Vail & Pictures

Click here to see where we have been camped all week outside vail and enjoy a few pictures from the last week.

Vail

Sorry you haven't heard from me for several days but we have been really busy during the day and have gotten in so late at night that I have been too sleepy to write.

John and Susanna kept us busy all week. Tuesday saw John, John, Jack, Lanny and Mary riding mountain bikes down Vail Mtn. Katy, Susanna and I chose not to bike but to hike. John found this to be pretty exciting and also challenging. It's one of those experiences that he is glad he participated in but not something he will willing do by himself. We chose to cook at the condo and had a lovely salmon dinner. Late night.

Wednesday was a golfing day at Eagle Ranch Golf Course in Eagle CO. It was pretty cloudy that morning but cleared up by late morning. A good day of golf even if our scores didn't reflect that. After lunch, the guys went over to our campsite with John and us girls went shopping. We had supper at The Sweet Basil restaurant in Vail that was fabulous! I highly recommend this establishment.

Thursday is fishing day. We all went fly fishing from boats on the Colorado River! Well, almost everyone. I appointed myself the official photographer and did not fish. These were 3 man pontoon rafts -- 2 fishing and the guide rowed the boat while giving tips on how and where to fish. John had 5 good hits but no catches. Susanna was the only lady to catch any fish and all the other guys caught at least 3 each. Fun day. Just as we got back to the RV around 5 it started raining and has been raining off and on since. Good time for sleeping!

Off to Vail

We got up early on Sunday morning to break camp and head somewhere where we had internet, electricity, showers and laundry facilities. That place was Leadville, CO. This high mountain village is the center of a once thriving mining area. Within short drives in all directions around the town, you can find old gold, silver and copper mines. This area is also known for the number of 14,000 ft. mountains that people can hike or bike up. NOT US! At one time in the early 1800's this town had over 120 saloons. We had dinner at a restaurant that only had two items on its menu -- filet mignon or a vegetarian lasagna and on Friday and Saturday they added prime rib. It was actually pretty good steak, for less than $12!

We got up early again on Monday so that we could be assured of getting a site at the Gore Creek National Forest Campground in East Vail. Our drive from Leadville was really pretty although we had a lot of switchbacks and a mountain pass to get through. Our site is right on Gore Creek and is really lovely. After we were settled in, we rode our bikes almost 7 miles down hill to Vail Village where we shopped and people watched. The really bad part of this day was the ride back UP those 7 miles. Especially the last 2 miles which were really steep! I had to walk my bike most of that 2 miles. I was POOPED!

We then went over to West Vail where our friends had rented a condo and 2 other couples from Sedalia were staying with them. Our plans for the week will keep us really busy but should be fun!

Food & Wine Tasting

Friday was a really nice day, but still cool. We had a lazy morning, then drove the Jeep up the same road we walked yesterday only we went up past the waterfall to see if we could find the lake. It was not a difficult drive but had some challenging rock climbing. We stopped along two different off-road trails to see if we could find the lake with no luck but the vista is beautiful as are the flowers. After lunch, John took off fishing from the kayak and I got the camera out, along with the owners manual and took a walk just to find flowers and waterfalls to photograph.

Friday evening was our foray into the Food and Wine Festival. We had dinner at the East End Bistro with wine from Krupp Brothers in CA. The interesting thing about these pairings was that the chef and his wife first tasted the wines and then determined what food would best go with them. And it worked really well. We had a lobster salad, bruschetta made with figs, prosciutto and goat cheese, roasted duck breast, smoked pork belly and for desert a chocolate stout cupcake. Each course had a different wine plus we drank a bonus wine before and after the meal. Our table sat people from CO, FL, CT and TX. It was a delightful evening.

Today we slept in (wonder why?), fished, short hikes, cleaned, filled water tank, and enjoyed the campground. John even built a rip-roaring fire for the evening. We have really enjoyed this area and this lovely campground!!

Fox tale

Last night, as we were eating our grilled hamburgers at the picnic table, the mother fox decided to visit our campsite. She acted like she was begging for some of our meat. She circled the site and would dart in and then back off as we talked or yelled at her. In the mean time, unknown to us, one of her kits snuck under the RV and grabbed one of my hiking boots that was by the RV drying out. If it hadn't been for the people on the road watching the kits playing we would never have know what happened to my boot! The baby fox ran back to its play area behind the RV and dropped the shoe on the top of the hill. Luckily I was able to retrieve it as the kit watched me with a disappointed look on its face. I had taken its new toy!

