Near the town of Marble, CO (which I'll talk about in the next post), is a 4-wheel-drive road that takes you along the Crystal River.
The road is very narrow and rocky, with long drop-offs. Whoa! What's that down there?
This doesn't look good... Keep your eyes on the road, Phil!
Up the river we go, about 6 miles from Marble.
To one of the most photographed spots in all of Colorado - the old Crystal Mill.
Built in 1892, it is not really a mill, but powered a mechanical air compressor for use in silver ore processing.
It's a wonder it's still standing.
Nearby is the old ghost town of Crystal. Actually, a few people do live here, but they still don't have electricity.
A Cow Parsnip I found in town.
Instead of going back the way we came, we chose to do a loop that goes up to Lead King Basin. Parts of the road here are even worse than the road before Crystal, but I didn't get pictures of them. We had 5 vehicles going, and we all made it.
There were lots of waterfalls.
Then we kept rising, through groves of aspens.
When we got above the tree line, we were treated to oodles of wildflowers.
Judy and I kept stopping to take pictures.
It's hard to see, but there are flowers on both sides of the road, which improved once we got up the hill.
My favorite was the Columbine, the state flower of Colorado.
Mountain meadows wild flowers are worth most any risk. Glad you made it out alive. I presume you weren't towing.....
ReplyDeleteLoved the beautiful photos, especially the old Crystal Mill.
ReplyDeleteAnother place to add to my list...thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteException photos in this post Diana!! Love the wildflowers and the mill...I would enjoy a drive along there myself..Been way too long.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Love that road and really like the cabin without power.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flower pics. Love the cow parsnip shot.
ReplyDeleteThis one is already on my list, glad you got to enjoy it. Those are the fullest columbine I've ever seen, they're so perfect they almost look fake!
ReplyDeleteWow, that was rugged!! Great pictures tho!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with us the pictures of the old Crystal Mill. Truly a beautiful scene.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your very interesting life with the world!
ReplyDeleteLovin the Crystal Mill...nice shots!
ReplyDeleteWe gotta get a 4wd vehicle! A Jeep, maybe? Very jealous right now :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't remember all those beautiful flowers, but the road still looks just as bad.
ReplyDeleteDiana, Your pictures are fabulous and it was fun to have such personal lessons. Thanks to both you and Phil. Judy
ReplyDeleteLove the shots of the mill that isn't a mill :-)))
ReplyDelete