There are several campgrounds along the road to Maroon Bells and the National Forest access. We stayed in the Silver Queen Campground. When Stephen was looking for a camping spot, we wanted river access, shade, and elevation. Some campgrounds cram people in like sardines and we certainly didn’t want that, either. What we got, was …
Travel
You know there is a story behind that title. But first. After Stephen caught some trout, it was up to me to cook it. I love the taste of trout. I do not like the bones. I come from a very wonderful family of fishermen. My father, grandfather, father-in-law, and husband have always provided me …
The story goes that the man who first saw these peaks thought they looked like twin bells. When you get up close, the first one really does look like a handbell. Both peaks, Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak, are over 14,000 ft. However, as beautiful as they are, they are dangerous. Many hikers hoping …
Today, we took a long hike to the Colorado version of Crater Lake which is right at the base of the 2 Maroon Bells. Let’s just say it was “rocky” and leave it at that. Beautiful… ……but rocky. We met a lot of interesting people on the way up and down. We saw a lot …
The first night was cold, but I was dressed in a good base layer and the sleeping bag really was designed for cold extremes. I would have never believed a non-down filled bag could do that. My first thought when I stumbled out of the tent was coffee and chocolate. And hey, it’s vacation, so …
Maroon Bells is one of the most popular places in Colorado. There is even a claim that it is the most photographed area. When I first looked up the Bells, that certainly seemed to be the case. Since we got in late yesterday, we waited until today to go exploring at Maroon Lake which is …
Well, here it is. Our first attempt at long-term tent camping. When we arrived at our site, both of us were extremely relieved. Beautiful scenery, FLAT tent pad, and best of all….shade. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. We arrived around 5pm so we had plenty of time to get everything set …
Leadville is the highest incorporated town in North America sitting at 10,152 feet. Like many Colorado towns, this one was originally a mining town. We have driven through this small 1.1 square mile area on almost all of our Colorado trips, but I never got a picture. We usually drove right through, discussing the history. …
I have so many more things to post but we are going off the grid for a while. I will not have access to internet but I might have some cell coverage. Until I get back to using the kilowatts, I leave you with this! The view from 13,500 ft! Stephen got to the final …
The last day of Breckenridge was uneventful. We drove down to a favorite little town of Frisco and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. We also spent a LOT of time looking for firewood to buy. This is such a long story. 1. We started at City Café in Breckenridge. $3.59 per .75 cubic foot. 2. Drove …
After a very big day of climbing Mt. Quandary, we decided to enjoy more town exploring. It was a good night for it because we saw all sorts of interesting things. Ever seen a dog wearing human pants? Or a fox running down Main Street? This is a wild red fox. And old wagon. Pot. …
In the United States, the highest mountain peaks rise above 14,000ft. Colorado has 54 of these mountains, the most of any other state. For that reason, Colorado is the best place to attempt a first 14,000ft summit. Last year, we tried for Pike’s Peak and didn’t get very far. I was sick and Stephen didn’t …
This morning, we took a drive to some off roads and found a lake that still had ice on it. Being from Alabama, ice on a lake is something new. Naturally I took a gazillion pictures. Here are a few. Then we found some deep snow and had to play in it. Or stand …
More blue skies and more mountain views! As we left Colorado Springs, I noticed some land scarring from last year’s wildfire. Thank goodness no wildfires right now. I hope this area can get a rest from them this year. It seems to be cooler and not as dry as last year. I did not get …
Just a few pictures of the drive over. I have a ton more but have not had much downtime to get them organized. I hope to do some of that later on the trip. The skies are so blue here and there is still a lot of snow on the peaks. Colorado Day 4 is …
Before we got on the road to Breckenridge, we stopped at Walmart. It seems most walmarts are about the same. We drove 1300 miles to see if that was true. And other than more fishing and camping gear, they are the same. This one even had the green expandable water hose, both brands. The “As …
19 hours in a truck packed tighter than a clown car. That sounds like fun, right? It’s actually not that bad. We take turns driving and sleeping and the time passes quickly because we know we are getting closer to Colorado! We also leave very early in the morning or in this case, late Monday …
It’s almost time to load up the truck and depart Alabama for 3+ weeks. We will stay in condos and hotels and do some tent camping in Colorado and I can’t wait! This is what I think about during these last couple of weeks of school when summer vacation is close enough to dream about …
That’s me. Right now, I’m extremely overwhelmed. We are leaving in a few hours and I have a house full of clean clothes and that’s about it. I have a few lists scattered here and there, but all is not lost forever. I finally organized my Camping Packing List just for tent or travel camping. …
It is less than 24 hours until AIS time. Fans of Everybody Loves Raymond will recognize this as “Ass In Seat”, something the military father instituted for family car trips. We are leaving for 3 weeks and I have not pulled a suitcase out of the closet yet. I haven’t even packed Frankie’s Kitty Spa …