The weather was sunny and warm when we woke up. We slept in a little bit. We rearranged our horseback riding trip with owner Chuck at Fantasy Ranch Outfitters from the afternoon to 10AM because of the forecast for afternoon rain. We drove downtown and then had breakfast at Izzy's. I had Cinnamon Raisin Bagel French Toast - very good and excellent coffee! Below are pictures from the Back Door at Izzy's.
Blue Painted Elk Avenue for Bud Light Whatever USA Commercial
After breakfast we walked around downtown Crested Butte, then drove out Gothic Road past our condo to the Fantasy Ranch for our 90 minute horseback ride on Snodgrass Mountain. Chuck, the owner, greeted us and after signing our waivers, helped us mount our horses. The weather was beautiful, the mountain air fragrant and rejuvenating, and the horses were very nice.
We left the corral following Chuck and his dog, half dachshund, half Corgi - he was cute. I think he had more fun than we did, and we had a lot of fun. Riding up Snodgrass Mountain through the aspen trees was very beautiful with views of Mt. Crested Butte and the surrounding mountains around every corner. Chuck showed us where the bears had left scratch marks on the aspen trees.
Considering none of us had been on a horse for quite a few years, we all did well. None of us had saddle sores after our ride which was a good thing!
After our ride we drove on out the road to the Town of Gothic. We finally saw some snow on the backside of one of the mountains.
Some of the aspens starting to turn golden
Bear Claw Marks
Backside View of Mount Crested Butte
Back to the Fantasy Ranch Corral - Thanks Chuck!
After our trail ride on Snodgrass Mountain, we drove on out Gothic Road to where it became a direct road. The Town of Gothic is now a research facility.
The Road to Gothic
Crested Butte Resort Homes
We went back into town for a taco lunch at Teocalli's Tamales - another excellent choice! Then we traveled down the road to Skyland Road, which is where my old summer camp was located 40 years ago. There isn't much left of it, other than Grant Lake, the underground pantry for the boys camp, and a utility building that used to be our showerhouse. The boys slept in covered wagons and we woke every day of our 6-week session to a cool, damp morning with a blanket of fog on Mt. Crested Butte. What a thrill it was for me to attend, horseback ride, fish, backpack, and enjoy the great outdoors. See my Skyland Camp Group on Facebook to see all of the pictures that I and other campers have contributed.
Skyland Camp Area Pictures
Mount Whetstone
Grant Lake
The old underground pantry cave at Skyland Camp Boys Camp
The old boys camp shower house building?
Where the boys camp covered wagons were is now a golf course
It was a great walk down memory lane! It started to rain as we were leaving, so we went back to our condo to relax. Chuck and I walked across the sky bridge to the resort to see if the chair lift to the top of Mount Crested Butte would be running the next day, but found out that they had just changed the schedule the day before we arrived to Friday, Saturday and Sunday instead of every day, so I didn't get to fulfill my dream of standing on the summit of MCB.
Since it was Forest's birthday, he chose Italian Cuisine, so we went to Architelli's for our dinner. It was crowded. I think of all of us I enjoyed my dinner the most - elk cannelloni. Forest had an elk steak which was flavorful, but a bit tough. Don and Chuck had veal piccata, which was okay. More ice cream after dinner at The Third Bowl - all homemade. Three of us had chocolate raspberry, which was excellent!
Since we determined an ascent of MCB wasn't going to happen, we packed up that night and decided to leave CB early in the morning to give ourselves lots of time to drive the back roads to Grand Lake.
I fell in love with Crested Butte all over again. The architecture and character of the town hasn't changed much in 40 years. It is truly charming! I would love to spend another 6 weeks exploring the area again!
Elk Avenue
The next morning - Crested Butte Departure in the Rain
Goodbye, Crested Butte!
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