South Park City

What a day Friday was.  No rain, thunder, lightening, or hail, and I got to go to South Park.  We started the day off early for a 250 mile ride - or at least we tried to get started early.  That was before Amber bolted out of the door to chase squirrels.  Fifteen minutes later she decided she had had enough and we were able to take off.  Our destination was South Park City.  Of course, we took the scenic route.  Our first stop was for coffee at this little coffee shop.

We then took off and rode some wonderfully scenic and twisty roads.  I wish I had more pictures to share, but these narrow mountain roads do not have a lot of places where you can stop. I was glad we were going west when we were in the mountains, because the road going east  had places with about a six inch shoulder and then a vertical drop. Very few guard rails too.

These roads led to a beautiful valley surrounded by mountain peaks.  The valley, known as South Park, is at approximately 10,000 ft. elevation.

After the ride into Fairplay, we stopped at the courthouse/library/coroner's office for a picnic lunch.

However the highlight of the trip was our visit to South Park City - a recreated 1880's mining town.  Some of the buildings are in their original locations while others were brought in from other parts of the county.  The authenticity is amazing.  The only new building is the visitors center.

One of the things that makes South Park City so special is that it is not blocked off to the extent most museums are.  In many of the buildings, there are no partitions and you can really experience the way life was.

Following are a few more scenes from South Park City.  Can you even imagine teaching a room full of students of all ages and all abilities?

Of course, this scene may be a little easier to imagine!

For the first time, Joseph found a road he could do 100 mph on and still rode under the speed limit in order to enjoy the scenery. Of course, if he had been doing 100 mph, I would have been pounding him on the back!

Well, it was a great day - and a memorable one.