Las Animas County

This is part II of our second day @ Lathrop State Park ...

So, who was it that said the Highway of Legends Scenic and Historic Byway (aka CO-12) was not a consideration on this trip because we had driven it in 2015? Oh yes, that would be me. Well, I should have known better because that’s exactly what we did today — with some adaptations — to escape the heat at Lathrop SP. That we had not driven the spur road off CO-12 last time was an incentive as well.

(Photos from the 2015 drive are at this link: https://eenusa.smugmug.com/WeGoA-Rollin/Fulltiming-Year-3/Colorado-2015/Colorado/.)

When we stayed at Trinidad Lake SP in 2015, we did CO-12 in its entirety from south to north. Parts of the road impressed. Parts did not. The scenery was wonderful … interesting geologic formations, green clad valleys and mountains, blue lakes. The towns, however, seemed mostly deserted … in many cases, little left of their original charm. Our past experience, allowed us to focus on the best parts of the top loop, this time heading from north to south.

Once we left Lathrop SP, we programmed La Veta to get us going in the right direction. Once we got there, staying on CO-12 was all we needed to ensure we were driving on the byway.

The first few stops were at some rock formations — Profile Rock and Devil’s Stairsteps — for quick photo ops. Both of these “walls” are known as radial dikes in geology-speak. They apparently fan out from the Spanish Peaks like so many spokes of a wheel.

The only town-stop we made was in Cuchara, a tiny unincorporated community that is situated on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Its name is Spanish for “spoon” … which I later learned is in reference to the shape of the valley it is situated in. Alas, the place was overrun by visitors, so we didn’t get out to wander around.

As we began to climb into the mountains, we opened the windows of the CR-V and enjoyed the much cooler air. At the sign pointing to Blue Lake in the San Isabel National Forest, we decided to take the detour … even though we’d already visited it in 2015. The dirt road wasn’t the smoothest, and the dust sure did a number on the recently washed CR-V … but it was worth it.

The area has a number of lakes … most accessible by trails … two easily reached just off the road. There were quite a few vehicles at Blue Lake … most belonging to anglers that had their hooks in the water. All were well spaced out along the rim of the lake. The remaining cars belonged to people like us, stopping by for a quick look see. We walked a short distance along the path circling the lake and found a high point from which to take a few photos. That most people weren’t wandering in this direction was an added bonus.

Instead of retracing our way back from Blue Lake to CO-12, we decided to continue up the forest service road to Bear Lake. To get to this lake from the parking lot, we had to walk through the forest for a bit, stepping off frequently to let others pass us on the narrow path. But it was worth it. Alas, by this time, the blue skies were clouded over, so I don’t think we got to see the landscape in its full glory.

On the way back to CO-12, we found the spot overlooking Cucharas Creek where we had a picnic lunch in 2015, so we decided to eat there again. On that occasion, we ate our sandwiches in the car, watching the creek through the windshield. Why? Maybe because it was raining … maybe because it was chilly … or maybe because there were too many bugs. I don’t remember the reason.

This time, we found a flat spot along the creek and set up our portable picnic table. The temp was delightfully cool … almost jacket-wearing-weather. Overhead, the sky had grown quite gray but it looked like the rain would hold off for a bit even though we could hear the occasional distant thunder. The water rushing over the rocks in small cataracts made for a nice gurgling symphony to accompany our meal.

We had just resumed our drive when a few raindrops fell … and then stopped. This cycle repeated in a few other spots on CO-12, but it was hardly worth using the windshield wipers. We continued up to Cuchara Pass — at 9,941 feet and from here we detoured onto CR-46, the county road that is a byway spur that connects to I-25 via the higher Cordova Pass at an elevation of 11,743 feet.

I imagine that the scenery along the spur and across the valley is especially amazing in the fall when the aspens have turned color. It was still quite delightful today … though the overcast skies and veil of haze from the humidity did not encourage me to take photos. Nonetheless, we both enjoyed the quite curvy 35-mile drive even if it was gravel and dirt … bumpy enough in places that we were glad we were in a high-clearance vehicle.

Once we got on I-25N, we had about a 30-minute drive back to Walsenburg. In town, we stopped to photograph a few murals, picked up some ice cream from the local Safeway, and washed the car to rid it of the dust that encrusted it. Then, we drove back to the Cruiser, arriving around 4:30p.

Alas, our plans for an al fresco meal at the site fell through … not just because of the brutal sun, but also because the wind was blowing up a dust storm. At least we got to sit out for a bit after nightfall, so that’s something to be grateful for.

We have another drive planned for tomorrow as the high is forecasted to reach 94F.Read more