Getting work together for my students to do is usually more of a pain than taking a mental day is worth but today I did it. Normally I fly fish about 4-5 days a week but since I decided to do this race, my fishing has been put on the back burner. The rainbows and cutthroat are just beginning their annual spawn. It's always an amazing thing to see so I thought I'd check it out. Saw a small herd of elk on the way to the river.
Saw quite a few mule deer as I dropped down into Eleven Mile Village. Seeing wildlife never gets old for me. Also saw the usual cows, steers, and even the wild mules. Most people don't know but the mules were brought in by the miners back in the day. When the mines shut down, the mules were just let loose. I guess they thrive pretty well since I always see young ones. They're super friendly too and will walk right up to you.
This particular stretch of the river has quite a few old barns and, what appear to be old cabins that I suppose were used by early ranchers. This is also one of the things that drew me to the Colorado Trail Race. There is just so much cool history in these mountains. I can't help but wonder who stayed in these and what their life was like. If there was a time I could go back to it would be the old west. Sometimes when I ride my mountain bike through areas like this, I actually pretend I'm on a horse and back in time.
The cabins above are no more than 30' from a nice little bend on the river. I can't imagine having this view each morning. Usually...you can see the Continental Divide in the background.
Another old barn.
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