Today the crew and I are going to Chloride!
Ever since the trauma of driving on Coyote Road in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, I’m a bit “road shy.” By that I mean I don’t want to ever — I mean EVER — drive on a mountain road that has ravines instead of a shoulders!
We’re going to meet fellow campers Chuck and Geri (phunnyfarm.blogspot.com) and Emily (http://followingthewinds.blogspot.com) in Chloride. Chuck told me the road to Chloride is not bad, “Well, except for that one area.” Okay. I’m checking Google Earth before I get on that road!
As it turns out the road isn’t treacherous.
The mountain scenery is spectacular. We drive through Cuchillo, a former stage stop, and then Winston, which was founded by those who found Chloride “too rowdy.” A Sierra County booklet says, “During the 1880s, Chloride was a thriving community with 100 homes, 3,000 people, nine saloons, 3 general stores, 2 hotels, restaurants, boarding houses, assay offices, a stage line, and a Chinese laundry.”
Chloride would qualify as a ghost town except about twenty people live there today.
A couple is in the process of restoring the town. There is a small campground, a museum, two cabins, and an art and gift shop. The bank building is being transformed into a cafe.
Chuck, Geri, Emily, and I eat a hot dog lunch at a picnic table in the shade of a tree. I set up the crew’s pen next to our table. Poor Spikey is so worn out from walking around the town, he falls asleep.
It’s been a memorable day with friends, touring a town that’s coming back to life from its old, silver mining days.
rvsue and her canine crew 