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I-70 Vail Pass Rest Area. "It sure is a lot cooler at 10,666' than at 5280'! Oh, it's great to be heading out camping again!" |
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Bear Lake Dispersed site #21. Routt National Forest, near Yampa, CO. We arrived after a six hour drive, due partly to an hour plus delay caused by an accident on I-70, to find Bear Lake Campground CLOSED for renovation and three other tiny campgrounds along Bear River already full. We ended up picking one of the dispersed sites along the road above the lake to camp for the night. |
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Sunrise at 6am and weary from a sleepless night of being isolated and uneasy, having to drive to the nearest toilet (yes, there's one in Shadow, but we only use it for emergency and nighttime liquids), and fending off the relentless dive bombing mosquitoes, we were ready to hitch up and head instead to our familiar Poudre Canyon. |
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"Hurry up Tux, I'm having
to swat away tons of mosquitoes already!" Little did we know our adventure with crazy animals would continue. Leaving Yampa, we encountered hundreds of Kamikaze prairie dogs along the highway who darted in front of us. Unfortunately, some succeeded in their suicidal mission and were left behind like their many, many friends who already littered the highway. |
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Aspen Glen Campground site #2. Roosevelt National Forest, Poudre Canyon. We were fortunate enough to snag the best site in the campground. Not more than three hours after we arrived, the campground was completely full of folks getting an early start to the 4th of July. "Ahhhhh, wildflowers, aspens, and pines at a cool and refreshing 9,500' with..." |
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"...the roar of the Poudre River just a few feet away from our campsite filling the air with luscious ambiance. Ahhhhh!" |
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"Dominoes!" (check out our 4th of July picnic table cover) |
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"Cool trail, Dad! We love hiking!" |
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"The river is up and running so fast the roar just echoes through the canyon!" |
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"Ahhhhh, a good book!" "Ahhhhh, a good fire!" "Ahhhhh, fewer mosquitoes!" |
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"Do we have to leave
tomorrow, Dad? Five days just doesn't seem like enough time to fully
appreciate the entire camping experience, uh ambiance, yeah, that's it,
AMBIANCE!" :"Don't worry, we'll have plenty more ambiance when we head back out on our next camping trip in just a few days." |
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"Hurry up Dad, it's only noon and it's already nearly 100 degrees and we're ready to head back to the mountains to get out of this HEAT!" |
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Molly Brown Campground
site #6. San Isabel National Forest, Turquoise Lake. July is meant to be spent at 10,000' where the daytime highs are in the low 70's and nighttimes are in the 40's. "There's nothing like a lakeside campsite with a warm sun and a cool breeze!" |
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"C'mon Daddy, I'm ready to go out in the canoe!" |
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"Oh yeah, here we go!" "Okay, Sissy, you've already got to go out with Dad alone, so when we get back, I get to go out with him by myself!" "Okay, that's fair. It's good that Daddy loves canoeing so much and has strong arms!" |
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"Oh my, check out our view from the canoe!" |
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"Look what I have created...I have CREATED F-I-R-E!" (apologies to Tom Hanks) |
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"Yup, another good book by the fire!" |
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"Can you see Sugar Loaf Dam and Mount Massive behind me, Daddy?" |
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"Look how far out I am, Dad!" |
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"Oh, the water's not THAT cold, really!" |
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"When we're not canoeing, swimming, or hiking, I like reading a good book!" |
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"There go Mommy, Tux, and Daddy on another 'Sunset Cruise'!" |
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"You need to be back by 10pm!" "We will!" |
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Leadville - "The Cloud City" - Elevation 10,152'. Around 30,000 fortune hunters made Leadville the second largest city in Colorado in the 1880's. Today's population: 2,821. "Alright, a special day for antique browsing, flea market perusing, and rock specimen hounding in our favorite town of Leadville! It's great having it only 15 minutes from our campsite!" |
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"Here comes Daddy, Tux, and Bubby back from another morning canoe run. Time to grab the tubes and go swimming again!" |
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"Ahhhhh, I could just relax here all day!" |
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"Hi, Dad." |
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"How do you like my COOL look?" |
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"Tux is a really good swimmer! He loves retrieving his water toy every time we throw it way out into the water!" |
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"Oh no, Tux, every time you play with your toy on the beach you get covered with sand!" |
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"This has been the perfect
spot and the perfect time, Daddy. Do we have to leave tomorrow?" "Sorry, yes we do." "Then you need to start planning our camping trips for longer than just 5 days at a time!" |
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"Tux, we're trying to carry the canoe back to the campsite to load up, quit jumping in it!" |
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"Nice hair, Bubby! Oh, sorry, it's just a pine branch. My mistake." |
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We arrived home to a hot and sunny 102 degrees. Yuk! Now that we've
finished all our camping trips, time for the kids to hit the backyard pool
to finish out the summer. "It's not quite Turquoise Lake, Dad, but it'll do!" |