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| In areas frequented by people,
marmots are not shy. Rather than running away at first sight, they
will often go about their business while being watched. Somehow, when
they're digging burrows in the yard, they're not this cute! |
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| Yellow-bellied marmots typically
live in rocks and crevices at about 6,500 feet elevation. They
frequently sun themselves on rocks, spending as much as 44% of their time in
the morning doing so. They forage for the rest of the day, returning
to their burrows to sleep during the night. |
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| After leaving Mosquito Pass, we
returned to Leadville via Weston Pass. Along the way, we passed the
ruins of the old Ruby Mine. |
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| Gold seekers were quick to adopt
the Indians' well-worn trails, one of which became Weston Pass Road.
An 1860 gold strike at California Gulch (just south of present-day
Leadville) gave rise to the first wagon road. |
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| The road climbed to the
headwaters of the South Fork of the South Platte, and on over the 12,109'
Weston Pass toward the upper Arkansas Valley. |
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| Today, the Weston Pass Road has
few travelers each day. However, in the summer of 1879, the road was
clouded by the fog of dust raised by an unbroken stream of wagons, stages,
and animals. Indeed, for about a two-year period during 1878-79, this
road may well have been the busiest in all of Colorado. |
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| From the summit, we enjoyed a
beautiful vista looking toward the upper Arkansas River area and the
majestic Sawatch Range, or back toward the massive Buffalo Peaks. |
