Last Update: 10/29/1997 - Jens Moller

On the Main Road

There are 3 Monarch passes. The first one was abandoned around 1910 when a replacement was found (its still open, and is a dirt road/pass that is supposed to be quite easy, but the one time I went looking for it, I couldn't find it and no-one that I talked to in Pitkin had any idea what I was talking about). So, I ended up driving over the paved Monarch Pass. I got a few interesting maps at the gift/coffee shop and stopped for a restroom break. This shop crosses the Continental Divide.

Stop and visit the coffee shop and gift store on the summit of the paved pass

There you see my Blue Subaru after it started the day in Colorado Springs, went to Buena Vista, St. Elmo, Pitkin then here. Monarch pass is on highway 50 and is well traveled and open all year long. The Eastern side of the pass has the Monarch Ski area (it usually far less crowded than Breckenridge or Keystone, but its a lot smaller too), at the city of Garfield. I noticed on the way down to Salida, that the entrance to the 2nd Monarch Pass exits onto highway 50 near Garfield. I'll have to look into this the next time I try to find the 2nd Monarch pass.

Ghost town of Shavano

There are a series of crevases on the side of Mt. Shavano that collect snow in the winter. During the spring run off, it forms the shape of the 'Angel of Shavano'. This is visable as far away as Salida (on the south-eastern side towards the top of the peak).

This creek is not on the main road. Its on an access road that goes to the settlement and Silver Mill. You can still see the tracks in the mud made by the Jeep that pulled me out.

The road up to Shavano is a bit rough with many pot holes, but its not very rocky, at least up to the ruins of the cabins of Shavano. There is a large collapsed Silver processing mill from the early 1900's back off the road behind Shavano - the timbers look like healthy 12 inch square beams, but you'll see that they are badly dry-rotted and will crumble in your hand if you squeeze them. There is an access road to the Silver Mill, but you will need to cross a creek to get there. In the spring there is a lot of water in this stream, its far safer to cross in August. Once across the creek, there is the remains of a settlement and quite a few concrete foundations. Shavano had a brief boom in 1904 and this is most likely from that time.

If you are in a regular car, you probably will want to skip the trip up to Shavano, but if you have a pickup truck, or 4WD, this is an easy trip. My 1976 VW bus made it up here a few years ago, but I got it stuck in the mud in the creek (the picture shows both the VW and the creek), luckily for me, a fellow in a Jeep came by and pulled me out.

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