The lucky turn

This Saturday Kristie and I decided to head up to the Leadville area to do some exploring. When we rolled into town there was a storm brewing so we decided just to drive and enjoy the scenery.

It's a beautiful drive along the headwaters of the Arkansas River.

About 10 miles outside of town we decided to turn up Independence Pass and explore. After passing Twin Lakes and Mt. Elbert, we cruised several more miles up the pass where we saw a few cars pulled over on the side of the road. The bird dog inside of me knew something good must be up this way so we swirved in and hit the trail. Here are a few photos of the hike.

At this point (2 minutes into the hike) Kristie really had to use the bathroom. Unfortunately, I had to point out the sign that informed her that this was a "No P" area and she would have to hold it.

This is a great little waterfall that we just stumbled upon

That's Kristie up on the bridge. My guess is that she was peeing in the water as she is a convicted pool pee'er

Here's one of the bridges we had to take to get up the mountain. Looks like Matt built it if you ask me

After our hike we got back in the car and decided to drive up the service road just to see what was up ahead. Much to our surprise we discovered one of the coolest areas of the state that I've seen.

The road carried on along this river up into the valley and into the mountains

This is the campsite I've been dreaming about (below)

Can't ask for much better

The road continued up the valley into an aspen grove

Where we finally came to this old mining cabin that looks like its being used as a ski hut in the winter

Overall it was a great day with great views that we would have missed if it weren't for one lucky turn.