Our Adventures RV'ing

Our Adventures RV'ing

Friday, September 21, 2018

BRECKENRIDGE AND BUENA VISTA, CO




After our last visit here 2 years ago Breckenridge made our list of places we would definitely make a return visit. Our plans this year drew us so close to Breckenridge that we decided to spend a week here. We stayed again at Tiger Run but chose a larger and more upgraded site called a Deluxe premium site. Check out my last post of our stay at Breckenridge for general park amenities. Here are a few pictures of our site on this trip.


Site #329



We ended up here about a week earlier then our last visit and still happened to be here for this years Breckenridge Oktoberfest.




After a beer in town we headed over to the gondola station in town and rode the free ride to base camp at Peak 8 where we could start our hike up to the top of the Colorado Superchair and the Vista house.


Swinger trail


We chose the Swinger trail, about 4 miles to the top and an elevation gain of 1240 feet. We started at 9965ft and finished at 11,195ft. All of our time spent in Salt Lake City, skiing, mountain biking and hiking the high elevation peaks in the Wasatch made this hike seem easy. The hike is actually a downhill bike trail but is open to hiking and biking. We didn't see too many mountain bikers on the trail and the trail had a lot of room for sharing. We stopped at the Vista house to share a sandwich and have a well deserved 2nd beer before heading back down. The nice thing about this hike is we could ride the chair down from the top and then pick up the gondola back down the mountain. The Colorado Superchair is not free if you want to ride it to the top but if you hike to the top they don't have scanners and don't check so the ride down is free.

We also hiked the McCullough Gulch Trail. Great hike up to an alpine lake and a waterfall about 1/2 way into the hike. A moderate trail that did have a little rock scrambling at least to the 1st lake. The trail goes beyond the 1st lake to a 2nd lake but the trail becomes more advanced after the 1st lake so we opted not to go further.
The fall leaves were abundant on the hike.


The trail begins with double track

Some rock scrambling
Cairns to guide you

Small waterfall

1st lake
Great fall colors.



After a fantastic week in Breckenridge we moved on to Buena Vista, CO where we were going to attend the Newmar CO State Chapter Rally. We enjoy attending these rallies; it is a great way to meet other Newmar owners for socializing and sharing travel stories. The rally was held at the Arrowhead Point Campground 5 miles outside of Buena Vista. The park had 50amp full hook up sites that were spacious. We had a back in site that was easy to get in and out although the roads around the resort can be tight but if taken slow are maneuverable. It was a basic park and okay for a night or two.

Besides a visit to Buena Vista we went to the town of Salida, 30 miles south of Buena Vista. The town is known for its art community and I had fun walking the streets and visiting many of the shops. It is also along the Arkansas river and the community has built a paved trail along the river which was fun to walk on. I found this great shop called The Bungled Jungle, you can't not buy something here but just walking through the store and meeting the owner is worth a visit



Our group went on a boat ride at Twin Lakes which is one of two ways of getting to the historic Interlaken hotel/ Dexter House. By boat or a 9 mile out and back hike to get to it, there is no road access out there. Fun to walk around and since it was originally built in the late 1800's  I was amazed at the detail and the facilities it had back then.


Twin Lakes Resevoir



Door hinges with a lot of detail

Intricate wood work

bathroom
Next stop: The Land of Enchantment: Taos/Santa Fe, New Mexico

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Gateway to Colorado: Silt and Glenwood Springs, CO- September 2018




We begin our fall trip heading to one of our favorite places, Breckenridge. Since it was the holiday weekend we planned a few stops on the way. We try not to drive over 200 miles in a day so we spent one night in Green River, UT; not a destination I would call interesting but it allowed us to get our feet back into RV travel as well as give the RV a good cleaning after Mike found a dead mouse in the RV a few weeks ago. We have been storing the RV inside for the past 4 years when we are not traveling and have not had any problems. We remove all food stuffs every time we put the RV into storage after a trip. After finding the dead mouse and removing it we started the process of checking the entire coach, removing all droppings and giving the RV a good cleaning. We found the mouse lure, a packet of parmasean cheese like the ones from the pizza places that was in the silverware drawer and the mouse chewed the end off and had a feast. Lesson learned, all food needs to be removed. After a couple of days of cleaning everything and rechecking for droppings we have found no additional signs to indicate any other stowaways but we will continue to monitor and if we find any signs the traps go out.

