We are ready to hike to Historic Inter-laken Resort directly across the lake from our camp site.Yikes! What an awesomely beautiful day! Enjoying the amazing reflections of La Plata Peak, Mt Elbert and Mt Massive.And the aspen grove along the shore.This is the lodge that was moved 150 feet before the dam enlarged the glacial lake.Dexter’s Cabin was lived in until 1950 and has been partially restored.This is a 6 person privy from 1890 – we did not open a door!We followed the trail to some other buildings in the resort.The log detail of this stable structure was quite interesting – some very tall trees were felled for this structure.Back on the trail, we will head to that grassy knoll for lunch.Nice to share this spot with our full time RV friends, who came over from their camp near Aspen for the day.We relaxed and looked back on our camp site on the hill across the lake.
And this is the Roaring Fork River – the start of our hike off Independence Pass at 12,095′.This is the funkiest bridge crossing but our feet stayed dry. See the Western Wagon Blog for each of our distinct bridge crossing styles!STOP! Hold that pose. Dancing across the snow fields.Well, will you just look at all that beauty.Ephemeral streams with lots of wildflowers taking advantage of the moisture.This reminded me of the patterns seen from our plane ride over Ft Collins.Summit of panoramic Lost Man Pass (12,815-ft.) – we decided not to descend to the lake but turned around.As it was so beautiful hiking up we still had plenty to enjoy.Maybe we should sit awhile and soak up the ambience with some sunshine.Enjoying Independence Lake.Will that snow bridge over the stream hold the weight this man?Yes it will – how fun is that!Parting friends, our last shot of the Roaring Fork before relaxing at Difficult Campground, and a baked chicken dinner among the aspens. Another link to Western Wagon Blog
Our friends from Littleton joined us for some cycling.We rode the gondola to the top of Keystone and reminisced about our times skiing there.It looks like we are ready for some Spring skiing! Beautiful view of Lake Dillon.It is Happy Hour and what a life!This was our view as the Local Folks played for us.A few days later we went on a Geology Car Tour of the region by Friends of Dillon Ranger District and learned about how this region of the Rocky Mountains was under the inland ocean and then uplifted.Our next visitors were my parents – we had a picnic lunch by the lake and then later a poolside BBQ.The next morning we walked the Dillon Natural Area which is a nice graded dirt road with no bikes. and enormous views. Flax in bloom.Nice reflections!These Wild Animals are thinking about our Benjamin and wishing him a Get Well Soon with Lots of Love, Hugs and Smiles!
Beautiful day for a hike in Eagles Nest Wilderness in the White River National Forest.The water is very high this Spring – this is a beautiful little mountain lake we are going to walk around.Flag Iris in bloom!Taking a break in the shade!I am not sure if this is a type of Mullen but it reminded me of a Yucca stalk in bloom.Double checking our route and where we are going – or maybe where we have been!Could you ask for a better day than this?!!!Taking a picture of a Marmot sunning himself on the top of this boulder. Good eyes to spot that guy!White blooms frame the lake from the far end.That is the large Cataract Falls coming down from the snow covered peak. Unfortunately this trail does not go close to the falls or offer a better view. But you can hear it on much of the trail.
Taking a break from the Travato, we are staying at a condo with a pleasant view and all the amenities.On the bike again! It is a 15-mile round trip ride to Lake Dillon Dam along the Snake River.A fabulous destination to take a break and enjoy the view.National Trail’s Day 2017 – we volunteered for the White River Forest Service along with about 50 others.We were separated into teams and given a few safety tips.Our team leader and our crew of 4 dug this trench to run water off the trail.The trench is getting deep enough and we are creating a dam along the path to divert the water – we had to dig deeper for mineral soil, not organic top soil as that erodes too fast and turns to mud.After the work, we met up with Friends of the Dillon Ranger District at the Tiki Bar on Lake Dillon.To enjoy this fabulous lunch, thanks to Pug Ryans!
