Today we decided to drive through Wolf Creek Pass to Southfork and on to Creede. We took our time walking through the shops in downtown Creede . It is a really beautiful day and the temperature is nice and cool. After walking downtown we decided to drive the Bachelor Loop. We have driven the Bachelor Loop twice before. The first time we rented a Jeep and took our boys. On the advice of the rental place we took the 4×4 extension shown at the top of the map above. The first half was nice but the second half of the 4×4 trail was agonizing crawl down a river-bed. It cured our entire family of ever wanting to hardcore 4×4 ever again.
The second time was two years ago. This time it was just Donna and I and Donna was driving our own Jeep. This time we accidentally took the 502 spur that had a hardcore 4×4 trail at its end. We went ahead and followed 502 until it rejoined the main loop. While pretty, the 502 spur isn’t as interesting as the main loop and the hard 4×4 isn’t our favorite. If I had been driving she might have killed me for taking the detour.
Third time was the charm. This time we ONLY drove the main loop and it was much more fun. The main loop is an easy drive with many old mines to see. The first half follows a very interesting gorge with a beautiful stream next to the road. All three times the route returns to Creede on a beautiful drive high above the town. We really enjoyed it.
After returning to Creede we stopped at Big Dougs BBQ food trailer. The BBQ was really good.
After lunch it was time to head home. About half way from Creede to Southfork however we come to a complete stop. It turns out we were behind a Sheep drive that was taking at least 200 head of Sheep down the highway. Cowboys on horses and sheep dogs were driving them on. It took aobut 30 minutes for the sheep drive to reach the point where they left the road. You don’t see that every day.