An Adventure for Five Friends

 One day a friend who loves to travel suggested going for a ride in the mountains. We met at her house at ten in the morning and headed to Buck Snort Saloon in Sphinx Park located near Pine, Colorado. Even though I have traveled in the mountains many times, this was a first for me in this area. The scenery was beautiful as we saw green pine trees, aspen groves, wild flowers along the sides of the road, gigantic boulders, two black squirrels, and even the miles of toothpick like skeletons of what was left of a past forest fire. 

We drove for what seemed like miles on a dirt and dusty road to reach Wellington Lake. It was a washboard road that made our voices warble! Reaching the lake we found a peaceful spot with no motorized boats on the lake. 

A park ranger informed us that it cost $14.00 per person to spend the day at the lake. We let them know we were passing through and all we wanted was to take pictures. We found a tourist to take our picture in front of the lake. A huge rock formation on the opposite side of the lake reminded me of Meteora in Greece but without the famous monasteries! Unfortunately, one of our group tripped and fell, yet, luckily she did not break any bones, just ended up with a few bruises. We all agreed, that at our age, we have to be extremely careful where we step!

On our way to the Buck Snort Saloon in Sphinx Park a young girl was hitch hiking and asked for a ride. Some in the car wondered out loud whether the girl had her shots, should she wear a mask, where would she sit, etc. She ended up crawling into the "boot" for a ride with five strangers to Bailey, Colorado. She was an interesting young lady who is hiking the Colorado Trail. I learned that the Colorado Trail begins in Denver or Durango and it is around 567 miles of trail. Summer, the young girl had a backpack almost as big as she was and it looked heavy but she was a happy-go-lucky young woman headed to Durango. She is traveling alone but in Bailey she ran into someone she knew. Ah, to be young again!

The scenic road with gigantic rock formations led us to the Buck Snort Saloon. Arriving at the log cabins we saw a closed sign on the screen door.  

A man came to the door when one person knocked. He had tattoos on his arms, turquoise rings on his fingers and looked like a rugged mountain man. He opened the restaurant to let us wander through the interesting place. My first impression was of shock because on the walls, ceiling and bar there were dollar bills hanging. At first sight it is overwhelming to see money in every corner of the restaurant! Evidently this is a tradition that visitors leave money and not only American money did we see but foreign bills also! 

The whole area has gargantuan boulders and rock formations that made me wonder how in the world did the restaurant originate in such a secluded spot. Later, on the Internet I read that at one time there was train service to the area and wealthy people considered the area a resort!

It was nearing three o'clock and everyone in the car wanted food! Finally, in Conifer we found a

3 Margarita's Mexican food restaurant and stopped for a late lunch. We ordered from the lunch menu that ended at three and we barely made the cut off! Even though the restaurant's logo is the same as the one in Arvada, the waiter said they were not connected.

The five travelers were very much aware of God's presence in all the remarkable scenery we saw and thankful for a safe journey, friendship, and our good driver!

"A younger me needed to

climb every mountain

The older me says they

photograph better from

the bottom."

We Dream of Travel