We stayed one night at the Shady Acres RV Park, not much here to talk about other than the site was plenty long so we didn't need to unhitch and the sites had lots of space between RV's. We had an end spot so it was even more private. The park was OK for an overnight but not on the radar for any return visits.

 Our next stop for 4 nights was at the Glenwood Springs West KOA, about 15 miles west of Glenwood Springs in the town of Silt, CO. We don't frequent KOA's that often since they tend to be set up as a more family friendly park but the reviews and the idea of getting a site on the Colorado River was attractive. I am glad we had the time to stop here and relax for a few days because this had to be one of our favorite KOA's so far. Being the holiday weekend it was full so I'm glad I reserved this location in advance. It is in it's 4th year of operation and although the trees have several more years to mature there is plenty of grass in between the sites. In addition, their are some great full hook up sites right on the Colorado river with fire pits, gas grills, and a covered patio. These sites are back in and were plenty big enough for our 45ft RV and room in front for our tow vehicle . There is a nice community room, laundry facilities, pool and spa. Mike hit the spa the 1st day and it was not hot enough for his liking, not sure if it was working or not but we didn't return.

Our site W06


Fire pit with a river view

Nice covered patio and a gas grill






Dogs on their way to getting their feet wet in the Colorado river
As for location the park is great, you are 7 miles from the towns of Rifle to the west and 7 miles to the east is New Castle. Glenwood Springs is 15 miles to the east and from there south are the towns of Carbondale and Aspen.

We took a drive to New Castle, a quaint little town with a coal mining history but not much else but made for a nice walk with the dogs.

Burning Mountain Park

Main street-New Castle, CO



We are only 15 miles south of Glenwood Springs and since I was still recovering from my collarbone surgery from a mountain bike fall 5 weeks ago and there was going to be no mountain biking this trip I needed to search for hikes in the area. I found one of Colorado's scenic hikes, Hanging Lake Trail, it is right off of I-70 about 7 miles east of Glenwood Springs. Get there early; the parking area is small and there is no overflow parking and if you park incorrectly  they will tow vehicles. Best advice is to go on a weekday and get there before 10am. We went on a Tuesday, got there around 9:40am and was able to get a parking spot, when we were done at around noon the parking lot was full. The hike starts about 3/4 of a mile from the parking area. It is an easy walk to the trail on an asphalt path.






The trail will be obvious to your left, then it is 1.4 miles with 1200ft of ascent, all up. Expect a rocky, steep climb.    


Great shot of Mike on the way down with the Colorado River in the background

Just after the hand rails and a steep climb, looks worse then it is, you are richly rewarded.





Due to the limited parking it kept the amount of people at Hanging Lake reasonable when we got there. Worth the moderately strenuous climb, a place to spend some time relaxing, take in the view and then return back down the trail to the parking area. This is a must do hike if in the area and I found it just challenging enough and there are plenty of benches along the way for breaks.





On to our next stop and favorite place to visit Breckenridge, Colorado. I hear the leaves are starting to change.


Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.- John Muir






Saturday, June 16, 2018

Spring 2018 Part 4- Capitol Reef National Park


Capitol Reef National Park is in southern Utah, basically in the middle of nowhere. It's most popular features are part of a Waterpocket fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) that extends 100 miles but is only 6 miles wide.
The closest town to Capitol Reef is the small town of Torrey, UT. It is 11 miles west of the entrance to the National Park on Highway 24. In Torrey there are two well reviewed RV parks with full hook ups and with sites for larger RV's. Both are listed on RV Park Reviews; we stayed at Wonderland RV Park.








The RV park is right next to a farm; the dogs enjoyed seeing the animals up close.





With one day here and rain, we made the best of it by doing some short hikes and drove the scenic road into the park. Before the actual park entrance we stopped at the  Gifford Homestead for their pies which I had read were the best and they were, I even took some pies back to the RV to enjoy later.

We then drove the scenic road into the park, it is paved for the 1st 7.9 miles and then becomes a dirt road. We only did the paved portion since it was raining. The park charges a $15 entrance fee to drive the road, it is self pay and starts past the visitor center and campground. It is covered with the National Parks Pass.
Visitor Center
Scenic Road

We did two short hikes, Sunset Point and Goosenecks Point. Both were short hikes, not strenuous and had great views from the end points.



Short drive from the visitor center right on Highway 24 are some petroglyphs.


An often overlooked National Park, it is definitely a park to visit and appreciate nature from a geological aspect. An amazing place.



Next up: Summer 2018 RV trip ( Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming) and some mountain biking.