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Dowdy Lake
Campground site #37. Roosevelt National Forest, Red Feather Lakes. Starting the summer from our home base! The camp host said the week we stayed before Memorial Day was the quietest he'd seen all month. We had the whole loop to ourselves! |
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The lake was still down, but was
filling up quite nicely with all the spring rain and snowmelt. "Here crawdads, here crawdads..." |
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"Daddy, the lake is soooo calm after being windy all day. I love
our campfire!" |
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Our favorite rocks to climb. "Hi Dad!" "Hi Daddy." |
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On a hike around the lake looking back across the cove, you can see we're the only campers on our end of the loop. Shadow is the tiny white spot in the middle of the photo. We also had the whole lake to ourselves, save for a couple of fisherman and a visit by a group of canoers one day. |
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"Can you see the snow on the mountains way behind us, Dad?" |
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"Smile everyone, this is going to be a great shot!" "Promise me you won't post this picture on your website. I haven't showered this morning." "Oh, we're just CAMPING BUMS, Mom!" "Ahhhhh, that's what I love about camping!" "Hey, big guy! You stink worse than I do! And I'm ALLOWED to smell worse than humans!" "Well, just so you know, I don't stink, 'cause girls don't stink!" |
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Water Break and Rest
Stop. "I see, HONEY, that you CONVENIENTLY chose to hide YOUR un-showered self in the shade when I have the camera and I take the pictures!" "He he he heee..." |
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Going up this way is a little more tricky than our usual
way! It's just a warm-up to get us ready for the rocks we'll be climbing
next week at Spruce Grove! "Is this the best way to go, Dad?" |
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Coney Island
Restaurant (aka The Big Dog). Conifer, CO. The best hot dogs and onion rings can be had at this cultural and scenic icon along Highway 285. "Yummmmm, yum, yum, yum, YUMMM!!!" |
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Spruce Grove Campground site
#11. Pike National Forest, near Lake George, CO. After being thwarted by the Hayman Fire last summer, we made it my 26th reunion of camping at this wonderful spot when I was a teenager with my family. We learned that site #11 (best in the campground for trailers) is used by the summer camp host who arrives the first week of June. |
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We climbed the rock you see just
behind the trees in the photo above. This is the view looking North. "It's really windy up here, Daddy, but the view is awesome!" |
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The view from the top looking
down to the Southwest. You can see Tarryall Creek which runs right by
our campsite. The creek is up and running fast, so it's really a river this
week! "Daddy, I can't see Shadow, because she's behind the trees, but I can see brother in his yellow shirt standing by the fire pit next to the small tree!" |
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The other end of the top rock looking South.
"Wow, you can really hear the sound of the river echoing in the small canyon behind us!" |
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Our next challenge...make it to
the top of the rock across from our campsite above the restroom. We had
already climbed halfway up to the middle rock, which is where I took the first photo of our campsite. "Whoa, Dad, that looks really hard!" |
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"Mom, look! We had to turn back, but Dad and Sissy made it all the way to the top! Look how high they are! They're just specs on the top of the rock!" |
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"We should have worn long pants! Our knees and legs are all
scrapped up from scooching and sliding against the rough rocks trying to
inch our way up!" |
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Looking upstream to the
Northwest. "Oooooo, the water feels good on a warm day! This is the only place Mom and Dad would let us play (in this little side fork), since the river is up and running so fast in the main channel!" |
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Looking downstream to the East. "Dad, the bottom of the fork is all soggy and muddy!" |
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"C'mon Tux,
c'mon!" "Uhhhh, just a minute, I'm checking the PH, viscosity, velocity, and clarity of this section of the stream." |
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"Here Tux, go fetch the sitck!" |
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"Yeah, Dad, sweet fire! We're making Smores!" |
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This is the section of the creek that runs right by our campsite. This is
where most of the roar comes from that we fall asleep to every night. "Boy does that sound GREAAAAAT!!!" |
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"Let me see, how far do I dare go out?" |
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Eleven Mile Canyon Tunnels. "I hope another car doesn't come from the other direction--the tunnels and the road are only wide enough for one at a time!" |
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After the drive up Eleven Mile Canyon and a day trip to Lake George, the week
was drawing to a close and it was time to tackle the Big Rock one last
time and make sure we ALL made it to the top this time. "Hey, Mom! Up here! Here we are! We ALL made it to the TOP!!!" |
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"Zoom in for a closeup, Mom!" |
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"We are the Champions!" |
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Two weeks of camping sure do go by fast! At least the view heading out State Route 77 from Spruce Grove continues to give us memories! |