick pics and saw our chance to get ahead of some slow pokes! (You can see the Eastern part of Telluride in this shot)
![photo DSC01768.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01768.jpg)
Tomboy was a big mine to the point of being it's own town. The reason Telluride is there is because of Tomboy as these surrounding mines. It's sad to see it has deteriorated more than most of the others since my first visit up here.
![photo DSC01769.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01769.jpg)
Coming down Imogene you do get a great look at the Black Bear Pass switchbacks. The top switch back you can see is the one where the driver in the video above rolled it. As you can tell, it could have been a LOT worse.
![photo DSC01771.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01771.jpg)
Simple pleasures. Driving through a tunnel no matter how small. You MUST take a photo, you MUST.
![photo DSC01773.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01773.jpg)
Both ways? Isn't that excessive. Nope.
![photo DSC01776.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01776.jpg)
As it started to rain we took a quick look at Bridal Veil falls and the power house. Read more about this amazing building here. It's mind boggling. Look for a picture of the little bucket the people who live there have to ride in to reach the home in winter. Woof!
![photo DSC01781.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01781.jpg)
Telluride... busy, expensive, beautiful, fun, friendly, busy, expensive. That sums it up as far as how things repeat in my head when I'm there. We kept on truckin to the Telluride Brewery and grabbed a bite to eat.
After that it was time to select our campsite for the FINAL NIGHT. :-(
This one had a muddy pool of water with more mosquitoes flying out of it to attack us than I'd ever seen. There were literally running into the window they wanted a bite so badly! I almost wanted to stay anyway. Just look at it! We hadn't seen anyone on the road to this 11,000 foot location either. It sat right on the Colorado Trail so the most we might see if a mountain biker or hiker cruising by.
![photo DSC01783.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01783.jpg)
Further down the road, (how far can a mosquito fly?) this fella told us we should camp here. Okay then, I can't argue with that.
![photo DSC01785.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01785.jpg)
Okay, works for me.
![photo DSC01792.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01792.jpg)
Making a fire in a drizzling rain is interesting, but it can be done. (No, I didn't cheat and pour fuel on it, this time...)
![photo DSC01797.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01797.jpg)
Even Colorado mud is artist. Come on, really Colorado? That's just too much.
![photo DSC01788.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01788.jpg)
It was pretty though.
![photo DSC01789.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01789.jpg)
We had a simple dinner and just soaked in the final night on the road. It was too short, it was always too short. Remember that when you plan your next trip. If you don't feel a panicked feeling that you've made the trip TOO LONG and asked for too much time off, you didn't ask for enough!
![photo DSC01799.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01799.jpg)
This is DeGoose. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My Cruiser, without me, is useless. Without my Cruiser, I am useless. I must drive my cruiser true. I must drive straighter than my enemy (mud) who is trying to kill me.
Too much?
![photo DSC01801.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01801.jpg)
As I was driving through Dolores, I saw it. A Galloping Goose. #5 to be exact. These ramshackle, nearly homemade trains captured my imagination when I first read about them. One used to be located on main street in Telluride, but sadly, had been moved. I was glad to catch sight of one and show K where the name for Goose game from. Read more about them here.
After this stop we made tracks, very slow, poor MPG... tracks back to AZ...
![photo DSC01804.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01804.jpg)
With that, I bid you farewell as does K and Goose. Some day, we won't let the trip end and it will become life, but until then, see you next time.
![photo DSC01803.jpg](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i190/soaz/7-4-2015%20Colorado%20Engagement%20Trip/DSC01803.jpg)