09-25-2010 The Rest of the Rockies

Today lived up to my expectations of what the Colorado Rockies would be.  I spent much of the time wondering if I couldn’t breathe because we were at 10,000 feet or because the views were just so breathtaking.  Again, we spontaneously rerouted and after visiting Ouray decided to go south to Telluride and then take the San Juan Scenic highway south to Dolores and into Utah at Monticello.

What a great choice.  Mo had camped in Ouray in the late 60’s and we stopped and walked through town to see if we could find the campground where she stayed.  No luck on the old campground, but the town was delightful, with galleries and shops filled with truly amazing art and some very expensive wonders. 

The aspens lit the mountains like yellow flame, accented perfectly by the dark green spruce.  I took a ridiculous number of photos, and with a small point and shoot with a normal lens it is impossible to capture that light and those vistas. 

Of course, I tried, and my photos will help me remember what it felt like to be in this part of the Rockies. 

After Telluride, and the last pass, the road followed the Dolores River, and within a very short distance we were over the mountains and on the Colorado Plateau, approaching Monticello from the east.  I knew of a small RV park in Blanding, a simple overnight stop when necessary, so we though maybe that would do if the state parks were full.

Just beyond Monticello however, on highway 191, Mo caught a sign on the west side of the road for the Devils Canyon Forest Service camp and the road even looked paved.  It took a mile or two to turn around, but it was worth it.  This campground has 42 sites, all spaced well, with campfire rings and water available.  After cruising the nearly empty campground, we settled on a pull through spot, and paid our five dollar fee for another night of dry camping. 

We walked a couple of miles through the rest of the campground before settling in to supper and a quiet evening.  One more walk around the loop took us past an RV all set up with  a solar oven, TV antennas, satellite dish, the works.  I saw a woman at the window and asked if she was getting TV.  She laughed, and said, “No, I just saw all the other people had theirs up so thought I would try it”.  We laughed too, saying that is exactly what we had done!

Kate was friendly and fun, and jumped right out of her motorhome to come and share with us all sorts of information, including her great solar oven, some nice small lightweight chairs she got from WalMart, and her blog, Cholulared.blogspot.com.  Being a full timer, she knew all the full time bloggers, and we laughed about what a small world it is.  Made for a fun evening.

 

 

09-24-2010 Over the Rockies

We headed west over the Rockies today, no more agenda, no more visiting or guests, just homeward bound.  Of course, between here and home lie the red canyons of Capitol Reef, my heart home and sweet spot on the planet.  Before we slip into canyon country, however, I thought it might be fun to wander west via a different route than the fast, winding interstate across the mountains out of Denver.

We chose Highway 285 south from Littleton, across Kenosha Pass, famous for its mountain bike trails, turning west on US 50, the road that crosses the US from coast to coast.  Another climb, Monarch Pass, looked challenging on the map.  How in the world do we haul the baby car over 11.300 feet?! The best part of the day was going to be the ability to drive as long as we felt like it, and then stop wherever we wanted to stop.

The passes were a piece of cake, really, most of the way had two lanes and the steepest grade was maybe 6 percent.  The MoHo has an automatic transmission downshift, so that  makes the downhill sides of the passes easy and safe as well, even though we don’t have any extra brakes on the car.  The aspens are turning at the higher elevations, and the colors were backlit by the afternoon sun.

The only problem with this plan is that it all went by much too quickly.  We saw two forest service campgrounds on highway 50, just before 1pm, and thought it was way too early to stop.  Once over Monarch Pass, however, the west slope of the Rockies opens up into big wide ranching country, and by the time we found a place to stop around 3, the landscape was as barren as any we have seen in Nevada.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the desert.  Rabbitbrush and sage are familiar to me and camping in the wide open spaces is something we actually seek.  But on this day, somehow, I thought I would be camping in the Colorado Rockies, among spruce and aspen.  Instead I am at the Stevens Creek BLM campground on a reservoir of the Arkansas River, surrounded by sage and silence.  The skies are clear, and at 7600 feet, I am sure the stars will be breathtaking. 

Not far north is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, a dramatic National Park, and yet the drive there looks tortuous and we have decided to continue west on 50 tomorrow morning and camp tomorrow night in Canyonlands, at the Island in the Sky, at Horse Thief BLM campground.  Canyon country calls, red canyons, not black ones, and I am a bit like a horse heading for the barn.