The mozzies carried us from Hahn's Peak into Wyoming

We enjoyed another camping trip with family at Hahn’s Peak just north of Steamboat Springs.

Bald Eagle

Dave, Sandra, Xan and Lizzy we already paddling around the lake when we launched our kayak now sporting the name “Aquadude”. And within minutes we were experiencing a wildlife moment that was pretty special. A resident bald eagle was perched in a dead tree overlooking the lake. He dived down and caught a fish and flew to a dead tree on the the opposite side to enjoy his spoils. Quietly we paddled over and gazed in amazement as he completed his meal, cleaning his beak and then flying away. To round out our bird watching experience we had lots of encounters with hummingbirds whooshing up behind us and each day gazed up to see an Osprey flying over the lake.

Dave fly fishing

Lizzy, Xan and Sandra

Our wildlife encounters were not solely up in the sky. Loud grunting and scraping noises woke us during the night and so I grabbed the torch to go and investigate……..I was scared but curious to find out what could be making such a racket. Shining the torch under the cab I found two hind legs and part of the torso of none other than a porcupine.  He was merrily reaching up to feast on the brake lining under the engine. We shooed him off and had no more interruptions during the night.

Our new mechanic..!!

The next night we weren’t so lucky when he came back. After the 4^th time we shooed him away we ended up putting our camping light under the engine and this did the job of keeping him away.

In the end the mozzies carried us on our way……

Driving into Wyoming

Rocky Mountains NP

We had seen a very wintery RMNP in December 2008 and so it was exciting to be back and to stay in the park during summer.

We arrived at the entrance late in the afternoon and were not surprised to find the campgrounds full (it was summer holidays after all). So we backtracked to an over flow campground at Meeker Park for the night. Early the next morning we waited in line at the Glacier Basin Campground with no expectations…we could easily drive back to Meeker Park for the night if no sites were available.

We walked away from the check in booth with big smiles on our faces. This was our home for the next two nights. The snow capped mountains enhanced our view of elk grazing in the meadows around the campground. They munched right by Dude as we watched in excitement. Some idiot decided to imitate the bugling, which got the elk’s attention….he was lucky it wasn’t rutting season and another happy camper decided to speed around the campsite so they could get as close to the herd as possible. It was a great wildlife moment and as the herd grazed on into the cover of trees the crowd dispersed.

We really got to experience just how busy the park was when we waited in line for the shuttle bus to take us out to Bear Lake, as the road had a vehicle size limit on it. After some time we made it to the front of the line and boarded the third bus out to the lake.

Our plan was to hike up to The Loch along the Glacier Gorge Trailhead which joins the North Longs Peak trail. At first the trail was an endless line of people until we passed Alberta Falls then the throng of people thinned out and the lush scenery overtook our senses. We hiked over some snow hugging the ground, defying the melt happening all around, as we reached the lake. We sat on a boulder taking in the view and eating our lunch and promptly got blasted with a mountain breeze that howled ominously through the mountains. With jackets on hand and the beautiful scenery before us…..and no visible thunderstorm clouds, the wind really didn’t really bother us. We decided to loop back via Lake Haiyaha and followed the trail sign but somehow ended up back at the trailhead. Perhaps the trail was a locals shortcut to go fishing at The Loch but it remains a mystery and we never did get to Lake Haiyaha.

Nearing The Loch

Driving Trail Ridge Road over Milner Pass we watched marmots scamper around in the tundra

Milner Pass

We had some wonderful wildlife encounters while camping at Timber Creek.  I was sitting at the table and chairs in our campsite and an elk walked right up to me and started to forage in the fire ring. He looked at me and kept on foraging in the ashes before sauntering off to another fire place. Then a crowd started gathering along the embankment near the marshes and we got to see our first Moose and her calf. Awesome !!

My close encounter with an Elk

Our first Moose sighting at Timber Creek Campground

Ski Resorts to Evergreen

And then it was back to the two of us. I needed time to readjust and so we camped another night in Bogan Flats.  Not a tough choice with the river, snow capped mountains and Hummingbirds to keep us company. Then when it was time to move on, we drove out to Marble to check out the huge chunks of quarried marble visible along the roadside. It was very chalky and different to the marble I brought back from our Contiki trip around Europe many years ago.

Relaxing in downtown Aspen

Gleaming brightly in the sun, row upon row of private jets come into view as we drove into Aspen. Lush green ski runs above the town completed the picture of wealth and prosperity. We camped just out of town in a wonderful campground full of Aspen trees, lush foliage and a myriad of flowers. To our surprise a 5 mile bike trail wound it's way from the campground along a wildlife reserve and into Aspen. Considering Aspens four lane main street, in reality only wide enough to fit two regular sedans (the town planners were dreaming when they came up with that idea) and Dude’s behemoth size riding our bikes in made lots of sense and exploring Aspen so much easier.

Maroon Bells

I had finally arrived at the iconic scene coveting all the tourist brochures and backpacker magazines.......Maroon Bells. With time restrictions on vehicles using the road we were now only a bus ride away from getting to see this picturesque wilderness. The previous day we had driven out on this road only to find that we had to turn around in a two tiered car park with acute grades and concrete barriers not at all friendly to anything larger than a regular sedan....Dude still carries the scars on his rear end. With clouds aloft and some rain falling we loaded our bikes onto the bike rack on the front of the bus and headed up to Maroon Bells. What can I say......it was all beautiful and after a couple of hours hiking accompanied by many ooh ahhh moments and a sighting of a marmot sunning himself it was time to don our helmets and with no effort at all enjoyed our downhill ride back to Dude.



