The Pitkin Cabin

I'm up about 7:00 & start the coffee, and here comes Terry to take Poo out for a walk & it's chilly out..the usual 48-50 degrees, and only 62 inside. KK's up at 7:20 and hits the shower. Some leftovers for breakie, more coffee & discussion of today's trip up to Pitkin, where we will attempt to meet up with an old Stillwater friend, John Jobe. We're off about 9:30 & all separate cars of course, as everyone has their own agenda afterwards. It's good drive from Almont,east on 50 and up to Ohio City ( a bar & restaurant) & on up the road to Pitkin, an old mining & railroad town, pop 64. The Pitkin General Store is hoppin' an we're around 9200' now & a few miles up a gravel road to the Jobe's cabin. We find their driveway and man, is it steep, rocky & rutted. We all park on the road, but Fonda has to try out the new FJ's 4-wheel drive, so up they go! ( not me brother.) Both of the Joe's, John & Carol are up to meet us and introduce themselves and the cabin. It's very rustic, with no electricity, but they do have propane, an an outdoor toilet, but what a view! After John shows us around the place he gets us all inside & starts on his "Old Timer" stories..what a treat! A couple of songs too & especially Groucho's tune "Lidia, the tattooed Lady" from the movie "A day at the Circus". She was a lady from a bar in Pitkin, the story goes, but how id Groucho know her? OK, enough of that, and off we all go..it was fun & really neat to meet these Oklahoma folks, but we''l see them again on Wed. No Alpine tunnel for us..it's a 10 mile drive each way over an abandoned railroad bed & it's all caved in anyway. Us and Debbie & Bruce decide to go back to Gunnison & have lunch at Mario's Pizza. The Haws head off in the FJ for the pass and Crested Butte, the hard way, testing the four wheel drive. Bryan & Ashely go to Gold Creek & check out some old camping spots & get rained on! We find Mario's not too crowded & have the lunch specials, calzones & mini pizzas, with their great salads & ice tea. Then some shopping in town before heading back to the cabin & some reading, naps & the usual afternoon rain. When it stops, I go out for 18miles & 500' of climb, to come back & find Bryan & Ashely cooking supper: BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, and we even share it with our great neighbors from Texas, the Herrons. Now what? Up to the office to check e-mails, blog & do pics (we can't get the Internet down at the cabin). The Haws finally roll in about 8:20 & had a fun day of 4-wheelin'! Back to the cabin to lounge by a great fire & roasting marsh-mellows. KK isn't feeling too well, as the altitude has probly caused her to be a little queasy. Bruce & Deb hit the sack as they have a very early date with a fishing guide at Blue Mesa Lake at 6:00 tomorrow. Maybe we'll have a fish fry after all! Oh, and did I say a brown bear has been spotted on our porch? Some ou twit-on the far end of the cabin- left his cooler out with some meat smells and the bear torn into it about 5:15 this morning! see ya tomorrow.