Alma Festival in the Clouds 2010

Today was the first of two days for the 2010 Alma Festival in the Clouds. Lots of vendors, including food vendors, and many musicians on hand to entertain the crowd. It's always a fun weekend event!

More information at Festival in the Clouds.

Guffey, Colorado

Recently I drove south through Hartsel (which I’ll cover in another post) to the small town of Guffey. Although I had been near the town before, on Colorado Hwy 9, I had never actually turned to visit the town.
Guffey is located in the basin, or caldera, left by a volcano which “blew its top” millennia ago. It is a beautiful area, surrounded by forest and ranches.



The town is located on Freshwater Creek, and in fact was once called Freshwater, a name retained by the Freshwater Saloon, one of three eating places. The others are Rita’s Place (a coffee shop and gallery) and the Bull Moose (formerly Peaceful Henry’s and just recently renovated and reopened). Only Rita’s was open the day I happened to be visiting, and it was a pleasant and attractive place with good coffee and pastries, and with sandwiches also on the menu.

Rita's Place:


Freshwater Saloon:


Coming home I decided to drive east a while before heading north on county road 59, which took me past 11 Mile and Spinney Reservoirs and a number of ranches with interesting names. Although most are cattle ranches, one, Jabberwocky, has goats, and a couple of others have herds of llamas. In addition there are ranchers in the area who raise bison (American buffalo).

Llamas!



Headed back west to pick up Hwy 9, I came to the Chapparal Park General Store, which has the largest selection of fishing gear and lures in the area – not surprising considering that people come from all over the world to fish the two reservoirs and the river between them. They also have campsites and lodging, and sell sandwiches and other packaged foods.

Chaparral Park General Store:


Almost back to Hartsel, I discovered the Hartsel Springs Lodge – a new enterprise with a large lodge and a number of cabins.





One of these days I'll go back and check out the Bull Moose, now that it is open!

Dining in Alma - 2 miles high!

Alma, Colorado is “the highest incorporated town in the United States” at 10,578 ft. Although small, it boasts several good places for a meal, all right on Colorado 9, which passes through the center of town.

For breakfast, lunch or a cup of great coffee, including espresso drinks, Alma’s Natural Food and Coffee House offers pastries, sandwiches and burritos, soups, ice cream, and more, including a daily menu of specials. Liquor and gift items are also available. 719-836-4847.


Buckskin Joe’s Pizza to Go is hard to miss, with its orange and purple building! A pizza and Italian restaurant, it is open Monday - Thursday from 4pm-8pm and Friday – Sunday from 2pm to 8pm. 719-836-2112.


The South Park Saloon is open from 11am – 9pm for food, and the bar stays open until 2am. There’s live music as well as a variety of burgers, Mexican dishes and more. 719-836-2762.


For dinner, Alma’s Only Bistro, also called “the AOB” has not only a menu with soups, salads, sandwiches, steaks, seafood, pasta and more but live music, including a singer-songwriter on Saturday nights and an open jam night on Sundays. Open Monday - Thursday 4pm-midnight, Friday and Saturday 4pm - 1:30am and Sundays 8am-midnight. 719-836-1609.

Eating in South Park - Part I: Fairplay

South Park has a number of places that serve good food. Today I'll just be covering Fairplay. Stay tuned for other towns!


Millonzi's, on Front Street, serves sandwiches and soups at lunch M-F. On Saturday and Sunday it's a brunch menu, although sandwiches are also available. The evening menu (7 days a week) includes steaks and great pasta dishes. They also have a full bar.


McCall's, next door to Millonzi's, is a bar that serves breakfast Monday and Tuesday, and burgers (it's especially known for these) and other sandwiches starting at 11 am each day.


The Java Moose is a coffee shop, with espresso drinks as well as straight coffee, which serves breakfast and lunch sandwiches (paninis are a specialty), soups and burritos as well as pastries. It's also a place to find some special barbecue and other sauces and gourmet items.


The Chocolate Moose may not be for meals (unless you want to dine on coffee and chocolate, of course), but has great chocolate and other treats in addition to decorative and gift items for the home and kitchen.

The South Park Bowl and O'Bregan's Pub, both on Highway 285 just west of town, have kitchens, but I've never eaten in either, so really can't say anything about them other than that. The only "fast food" outlets in town are Pizza Hut and Subway.

The Fairplay Hotel is currently being renovated, but when it is back up and running, it will also have a restaurant and bar. More on that later, when I cover lodging.

Animals and People

At one time, South Park was a favored summer hunting ground for Ute, Arapaho, and other tribes. The Middle Fork of the South Platte River, and the streams that fed it, allowed for lush growth of grasses. Herds of buffalo, elk, deer, and antelope ranged freely and moose lived in the surrounding mountains. These grasslands that supported vast herds of wild animals were also ideal for cattle. When I saw South Park for the first time, from a lookout at Wilkerson Pass, my thought was: “Wow! The first cattleman who saw this must have thought he had died and gone to heaven!”

Although the land available to both wild and domesticated animals is shrinking, we still have wild elk, deer, antelope and moose, and there are ranchers raising beef and even buffalo. Bears occasionally wander onto decks (especially if there are bird feeders or other food sources out), coyotes, foxes and other, smaller animals roam freely. The river has been designated as a “Gold Medal” trout stream. Local hunters and fishermen are still able to supply some of their families’ protein needs each year.

But of course, nothing stays the same. Rather than mostly miners and homesteaders (although both still exist), South Park is now home to people who work in offices and stores as well as on ranches and in the forests. Some commute to surrounding areas, and some work from home, via computer. Many are retired, having moved to the mountains to enjoy a slower paced lifestyle. Others have come for access to skiing and snowboarding, and over time, many of those have grown older, working full-time in construction or other business areas rather than viewing their carpentry (or other) skills as just a means of supporting their time on the slopes.

Snow Blowing in from the West

As often happens here on the western side of South Park, we're getting snow blowing in from the Mosquito Range. Overhead, the sky is clear. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether the snow in the air is actually falling from the sky or just being picked up by the wind and redistributed, but to the west it is obviously falling on the mountains.

South Park is, of course, known for its winds. Sometimes at night we joke that we might wake up in Kansas rather than Colorado! And the winds are often the real cause of road problems - wind driven snow drifts onto roads and highways causing slippery conditions, especially when it melts and then refreezes.

Mud Season #1 2010

Having been away from home for just over a week, I was really glad to get back to the sunshine and the peace and quiet.

HOWEVER, the warmer temperatures lately have led to a thaw, which causes mud... The roads, usually dirt or packed snow, are currently made of mud. Since it's early March, we can expect snow on and off for the next two months, unless our weather turns as abnormal as it has been in so much of the south and east this winter. So, given somewhat normal conditions, we will have "mud season" again - and maybe a third or fourth time before summer.

I love Colorado. I love South Park. What I don't love is mud!