And now, folks, we arrive at the meat and/or potatoes of this trip. I have passed through Lake City, Colorado once, maybe twice. I have never gotten to know the town or even visited its namesake lake. For this trip, I decided to spend multiple nights in Lake City, allowing me to finally explore this remote portion of Colorado.
Lake City is named for Lake San Cristobal, the second-largest natural lake in the state. I don’t know what the second-largest unnatural lake would be. Nevertheless, I started Day Seven with a slow drive around the lake. Oddly enough, the first thing I saw worth photographing was not lakey scenery, but miney structures. I don’t know when exactly the mining took place in this area, but this thing looks to be much more modern than what I’m used to seeing in Colorado mining districts. Take a look…
All right, NOW let’s take a lakey looky…
It seems that Lake San Cristobal is (or is becoming) famous for Goose Island, which can be accessed via pedestrian suspension bridge from a nearby peninsula. This peninsula is much larger than Goose Island but is still small enough to support some recreational exploration. So, let’s do that:
Finally, we see it! The chunk of rock known as Goose Island. It’s easy to see why this island is becoming so popular. The scenery surrounding the island is amazing. The island itself looks comfortable and cozy. I can picture myself carrying a camping chair and a book, planning on relaxing all afternoon on the island.
And then we arrive on the actual island. And realize humans must stay within a roped-off area. And that the roped-off area is only about ten feet wide. It also quickly becomes obvious that there is an intermittent yet unrelenting stream of other humans wanting to experience this place for themselves.
As with Leadville earlier on this trip, I had read that Lake City has quite a bit of Victorian architecture. So, after doing a lap around the lake, I headed back into town. I spent an hour or two walking and driving around this little town. The Victorian-style buildings were very few and far between.
I spent the rest of the day reconnoitering various activities for the next couple days, and for future visits to the area. See you soon for Day Eight!