Downhill all the way

We glanced at the sign indicating vehicles over 30 feet prohibited and gave it no more thought, with the bikes on the back we lengthed out at 25 feet. So as the road narrowed and then narrowed again it seemed at odds to the signs warning and we began thinking would we be able to continue on up to Independence Pass.  At one point the road turned into a single lane with no turn outs and I held my breath hoping not to meet any oncoming traffic.  

Chillin' out at the top of the mountain

Then in no time we arrived at Dave and Sandra's home in Evergreen. Dude fitted very snugly into the driveway and obscured most of the house and entry to the garage but no one complained. Life on the road had temporarily stopped.

It was wonderful to spend time relaxing with family chatting, watching movies, playing board games, learning a move or two on the trampoline..!!, riding our bikes on a nearby trail, watching the Tour de France and enjoying an ale or two on the balcony. A highlight was being able to watch the girls performances in Drama plays at the Centre Stage in downtown Evergreen.

One morning we were called eagerly out of bed early to watch a bear in the front yard (alas the bear disappeared before we could get upstairs) and we later learnt that she has a cub.

One morning we drove up to Mt Evans at 14,204 feet our first 14’ teener on this trip and got to see some goats hanging out amongst the rocks on our way back down.

We would like to thank Johns work mates for the REI vouchers.....we were able to use them in Denver.

I’m pleased to say we received our vehicle registration sticker…..!!

Gunnison to Bogan Flats

As we followed the Gunnison River skirting around the West Elk Mountain Range we were driving through hills covered in sage bushes and sparsely scattered pine trees. Then as we turned northwards along the Taylor River we drove by farming land and the closer we got to Crested Butte the countryside got greener and greener. Nearing Crested Butte we could have been in the Swiss Alps with all the Chalets lining the mountainsides.

The Dragon Slayer welcomes you to Crested Butte

Downtown Crested Butte

Crested Butte is a very attractive town and as you drove in the dragon slayer adds to the atmosphere. It's great to see the locals zipping around on their bikes.  There are no campgrounds in town so we took Dude on another dirt road adventure up Kebler Pass, a bumpy dirt road to the Irwin Campground.  

Spillway into Irwin campground

We arrived at the campground finding we had to drive across a spillway that looked like at any moment the water would burst through the concrete barriers….with so much snow melt this year we saw high water levels everywhere. I wondered if the metal grate would wash away during the night leaving us stranded, but amazingly it was intact the next morning even after raining for most of the night.

Kebler Pass Road

Kebler Pass tops out at 10,007 feet and it's a photographer’s dream location. For 20 miles it is lined with a thick forests of Aspen trees and meadows of flowers. I dreamed that sometime in the future we would ride our bikes along this stretch of road in (fall) Autumn. It would be a memorable experience.

Turning onto the paved road our thoughts shifted from the magic scenery we had just driven through to excitement of catching up with family for a camping weekend at Bogan Flats campground at the bottom of McLure Pass. A wonderful wooded location along the Crystal River surrounded by snow capped mountains. The tradition of fly fishing this weekend was not to be with the high river and rain storms each afternoon but we did enjoy ice creams, fresh cherries we bought from a local farm, campfires inbetween the rain storms and toasted marshmallows…!!



As we waved goodbye at the end of the weekend I was already missing them but work commitments and school holiday programs meant they had to return home and I knew we would be seeing them again in a week’s time.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Our arrival in the Uncompahgre Valley coincided with the 4th July long weekend and not having made any reservations we found the only campground with a vacancy at Montrose where we promptly baked away in the hot searing sun for two days. Once the weekend ended we made our way up to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. At around 8,300 feet we hoped for some respite from the heat and were happy to find our campsite full of groves of Gambel Oak and service berry bushes. Chatting to the host we learnt that a bear frequents the area but had taken leave during the busy long weekend....(smart bear) and to keep a watch out for him.

We decided to ride our bikes the 12 miles out to High Point and back again....we had been sitting around with the air conditioning on for the last two days and needed some activity. So we left early to avoid the hottest part of the day. The terrain was really interesting and we saw lots of birds and lizards. Resting up after our arduous bike ride we happened to look out the front windscreen to see the resident bear lumbering along the road in front of Dude...we thought how lucky were we to see him in a near vacant campsite and our second bear sighting for this trip. Then in a flash he was gone.

Chasm view overlooking the Gunnison River

View of the Painted Wall and Gunnison River 2000 feet below

Collared Lizard

While at the Visitors Centre we overheard a family talking about their hike down to the Gunnison River and our ears pricked up. One mile and 2000 feet down a drainage route with 80 feet of chain to assist you getting down and back up the washed away sections….now that we knew about it we’ve got to do it.

After learning about the different routes down to the river.....with trail names such as S.O.B Draw and Slide Draw we decided on the Gunnison Route. So with hats, sunscreen, water, lunch and gloves and lots of anticipation, it was time to set off. At first the trail was in amongst the Aspen trees as we descended the switchbacks (the only part of the trail that was a trail). After that we were clinging onto tree roots and rocks as the terrain fell away. Then we reached the washed out sections where they had the chains to hold onto as you kind of like abseiled down,  then side stepping on the cascading scree rocks we reached the boulders with a view of the canyon wall on the other side and the river below. Two local guys from Montrose sailed on by us taking 20 minutes in what took us an hour…they were heading down for a day of catch and release trout fishing. Reaching the river it was lush and cool. We watched the fishermen while we ate our lunch and after walking up and down the river it was time to leave this wonderful cool and peaceful place to make our way back up to the rim.

Covered in dust and sweat this adventure had us grinning from ear to ear

Having fun as we navigated our way down to the river

Making our way over the boulders

We were covered in dirt but had grins from ear to ear as we made our way back up. This really was a hike we were going to remember.