One of the things the miner's of the 19th century left us
are miles and miles of shelf roads through the mountains
These roads stretch from Lake City (upper right) over to the southwest to Silverton and to the northwest to Ouray. Mind you Animas Forks and Capitol City are both ghost towns.
Folks enjoy going around this loop, which is called the Alpine Loop, in Jeeps, 4wheel drive vehicles, dirt bikes and OHV's (off highway vehicles). The problem is there is a small area (5 miles or so) that you have to be on a state highway. The OHV's are not allowed on state highways. So folks had to be trailered from just west of Lake City and dropped off south of town. The locals wanted those OHV's, mostly ATV's (all terrain vehicles), to be able to drive through town and stop at our businesses. It was a huge controversy. The business owners won and this is the first summer...that you could completely navigate the loop and not be trailered.
At first I was against it. Then I got to thinking if these business's had to close due to lack of business, this town would go the way of Capitol City and Animas forks......become ghost towns.
Hopefully it is all going to work.
It makes sense to bend the rules slightly to help keep the town alive.
ReplyDeleteAs long as they respect the rules. I'm admittedly a bit wary of ATV drivers in that respect.
ReplyDeleteI realize some people can only get around on motorized vehicles, but I'm not sorry that the trails behind my house are off-limit. However, I've noticed there are more electric bikes on the bike paths in Summit County this summer. For years they were not allowed, but I assume the businesses who want to rent them won and now they're legal. They problem is that people who rent them often aren't great on bikes and are all over the place on the paths causing hazardous situations. Unfortunately, Breckenridge has the opposite problem from the ghost towns! I long for "off" season when the tourists give us a little break. Safe trip back to TX, Janie!
ReplyDeletewell, i hope all stay safe and appreciate the ease of transport and be respectful of the roadway.
ReplyDeleteThose roads are not ones I would like to traverse.
ReplyDeleteI hope it will work for everybody and nobody is overrun by a truck.
ReplyDeleteDearest Janey,
ReplyDeleteAs long as the pristine natural habitat will not be disturbed by the noise and traffic, this will work out very well I guess.
A ghost town is a sad fact!
Hugs,
Mariette