PLATORA

When we first talked with the lady who rented us jeeps, Mr. W asked her a lot of questions about the Alpine Loop.  He also asked her questions about doing other roads that would or would not require 4-wheel drive.  Our friend, Jim, who is here too, has a 4-wheel drive truck.  But there is a difference between roads that you NEED a 4-wheel drive vehicle and roads that you would be WILLING to take your 4-wheel drive vehicle.  We were interested in the roads that Jim would be willing to take his truck. 

She had told Mr. W about a beautiful drive to Summitville and if you went up that road, you could do an off-shoot on another road that would take you to Platora and supposedly Platora had a place where you could get a good hamburger. Now you have my attention. Have you noticed that I will go just about anywhere for good food? And I wonder why I can't lose weight. So, yesterday we decided to take the drive for a good hamburger, oh wait, I mean a drive to see beautiful scenery.

Jim took his truck and we started up.  We had gone up to Summitville on a previous drive and we started out on the same road and then cut off on a different road and began to see some gorgeous stuff. The wildflowers were everywhere.  They have yellow, purple, white, and blue. The animals weren't out as much as before, but we did see a few deer.  There had been mining in this area and there is a lot of acidic water which causes some of the mountains to be red and copper colored.  The colors were beautiful.  Wondering why I'm not posting pics of this beauty? Well, I took a ton of pics but had no card in my camera. Duh! I HATE it when that happens! Yes, I have done it before. You would think that I would learn.

We finally reached Platora after a 2 1/2 hour drive and it is a small little village in the middle of no where.  There is a lodge that has a diner, a store that sells souvenirs, and a small grocery store (that's a liberal use of the term grocery store).  There are the Conejo Cabins which advertise completely remodeled, updated cabins.  We did find out that there is 1 other place to eat there.  That café is over at the RV park. That is another liberal use of the term RV park. There is water and electricity hook-ups, but no sewer. I didn't see a dump station.

Everyone working in the diner were young people.  I mean like high school/college age.  We struck up a conversation with a couple of the young people.  The young lady we talked to was from the Bahamas.  We asked her how in the world she ended up here.  She had had a job. She quit her job and had gone home. She didn't like being home, so she started looking on the internet for a job. The man who owns the lodge/diner was the only person who responded.  This is her third year working there. The owner flies her in, picks her up at the airport, and then does the same at the end of the season.  She comes in the first of May and works until the first of October. 

Our waiter told us that his Mom played cards with the owner's wife and that's how he found out about his job.  He is from Mansfield, TX. This is his second year.  The crazy thing is, there is no internet connection, no phone service, no cable TV, no nothing that young people usually have to have. You are completely disconnected when you are there. There is a north road in and out and a south road in and out.  Both are gravel and require 4-wheel drive. Both are around 2 to 2 1/2 hours to the nearest town.  Our waiter said he really liked being this remote. He likes to fish and does a lot of it. He doesn't have a girlfriend, so at some point, that may change.

The lady working the register had recently retired from the Federal prison system in Dallas, TX. Her sister and brother-in-law own the place. She told us that her parents had started coming there on vacation in 1961 and had never gone any place else on vacation. We also learned that the whole community shuts down by the middle of October. They receive anywhere from 200 to 300 inches of snow each year.  They received 37 feet last year. Most of the cabins are completely covered with snow. When the owners receive word from the Colorado highway department that the road has been cleared and they can get to the lodge, a lot of times there are still outside doors of the lodge that can't be opened until they shovel snow. 

The most important thing to know is we ordered their hamburger. Boy, was it good. I tried to figure out if I thought it was so good because I was so hungry or if it was so good because it was just so good.  It was just that good.  The diner sells breakfast until 11:00. They have lunch items that they also sell at dinner, but they have dinner items that they start selling at 5:00 pm. We asked if everyone there ate all of their meals at the diner. We were told that a lot of the people bring their own food and do their own cooking.  It would be a long way to a real grocery store so you better make sure you have all you need! They had a small fire going in the fireplace because it was 50 degrees outside and raining.  We had on shorts and flip flops. The warmth felt good.

So, after eating our really good hamburgers, we headed out on the 2 1/2 hour trip back to South Fork. If you have a big part of a day to go up gravel roads, see some beautiful sites, and eat a really good hamburger, go to Platora. It is an interesting place.