Roadtrippin' Colorado Style

Aahhh, Colorado 67 reassurance marker, how we've missed you. This is at the intersection you saw in the background in the last picture on last page. You can also kinda see how Jefferson County does its street signs. There's a little logo on the left of the Y Camp Road sign. Oohhh.... aahhh. No flash photography, please: you might startle it.

Here's our first sign (pun definitely intended) that this won't be your usual jaunt through the mountains. This is not a normal sign for these parts. Falling rock zone? Yes. Run if flash flood? Yes. Dancing arrows? Definitely. Mud slide? Not at all.

For all of you roadgeeks wondering how CDOT handles mileage on broken routes, here's the answer for this one at least: they pretend the break didn't exist. Mile 99 here, the ending before happened at about mile 120. Now go tell your friends that you're intellectually superior than them because of random useless trivia like this. Another service of r-dub.

Hayman fire, We salute you. The one fingered salute and I'm not talking the "We're number one" salute. (it's edited out of the picture) It's just starting, folks. Brace yourselves.

As much as I want to snark and be a smartass through here, I can't. Well, not as much as I have been. The damage is just devastating. And this is what we can see. Over that ridge? Ugliness. And this is three years after the fire!

A non-burned spot of scenery. It's amazing how fires will jump from spot to spot during its run. See how the road's surface changes on the shoulders? This is CDOT's trick to extend the life of the road: drop a really thin layer of asphalt in the driving lanes only. The problem with this trick is what it looks like as it starts to fail, as evidenced here. Who's got the reelee yooge band-aid?

This is an information board that's just off of 67. I was tempted to place a personal ad or a Lost: one mind ad, but this is pretty serious stuff. Here's the full-sized version if you need something to read while on the crapper.

Dancing arrow has been around here, by the way. He's just learned how to stay out of my shots. He does this by placing himself just before or just after a curve so I'm concentrating on not wrecking the car. He's a sneaky little turd, that's for sure. Stinky, too.

Hey! Look who came back for an extended visit! Mr. Burn Scar! If you need a break from all this driving, you can bask in the shade of... well, nothing for the next few miles.

Note to self: when driving, try to keep at least one eye on the road, not gawking at the destruction around you. Your car would appreciate always coming home with the same amount of dents it had at the start of the trip. Didn't it the guardrail on the next curve, but that stain in my shorts? It's bigger now.

Still climbing out of the South Platte valley at this point too. About 15 years ago a few cities wanted to get together and dam the South Platte river about 8 miles north of Deckers and call it the Twin Forks Dam. All this road we've been on would have been under water if that dam was built. We're approaching the lovely beach front properties now.

Still rolling through the Hayman burn area. The Cheeseman Reservoir was completely surrounded by the flames. Denver gets a lot of their water from that reservoir. The amount of ash and silt that ended up in the water definitely didn't make it easy for Denver water to keep up with the promise of clean water. To this day there's still some restrictions around the reservoir.

So there was one positive roadgeek thing about the Hayman fire. It burned so hot in this section that CDOT had to come in and resurface 67 before they could reopen it because the asphalt melted. Otherwise, it would still be a few years from now before they got around to resurfacing one of their lower-voulme highways.

Finally we're clear of the Hayman fire. Let's put the nastiness behind us an return us to our regularly scheduled snark. Uhmmm...CDOT? When the white stripe starts to blend in to the color of the asphalt, it's time for something new. NO, not a different colored line.

*ding ding ding* Roadgeek Jackpot! And old-skool distance marker. (The one a few yards back on the road was labeled 500) Metal, though? Interesting. I've seen cement and very few wood ones, but a metal one is new. Well, to me. Obviously not new itself. Sheesh. Must I clarify everything? :p~

Manitou Lake is one of the many favorite hangouts of Woodland Park, all of the Ute pass communities, and Colorado Springs. It's the perfect place if you're coming down with recreateitis. The resident doctors will perscribe a mild dose of hike and bike, have you test a trial of swim or boat, and make you wash it all down with copious amounts of fermented barley beverages.

Why look! We've found a bedroom community sitting on the side of the road! Isn't it precious? I bet we could get $300,000 for a 700s.f. lot if we turned it in! Sure it's steep but look at the views! And look at the idea of commuting down a mountain pass to get to Colorado Springs in the middle of a blizzard! </sarcasm>

So we get to pay exorbitant amounts for homes so close together you can turn off your neighbor's alarm clock, traffic that a bunch of two lane dirt roads can't handle and no major amenities until a Wally World opens? Sign me up!

Approaching US 24 in the heart of Woodland Park. CDOT, in their infinite wisdom, decides to widen 67 from two lanes to 5 in the middle of this curve. In the winter when sand and snow are covering the stripes, this is a fun one. Way to go, CDOT!

Rolling towards the 24/67 intersection. It's amazing that this town can have traffic tie-ups, but it does. Dead ahead. Traffic engineering is somewhat an amateur sport in this section of the state. And if you miss the right turn that 67 does here, you'll visit a nice little strip mall.