Day Five was planned to be a dedicated driving day. I drove from Leadville to Lake City, with multiple shopping stops in Gunnison, which is on the way. But before leaving Leadville, I wanted to get at least a few more pics. I started by … Continue reading Colorado 2026 Trip Report (Days Five and Six)
And on the fourth day, Cedric rested. Seriously, I was completely physically exhausted from wandering around at such high altitudes over the previous few days. I truly needed a full day of rest. The only thing I did worth mentioning was going out to lunch.
I went to a restaurant / sports bar called “The Famous” at the south end of downtown. The Famous what, I don’t know. Just “The Famous”. There are two reasons why this dining experience is worth mentioning. First, there is a patio on the west side of the building. From this patio, in the far distance, I could barely make out some of the heavy equipment fighting a nearby wildfire. Far more impressive were the flare-ups that occurred each time the fire reached an already dead tree.
The other reason this lunch is worth mentioning is that I ordered the Firebird pizza. The menu described this pizza as “House-made roasted garlic white sauce, mozzarella, chicken, turkey burnt ends, jalapeno, red onion, hot honey”. Sounds good, eh? Well, it was better than good. This was very possibly the tastiest pizza I have had EVER. EVER. The only problem was the hot honey kept dribbling down my arms. I was seriously sticky; had to wash up before I left.
In summary: Firebird pizza at “The Famous” in Leadville, Colorado: HIGHLY Recommended!
The original plan for Day Three was to rent a mountain bike (maybe an e-bike) and ride the Mineral Belt Trail. This is an eleven-mile loop that goes through the city of Leadville, Colorado and some of the old mining areas that surround the city. … Continue reading Colorado 2026 Trip Report (Day Three)
It’s that time of year again. The “air you can wear” is in full force and effect. The forecast is calling for 100 degrees on Monday. So, what’s a lad to do? I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. This little lad is fleeing to Colorado.
Now, don’t start grabbing numbers off your favorite weather web site to throw in my face. I am fully aware that the average high temperatures in Denver and Charlotte are surprisingly similar at this time of year. But Denver is just the airport. Once I have picked up my rental Jeep, I will be heading for the really high country. Much of this trip will be around TWO miles above sea level.
Just for fun, here are the high temperature forecasts for Monday, in my destination towns:
| Charlotte, NC | 750 Feet above sea level | 100° F |
| Denver, CO | 5,280 Feet above sea level | 91° F |
| Leadville, CO | 10,152 Feet above sea level | 70° F |
| Lake City, CO | 8,671 Feet above sea level | 75° F |
That said, both Lake City and Leadville are very close to active wildfires. If I don’t pay attention, I could very quickly go from nice and cool to literally burning. Wish me luck!
Howdy and welcome to another episode of ThrowBack Thursday. Today we’re throwing up back to August of 2011, when I took a day trip to Leadville, Colorado and another day trip (on another day, don’t ya know) to Caribou Ranch, also in Colorado. Everyone please … Continue reading Leadville & Caribou Ranch (August 2011)
OMG! It’s that time again. Where do the Fridays through Wednesdays go? And why do they move so fast? We may never know. What I do know is that on Thursdays I am able to transport you, gentle readers, to other points in space and time. On this particular Thursday (that’s … Continue reading Hagerman Tunnel and Platte River Road (2012)
It’s Thursday once again! Time for me to retrieve some more photos from my JPG vault, deep below the Earth’s crust. This week, we’re looking at another hodgepodge of pics. Not surprisingly, it’s mostly Colorado, but this time there are some Las Vegas pics as well. Let’s begin with … Continue reading Hodge vs. Podge – who will win?
When I got back home from my latest trip, I started catching up on world news. When I learned what all is going on in the world, I very quickly decided to get the Hell out of the present. So I fired up my Way-the-Hell-Back … Continue reading Leadville, Colorado (Spring 2013)
OK, I lied. In the previous installment of ThrowBack Thursday, I claimed that post was the last of my 2013 Colorado tour. But I had forgotten that I went through Leadville on the way home from Creede. (Random fact: Leadville, Colorado is the highest incorporated … Continue reading Leftover Colorado, part nine (July 7, 2013)
