We made a quick decision early this week to make an ATV ride up Wager Gulch Trail to the ghost town of Carson. It's a trail that mainly follows alongside a stream that plummets downhill over the rocky terrain in cascades of small white waterfalls. These pinecones appear almost translucent against the lush green of the well-watered pine.
Carson was one of the most inaccessible mining camps in Colorado. It sits on top of the Continental Divide at an elevation of almost 12,000'. At its peak during the late 1890's and early 1900's 400-500 miners worked the mountaintop. Good gold and silver was found that sustained the town for several years, but undoubtedly the severe winters took their toll and miners found more friendly climate in which to work.

We had our lunch sitting on a huge (4' diameter) downed log adjacent to this stream, accompanied by the ever-present Colorado jay (Camp Robber Jay). He liked potato chips.

Bluebells, not to be confused with Texas Bluebonnets, by the stream reminded me of my 6th grade spring picnic in a huge patch of bluebells on Brush Creek bottom near my hometown in Missouri. They have always since been one of my favorite wildflowers.

Several abandoned buildings remain on site; the wooden structures are all highly polished now by the weathering process, and instead of turning dull gray as we expect to see in old abandoned buildings, these glow with a golden patina that's most attractive and appealing to photograph.

Here, at the Carson site sitting in a high meadow, the trail looks benign. Below, it's a steep, rocky descent that continuously jolts the body and taxes the driver's arms.

Makes us think that perhaps power steering on an ATV isn't such a bad idea. More on that later!