Now we feel like we are back in Colorado! We overnight parked the Travato next to Havelin Lake, a bit north of Durango on the Million Dollar Highway.We enjoyed relaxing by the lake and enjoying the scenery.And watched the Sun set and the lake become calm. All kinds of birds were present but we did not see any large animals.Just north of Ouray we spotted some waterfalls worth stopping the Travato to take a look.This is the road we just came down the mountain on and then stitched together this vertical panorama of the falls.We headed to Ridgeway, Montrose and then to a lunch hike at Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area.But the weather turned and we did not want to get stuck climbing out on the dirt road with the Travato. On we went to Grand Junction.And met up with our friends to hike this beautiful trail in McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. (our pictures from last September)
Sep
The red tail hawk was waiting to pounce on some school kids! He is a bit stuffed… but was still pleasant to look at.Oh but this was alive alive Oh… coolWere we talking too much and not paying attention to where the trail turned?Photo at the mid point of the Devil’s Canyon trail.Should we check out this real estate? It is need of some TLC but the views are grand.Indian paintbrush – isn’t this lovely?!A full moon over Colorado National Monument after being guest chefs. http://thewesternwagon.blogspot.com/2017/05/colorado-national-monfruita-co-53-517.html
Our picnic table with the moody sky before a storm.Our favorite work lunch picnic spot overlooking the Bear Creek and the start of 7 Falls Hike.Another great spot is the Dam in Lower Sabino – it is beautiful this winter with all the rain and snow melt from Mt Lemmon.Another favorite Nice (Gneiss) rock outcropping.The first Spring flowers are this pink fairy duster.Part of an old road to the Dam, that we have dubbed the Roman Road. We cleared the edges from growth to expose the beautiful cobblestone work.The Roman Road before the brush was removed – barely a path through the prickly bushes.And we finished clearing the shrubs next to this beautiful stairway as an alternate to using the Roman Road to visit the Dam.Helping out on some brush cutting along the Phoneline Trail.Emptying the bucket loads of prickly pear that we cleared from the Bear Creek Roadside – safety measure for the pedestrians, especially children.The result is a much safer road to walk on.We also cleared growth above and below this wall in a large parking area in Upper Sabino Canyon. Little did we know that the Youth Corp was going to camp here the following weekend while doing some trail rebuilding.This crested Saguaro cactus is much visited by the visitor center, but really interesting.Walking back to the Winnebago Travato after work before a rain storm. this is such a beautiful place to be!More snow in the mountains was visible at sunrise.We found an oasis in the desert (south of Sabino) at Agua Caliente Park.
Beautiful Sabino Canyon watching the clouds build in mid-January.Reflections of the saguaros.Looks like more rain as we are watching from the Travato.Wow – another amazing rainbow.So much rain (and it is cold), we are working in the warehouse – prepping new boards to revitalize some picnic tables.Pre- drilling: three coats of paint to follow. The legs got spray-painted.There were large signs to paint in “Federal Brown” – these will go up Mt Lemmon.You can check out, but you can never leave!We met J & J at Starr Pass for a hike before dinner out and an astronomy lecture at UA. The day ended by seeing a 4 star cluster in Orion’s sword at the Steward Observatory. Their blog with more pictures of the hike.We took a group hike from Molino Basin on Mt Lemmon to this trailhead on Reddington Pass.It took us all day but we had some great scenery and camaraderie.We took a break to Kartchner Caverns State Park and shared a camp site with J & J – leveling was a challenge. But we now have a new leveling app from Truma that should be helpful on other sites.We hiked a couple miles to this overlook. Then back for some of Joan’s home made pizza – yum! It was great to have so many times together this month, building memories and sharing our travel stories. Joan and Jim’s Blog on Kartchner CavernsThe waters really reached a high point and even the trams could not go up Sabino Canyon.We have shoveled, then swept all the sand and debris off this bridge as part of our job to keep it safe for bikes and peds.The mile markers were looking a bit less than fresh as this one at the top of the canyon.This one was buried behind debris but we have it cleaned up and looking good.Having friends over for a BBQ and sunset. Lights under the Travato to keep away the pack rats.Hanging out under the awning – well deserved after washing the house inside and out.Our neighbors also enjoying the view at Cocktail Hour.Another full moon in the canyon.
