Not a road for sissies

ALMA, Colo. – Tim took us for a four-wheeling adventure this afternoon as we bounced and lurched our way up and over Mosquito Pass.

Colorado mountain pass roads come in a variety of flavors, ranging from I-70 over Vail Pass to two-lane paved Monarch Pass to semi-rugged Weston Pass to insanely rough, 4-wheel-drive-only single lane tracks like Mosquito Pass.

Tim has done Mosquito Pass before, but it was a new experience for me. Considering that high places and sheer drop-offs creep me out, it was a bit scary at times, especially when the cliff was on my side of the Jeep.

I shot about a minute of video, since still photos can’t possibly convey the way you get thrown around as the Jeep negotiates big rocks and ruts.

We paused at the summit for photos and to admire the view of Leadville miles below us.

Heading down the far side, with a very scary sheer drop-off on the passenger side, we found ourselves behind a slow-moving pickup truck. Presently, the truck stopped and the woman passenger got out. The driver waited a moment and then continued down the pass.

We drove up to where she was standing and learned she was so freaked out by the view over the abyss that she made her husband let her out to walk down. Unfortunately, her fashionable shoes were hardly up to a hike down Mosquito Pass.

We offered to let her ride on the driver’s side in the back seat, so she wouldn’t have to look over the edge, but she declined. We noticed that her husband had stopped a short distance down the road and she finally walked down and climbed in.

Her husband pulled to the left and let us pass, since he obviously planned to go slowly to minimize her terror.

We picked our way on down to Leadville and went to the Golden Burro for a late lunch. The pickup truck couple came in right after us and the wife seemed to have regained her composure and her sense of humor.

We celebrated with Golden Burro Margaritas made with Grand Marnier – tasty and strong, a dangerous combination, so we only had one each. Dessert was a spectacular Kentucky bourbon pecan pie with vanilla ice cream.

Earlier, Tim and Linda took me over to see the new home of Indianapolis BMW Club friends Webb Bernhardt and Cindy Fort. The house is gorgeous and the setting is magnificent, especially since the aspen trees are wearing their autumn gold.

Tim and Linda affixed a “Mosquito Crossing” sign to a post by the garage door to welcome Webb and Cindy the next time they come out from Indy.

We also explored the ruins of a long-abandoned smelter that most likely was used to process silver from nearby mines.

We stopped at the Walmart in Frisco on the way home to pick up some groceries and some Super Glue that I’ll use to repair a broken internal strap fastener in my left saddlebag.

And, no, we didn’t come back over Mosquito Pass. We took the faster', longer route up to I-70, east to Frisco and south to Chateau Balough.