Lake Irwin

We left Gunnison around 9 am Tues. and drove up to Crested Butte. After a short stop in town we continued on up to the National Forest Campground at Lake Irwin. Our luck held out as they only had two open sites and the one we parked on has to be one of the best in the campground! It is right next to a game trail. Each evening we see a mother fox and her 2 kits playing in the glade right next to the RV. We have also seen a deer and two coyotes.

It rained all night on Tues. thru Wed. morning. It was a good time to go into Crested Butte to shop and look for wifi. We also got the lowdown on the Wine and Food Festival. By the time we got back after lunch, it had cleared up enough for John to get the kayak out and go fishing. Still no bites.

We took two long hikes. Tues. afternoon we walked up to the Irwin Lake Lodge which is closed and dilapidated. This hike took us on the far side of the lake before going up. If we feel up to it later this week, we will hike on up past the lodge to the ridge. Other hikers have told us it is a beautiful panorama but it is about 2 miles straight up -- takes at least 2 hours to climb. The hike we took this morning was along a Jeep road and led us to an alpine waterfall. The wildflowers are profuse and in full bloom!

John went fishing in the afternoon and was finally successful. He caught trout on his fly rod and spinning rod. He felt much better as he was beginning to think he would never catch a Colorado fish.

The weather has turned very cool -- only a high today of 60° and lows at night in the upper 40's! And we can expect more scattered showers.

Moving on to the next adventure

On Saturday morning, after breakfast and final farewells, we drove a whole 10 miles so we could camp on the Rio Grande and John could try his hand at fishing in it (no luck). It was a beautiful campground, pine smells and gurgling waters. I, on the other hand, chose to go back into South Fork and play a round of golf. Did not do very well, but enjoyed the course and the time by myself.

Today, we drove to Gunnison and are staying in a KOA so we can catch up on the internet, phone calls, grocery shopping and laundry and blogging. On Tuesday morning we are heading up to Crested Butte and will be staying (we hope) in a state or national forest campground out in the boonies where we won't have any of that stuff for the next 5 days! (Actually, we will probably travel into the town and find some free wifi.) We will also get to experience some fine dining and some fine wine at the Crested Butte Food and Wine Festival.

We rode our bikes into town this evening - probably about 6 miles total. We passed a white water park and watched kayaker's paddle into a rapid and then stay there. Pretty amazing stuff! Gunnison is quite in the evening but is a very lovely place.

Where's the Elk?

Only 5 Jeeps took off on this trip. (Another 5 went out at 7 AM so they could spy on wildlife.) The road started off right next to the Rio Grande Country Club & Golf Course, then took a fairly gradual rise up into the hills. There were lots of switchbacks, and tons of trees which prevented me from finding any elk or deer (riiight!!). At the top the road opened onto a huge meadow at about 12,000 ft. that was full of wild flowers and should have had some elk but I didn't see any! We had lunch on the edge of this meadow and heard an elk bugle. It sounds just like a horn. We had a short, steep side trip down and back up that was fun. We then drove to the top of a ridge overlooking South Fork Valley.

Tonight was our last night with the Escapees. We've made some good friends with whom I hope we will stay in touch.

Shake and Bake

Today we left the campground at 8 AM and drove 45 miles to the start of our drive up to Bristol Head. This is a prominent point about 12,000 feet up,and from the road it looks very steep and dangerous but we came at it from the back side and it was an easy grade up to the top. Actually, we drove about 15 miles on gravel road, then about 5 miles on a dirt road and then 2 miles on nothing but rocks and it wasn't even a steep grade! John and I nick-named the road "Shake and Bake". The road rocked and rolled us all over the place while the sun beat down on our heads. The saving part of this drive is that the view was really awesome. We could follow the Rio Grande all along the valley and spotted mountain tops of snow on the far horizon.

Coming down, we took a 2 mile side trip to Crystal Lake -- now THIS was a four-wheelin' road! Some straight up and downs with turns at the top or bottom that you couldn't see until you were right on top of them. This is the kind of off-roading we like!

Tonight, John took me out for dinner at a very fine restaurant in South Fork. Great day.

Rat Creek Run

Today all 20 Jeeps went out for the same run -- 10 went one way and 10 the other and we met in the middle along the Continental divide for lunch at 12,890 feet. The view was spectacular for 360°. The trail going up was along Rat Creek. It was a beautiful day and a really nice ride thru Aspen groves and pine trees until we reached the tree line. Some challenges with lots of bumps and always up and up. If there was an easy way around a chuckhole or large rock, we went thru or over! We drove down the side of one mountain via switchbacks and then followed Willow Creek thru the bottom of the canyon into Creed. The mountain walls were close on both sides and the creek was lined with willow trees.

