Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Crested Butte, CO

 

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We are now parked in the Gunnison National Forest off Washington Gulch Road near Crested Butte, a lovely spot in a meadow with views of mounts Gothic, Snodgrass and Crested Butte. After leaving Ouray we stopped off in Curecanti National Recreation Area where we dumped our tanks, filled the fresh water, and spent the night at Stevens Creek Campground. We stayed there in 2012 and really liked the area. It was as pretty as we remembered but its close proximity to Highway 50 results in way too much traffic noise. Also in 2012 we had a decent Verizon signal with the booster but this time although we had a few bars of 3G we were unable to access the internet.

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It was nice to see a reservoir full of water.

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So the next morning we headed for Crested Butte after a stop at City Market in Gunnison, where we parked next to a shiny newer red Lazy Daze. While I was picking up a couple things Jim met the owner, Sharon, a very nice woman from Oklahoma. Hope to see her again down the road.

After passing through Crested Butte we saw a pullout where we decided to unhook the car, since we knew we were just a few miles to where the road turns to dirt. Had we not stopped we would have missed the fun experience of driving through a cattle drive

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After entering forest service land Jim pulled over and I drove on in the car to scope out some sites. Turns out the ones we could have gotten into were taken, so we just ended up getting level where he pulled off. A couple hours later our Iowa friends Chuck and Carla showed up. They seem to have an uncanny way of finding us anywhere!

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After they got set up we walked for a couple hours up the road from where we parked. It’s really a beautiful area and we can only imagine what it looked like when all the flowers were in bloom last month.

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At 9,600’ it’s pretty cool here but we managed to sit outside for a chilly happy hour taking in the view.

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This is what our thermometer said when I got up at 6:45 today. It was 47 inside, pretty nippy! I was concerned that our Kozy World heater would not work at this elevation but with windows and vents cracked it started right up and it ran for an hour before the sun came up over the mountain and began warming us.

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Today Chuck and Carla went into town for a few things while Jim and I did a 6 mile hike on the Snodgrass Trail, just a mile down the road from our site. Unfortunately there is a lot of haze today, supposedly from the fires in the Pacific Northwest. Should be blowing off in the next day or so we hope. We were just happy it was clear yesterday when we arrived.

Here’s what we saw on our hike today:

Two motorized mountain bikes. The guys both said we should get one.

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Several deer peering at us through the aspens.

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Hazy views of Mt. Crested Butte.

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And this green guy.

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Debbie just arrived about an hour ago. We’re waiting to see who shows up next!

15 comments:

  1. Fantastic! I love that area… so wide open.
    Miss everyone. Miss hiking. Counting down the days…
    Box Canyon Mark

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    1. Wish you and Bobbie were here to keep Gayle whipped into shape.

      Jim

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    2. Motorized mountain bike=dirt bike ugh! Miss you guys. I'm finishing with work and free to get out of southern Ohio Monday. We are off to central Ohio for a visit to Airstream and then to Tennessee for a month. Then Austin! Hope to find you on some dirt road next year!

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  2. Love the picture of the young bucks in the aspen. Enjoying these posts as we'll be spending several months in Colorado next year.

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  3. Nice place you got there! Hazy here too. A local told me today "Yep, New Mexico is on fire again."

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  4. Boy it sure would be nice to have a motorized bike on some of the hills, wouldn't it?!

    Love this area, even without the wildflowers!

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  5. This is another Colorado area I am looking forward to visiting. Not a bad view:) Love those beautiful bucks! Yes, how many will be in your party!!

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  6. I just love that you pull off in a boondocking spot and the world comes to your doorstep. You must have a magnet on your coach. Looks like a fabulous spot in that picture with the mountains in the background. What a view! Motorized mountain bikes seems like cheating to me. Hope there isn't a lot of noise from them in such a beautiful location. Black Canyon of the Gunnison was one of our very favorite spots in Colorado. Love the cattle drive and the deer pictures.

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    1. Not a bit of noise. They were electric motors.

      Jim

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  7. It is really hazy even down here in New Mexico. We drove up to the top of Sandia Crest yesterday and could hardly see anything for the haze (you can usually see over 100 miles from the top of the crest). Looks like a really pretty area you are in. Looking forward to seeing what hikes you find.

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  8. You are party magnets in the most beautiful of countryside.

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  9. Too bad about the haze. It seems that Washington state had been declared a disaster area given the number of fires burning right now. Your temps seem to remind us that summer is nearing its end. Enjoy the remainder of it with your friends. Looks like that is a grasshopper on steroids!

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  10. Love your happy hour spot, what great views. The deer are beautiful but that big green bug - not so much!

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