Colorado designates two more scenic byways
The Centennial State has two new Scenic and Historic Byways to explore.
Called the Scenic Highway of Legends and Silver Thread, the newly designated roads are two of 13 across the state — more than any other in the country — designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as America’s Byways. In total, Colorado has 26 byways, including the ones defined by the state itself.
Already a part of Colorado’s Scenic and Historic Byways, these two roads are now part of the National Scenic Byway System. Both are in southern Colorado.
“These new designations are a tribute to this great state and characterize the breadth of its beautiful landscapes, history and culture,” said Shoshana Lew, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation. “In addition to providing new and exciting adventures for travelers, our Scenic and Historic Byways help protect these much-valued areas of Colorado.”
They also bring money to sometimes far-flung parts of the state. The most recent CDOT analysis shows byways have a cumulative statewide economic impact of nearly $4.8 billion over six years. The Scenic Highway of Legends provided almost $180 million in economic benefit and the Silver Thread more than $67 million, according to CDOT.
“What a remarkable nod to our state’s timeless beauty and a well-deserved recognition for the efforts of Colorado citizens to share it with everyone,” said Nathan Boyless, chair of Colora
do’s Scenic and Historic Byways Commission. “The open road beckons, scenic travels!”
The Scenic Highway of Legends is an 82-mile route along Colorado 12 and U.S. 160. It features the Spanish Peaks and connects Trinidad, La Veta, Walsenburg and Aguilar.
“Enjoy the dramatic settings that have inspired tall tales among Native American nomads, Spanish explorers, and Anglo and Hispanic settlers for hundreds of years,” CDOT says of the road. “From the impenetrable heights of the Sangre de Cristos and Spanish Peaks to the ominous redrock abutments of the Dakota Wall and the Devil’s Stairsteps, this land is truly larger than life.”
Silver Thread is a 117-mile route along Colorado 149 and U.S. 50. It trucks through the San Juan Mountains linking South Fork, Creede, Lake City and Blue Mesa Reservoir near Gunnison.
“The colorful old mining camps of the Silver Thread byway offer history, scenic beauty, and a heavy dose of authenticity,” CDOT notes.
“The heights around Creede and Lake City remain strewn with abandoned mining structures, most of them accessible via rugged backcountry roads,” CDOT’s description beckons to travelers.
This part of the mountains, CDOT notes, can be “unforgiving.”
“In 1848, explorer John C. Fremont lost a third of his men, and a quarter of a century later, the infamous Alferd Packer cannibalized his companions — in two ill-fated winter expeditions,” according to the release.
CDOT established the Scenic and Historic Byways program in 1989. It supports the state’s 26 byways, two All-American Roads, 10 National Forest Scenic Byways and two Bureau of Land Management Backcountry Byways. The Colorado system includes nearly 2,600 miles of roadway through 48 of the state’s 64 counties.
This has been a most challenging winter, especially for folks like me in their upper decades who’ve had to contend not only with pandemic-induced loneliness and limitations but also with streets piled high with snow and sidewalks coated with ice.
I take my little dog to the park for his off-leash run every morning, and often have had to rely on strangers to help me navigate paths glazed with ice so I could get back home in one piece.
I not-so-silently curse the neighbors who left town for the COVID-restricted winter without arranging to have their sidewalks shoveled whenever it snowed.
Many in my neighborhood who did shovel failed to clear the snow from the inner part of the sidewalk, where some of it periodically melted during the day and refroze at night, leaving a slick of black ice. An elderly friend who lives alone landed on one of those icy patches and broke her wrist, a challenging injury, but at least her hips and head remained intact.
It’s not that I don’t know how to walk on icy surfaces. I review the guidelines every winter and thought I was well equipped, but I may have been lulled into complacency by last year’s relatively mild winter and failed to pay adequate attention to what to put on my feet.
Perhaps I should have consulted the Farmer’s Almanac for 2021. Had I anticipated how bad it could get I might have checked the laboratorytested advice on the best anti-slip footwear from a research team at the Kite Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-UHN. It would have alerted me to the fact that none of the boots in my closet are really much good, especially for someone my age.
Aiming to keep Canadian bones intact during long icy winters, in 2016 the team, headed by Geoff Fernie, a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Toronto, tested 98 different types of winter boots, both work and casual, and found that only 8% of them met the lab’s minimum standard of slip resistance.
Using what it calls the Maximum Achievable Angle testing method, the team evaluated slip resistance of footwear in a winter-simulated indoor laboratory with an icy floor that can be tilted at increasing angles.
While attached to a harness to prevent a real fall when they slip, participants wearing the shoes being tested walk on the ramp uphill and downhill over bare ice or melting ice.
Shoes that prevent slippage with the ramp set at an angle of at least 7 degrees get a single snowflake rating. Two snowflakes are awarded for non-slippage at 11 degrees,
and three snowflakes for 15 degrees. But 90 types of footwear initially tested by 2016 failed to get any snowflakes, and none got more than one snowflake.
Things have improved in the last few years, with
65% of boots tested in 2019 getting at least one snowflake, Fernie said. The latest ratings are at ratemytreads.com.
Two types of outer soles, Arctic Grip and Green Diamond, provide the best traction on ice. Green Diamond acts like rough sandpaper, with hard grit incorporated into the rubber sole, that works best on cold hard ice. Arctic Grip soles contain microscopic glass fibers that point downward to give firm footing on wet ice. You might be able to find a few brands that use both technologies in the same sole to achieve protection on both hard and wet ice.
Of course, you can also get Yaktrax pull-on cleats for over your existing shoes.
Properly shod or not, it pays to know how to walk safely on snowy and icy surfaces.
My No. 1 rule: Never go out without your cellphone. Take it slow, and use handrails on steps when available. On slippery steps, if there’s nothing to hold on to, go down sideways.
Walk like a duck or penguin. The posture is anything but glamorous but could help to keep you out of the emergency room. Extend your arms to the side to improve balance. Keep your hands out of your pockets; you may need them to break a possible fall.
Bend forward a little from your knees and hips to lower your center of gravity and keep it aligned over your forward leg as you walk. With your legs spread a little further apart than usual, turn your feet slightly outward and take short, flat-footed steps. Or if that’s not possible, shuffle side to side at an angle to move forward without raising your feet.
Pay attention to your surroundings and look ahead of you as you walk to avoid trip hazards. If you use a cane, fit the end with an ice pick made for the purpose.
Avoid carrying heavy packages that can throw you off balance.
And know how to fall to minimize the risk of a serious injury. Should you start to fall backward, quickly tuck your chin to your chest to avoid hitting your head and extend your arms away from your body so that your forearms and palms, not your wrists and elbows, hit the ground.
If you fall forward, try to roll to one side as you land so that a forearm, not your hand, is first to hit bottom.
Getting up from an icy surface can also be challenging. If you’re not injured, turn over onto your hands and knees. Keeping your feet shoulder-width apart, place one foot between your hands, then bring the other foot between them and try to push yourself up.