I wonder if all this fresh air is responsible for increased appetites and early bedtimes!? We're pooped -- goodnight.

Over the Continental Divide

There are 20 Jeeps in our group that caravan the trails around South Fork but only 10 -12 go out with each of 2 lead drivers on two different trails each day.

Today we followed Barry up the South Fork road to Elwood Pass over the Continental Divide and then back. It was a very easy jaunt the first 15 miles and then we hit the challenging stuff. Actually, none of it was really hard (classified 3+ out of 5) but there were a few legs that kept us on our toes. Steep, rocky, muddy. But the scenery was fabulous. Lots of pine and aspen, a lot of wildflowers such as bluebells, fairy trumpets, monks hoods, Indian paint brush, fireweed, and, of course, Colorado Columbine. We saw one deer. We came home covered with dust and mud, tired but happy.

South Fork, CO

South Fork is a very small town on the Silver Strand Scenic Highway. They are famous for Logger Days - a weekend of logging competitions which I'll tell you more about after this coming Saturday.

We met the whole group for cocktails and a game on Sunday afternoon and then had a great catered dinner and by 7 PM everyone was in their own RV's. So John and I got the bikes out and went exploring. Of course, everyone is older than us -- so it seems but we still have a few folks to meet.

Today we lined up with 10 other jeeps and took off on Barry's South Run. It was a relatively easy trail in the Rio Grande Wilderness Area with some challenges in some places, mud in others. We stopped by Beaver Creek Reservoir for lunch and were back at the campground by 1:30. We rode our bikes some this afternoon and found a lovely golf course but it is closed on our day off. If we get back from Jeeping early one day, we may try to get 9 holes played.

Click here for a map of our location this week.

Movin' On

Despite the beautiful weather, calm winds and lots of sunshine yesterday, John did not catch a single trout! But . . . our neighbors did and they gave one of them to us. They also left some firewood for us so we enjoyed a wonderful evening under the stars next to a fire.

We got up early this morning and headed towards our next adventure in South Fork. We are spending the night in Alamosa near the Great Sand Dunes National Park. We are over 15 miles away and can still see the white sand. Tomorrow we join the Escapees in South Fork for some off-road Jeeping starting on Monday!

Leasure Time

It's 9:30 on Friday morning and I'm enjoying the sunshine but not the 45°! John took off fishing about an hour ago and it was only 44°! But the good news is that it's warming up quickly and should be near 70° this afternoon.

Yesterday started out about the same way but didn't warm up as much. It also stormed in the afternoon but the evening was clear and cool so John got some more fishing time. John has not caught any fish yet but our neighbors are catching bunches and brought us a baked trout for supper -- boy was it tasty!

Well, it's too pretty out to waste blogging so I'm off hiking.

Hiking and fishing

On Tuesday afternoon, John was able to get the kayak into the water for 2 hours of fishing. Mostly though to just see if he could do it and to see if he could transport the kayak on top of the jeep.

We went hiking on Wed. morning along the lake shore and then back into the meadows and lower tree line. It was a good 3 - 3 1/2 mile hike and we were pooped! We have not really acclimated to the altitude yet and we probably over did the exercise. We didn't do much in the afternoon (after naps). It was cloudy and threatening rain so we drove into Lake George to get gas in the Jeep. Along the road we came across an Elk grazing along the shoulder. He wasn't the least bit afraid of us.

It poured down rain during our dinner hour but right at sunset it quit and we saw a beautiful double rainbow. Then we saw the BEAR! It was across the meadow and headed toward some tent campers. We tried to warn them but then lost sight of the bear -- I guess we scared him too!

Colorado Adventure Begins

We left Sedalia on Monday, July 5 and drove to Limon for the night and then on to 11 Mile State Park. We actually got the same site we had last year -- the best one in our opinion! We have shade almost all day, a view of the lake in one direction, a view of snow-capped mountains in another direction and a lovely alpine meadow backed by a large crag in another direction.

This place just excites all your senses! The smell of Ponderosa Pine permeates the whole area. The buzz of bees and the twittering of birds combines with the chirping of chipmunks as they chase each other over the boulders. A gentle breeze brushes the skin or a large whoosh of wind blows your hair into your eyes. Then at mealtime you can taste the savory juices of a grilled steak or burger.

We LOVE Colorado! Click here for a map.