Yankee Boy Basin - An Incredible Journey

Incredible Yankee Boy Basin

"Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking stick". ~ JRR Tolkien

In a land far, far away there exists such a place. An ancient volcano has been sculpted into a castle of pinnacles and spires. A ring of peaks with names like Teakettle, Cirque, Kismet, Gilpin, Stony and Potosi encloses a magical, green passageway.

Famous for its turquoise lakes and sparkling waterfalls, the alpine garden is bursting with dazzling wildflowers. Mount Sneffels looms over the valley as the undisputed ruler of an extraordinary kingdom. The rigid monarch forms an imposing barrier between paradise and reality.

A clear blue sky gives way to afternoon rain showers. Thunder demands the traveler must leave. The incredible journey has come to an end so it's time to return to our shire. As gray clouds draw near and darkness descends, the Misty Mountains vanish like a dream.

He wished to go and see the great mountains

A magical, green passageway

A castle of pinnacles and spires

Potosi Peak

Kismet Mountain

Sparkling Waterfalls

An extraordinary kingdom

A high mountain meadow

A barrier between paradise and realty

Sneffels Creek

A ring of sculpted peaks

An alpine garden bursting with wildflowers

Colorado Columbine

Comments

  1. Courtney - Maui JungalowAugust 5, 2013 at 2:28 AM

    I like the reference to Tolkien and the writing is nice. But who was Yankee Boy? Why was it named Yankee Boy? There's a story there I think.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dan MillerAugust 13, 2013 at 9:41 PM

      Thanks Courtney, it's a beautiful place that seems surreal like some kind of fantasyland. The valley or basin was named after a prominent silver and gold mine located there, the Yankee Boy Mine. I was not able to find out where the name for the mine came from. I do know that further up towards Silverton there was another very rich mine known as the Yankee Girl Mine.

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