Good Morning!

We camped last night in an empty church lot, at the suggestion of a friendly local. The winds buffeted the van so much, Joe got up to re-park on the north side of the building to afford us some protection from the gusts. This morning dawned clear and calm.

We drove with the rain for most of yesterday through some beautiful National Forest lands. With recent local fires, the rain was welcome especially to the firefighters. As we ascended to over 10, 000 feet we crossed the Continental Divide and through montane, sub-alpine, and alpine eco-regions. From wildflowers to snow, we were treated to postcard views in every direction.

During the spring of 2011, a landslide destroyed a 1,000-foot length of the highway, and the road was closed to through traffic for several weeks. As a result, a temporary one-lane detour was constructed. Reconstruction of the road where the slide occurred was ruled out after geologic investigations found the slide is likely to continue moving in the future. We decided to skip the scenic overlook by the destroyed section of the road, in case that embankment was the next to fall down the hill!

Originally created as a forest reserve in 1902, this National Forest is named after the Native American powwows in which numerous tribes would congregate here in search of mountain mahogany, which was an excellent wood for the manufacturing of bows, and to perform rituals hoped to cure diseases and thus make “good medicine.” Where were we yesterday?