For your information, the St. Elmo General Store is currently open most days from approximately "8-ish" to "6-ish" according to Lee, the shop owner. Also, the chipmunks and hummingbirds are out in full force on the main road. I definitely plan to create new pages with photos of those creatures in the near future!

Lastly, on a side note, I drove to the summit of Cottonwood Pass yesterday. Even though the road is still officially closed as of today (May 18), I made it easily to the summit in my low-clearance vehicle yesterday afternoon. You are welcome to check out my trip report here: Cottonwood Pass Drive.

Have a great day!

All the best,
Steve :)

Photo Gallery

	Two views as I biked west inside the canyon. The bottom photo shows the real steep hill near Cascade Falls (just west of the Agnes Vaille Falls parking lot). I dare say that stretch of road is a 10 to 12% grade! It's the steepest prolonged grade I have ever biked on in my life, and it is definitely steeper than the one mile stretch west of the Denny Creek Trailhead parking lot on Cottonwood Pass Road.
	I rested at Cascade Falls. The water was running hard from spring run-off in the mountains.
	A few miles uphill, I frolicked just a bit among the many aspen groves in the area. If you have the time, visit my autumn foliage photos from this canyon here: Fall Foliage In Chalk Creek Canyon.
	The very notable "soft shoulder" on Chaffee County Road 162.
	Watching for ice is usually a good idea on this road for about eight months of the year, but not now. ;)
	After about nine to ten miles of bicycling, I arrived in St. Elmo! :) This historic cabin near the entrance of the town is for sale. Folks, if you love high altitude mountain living, this might be a home to consider. The bottom photo shows the area across the dirt road of an old mining operation. Pretty neat, huh? I threw in the real estate contact information just in case you're interested.
	This green chuckwagon is currently for sale. Contact (719) 395-4773 according to the sign.
	In front of the St. Elmo General Store, the hummingbirds are quite aggressive with each other as they mark out their territory in eating their food.
	Five photos of some of the historic buildings in town, including myself with my mountain bike in the second photo.
	I really did whiz downhill for much of the ride, but I did stop twice! TOP: The easterly view as I left town. BOTTOM: Chalk Creek flows downward with some green foliage trees in the background.