Rare Air

Riding Highway 125 south out of Wyoming took me right into Colorado, where things, and people live  way up in elevations that would be home to Cessna's.

Dandelions Are Everywhere

I was headed to the 9000ft. elevation town of Dillon, on a two-lane highway that was taking me through the Arapaho National Recreation Area, and the head waters of the mighty Colorado River that maybe barely still reaches reaches the Sea Of Cortez. Crossing one of who knows how many bridges that span this river really made me appreciate the north and the still mighty Yukon that I know only has three bridges span it, and I have been over two.

Once A Dream

What I did not know about this route is that I was heading straight into the aftermath of the Cameron Peak Fire, that started on August 13, 2020, and was finally extinguished by winter on December 2, 2020.

This was the largest fire ever in Colorado. It burned over 200,000 acres. Forced the evacuation of 20,000 residents, and destroyed over 400 structures, 42 of those peoples primary housing.

You hear about these fires from the news, but you cannot grasp just how much 200,000 acres are until you ride for miles where the forest is burned on either side of the road, and up the sides of mountains. This fire was so intense it burned the plants growing in the river.  Coming out of the forest nearing Granby, people were still cleaning up the remains of their houses, and possessions.

This was quite a mess to see firsthand. Climate change ain’t pretty.

Stopping at a rest area near Grady I brewed up a cup of Koffee and listened to goose out on the lake.

A Regular Koffee Picnic

Brewing coffee here at around 8000 ft elevation would be a test for Jet Boil. I thought it would take it forever to boil water up here where the air is rare, but the stove was in its element, and I was drinking koffee in no time at all.

The town of Dillon that coincidentally built around Lake Dillion and I thought was just a tiny berg, turned out to be a major city, complete with huge construction projects.

One Of Dillon's Crane's

Stop lights, traffic, and a version of Kroger Corporation that I had not seen called City Market, and when I punched my home phone number into their gas pump I got, 3 entire cents off every gallon of gas. Not a bad deal just for remembering my phone number!

Checking into my accommodations in the hotel chain that I am now a Platinum member, I asked the very nice masked up front desk lady, just what makes Dillion such a booming metropolis.

She went on to tell me how people from California have been moving here, and buying up all the property, and raising the value of everything so much that people that the hotel that I am a platinum member of can barely hire anyone that can afford to live here.

Wow I thought this oxygen depravation might be contagious, because I am thinking that because Dillion is located between Denver and major ski resorts like Vail and Aspen, and uncontrolled human population growth, that this might be more of a factor in the growth of the town than people from California. But what the heck, the river does not make it to the ocean anymore, and I’m on holiday…

Rocky Mountain Air

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