Gore Creek Campground

Gore Creek Campground

On July 14, 2021

In Aspen, Beer, Camping, Gore Creek Campground, Pizza, Road trip

Monday was our last night of camping. When I booked a spot at the Gore Creek Campground I thought they had running water. Nope. Rookie mistake. I assumed when using Reservation.gov if the campground didn’t specifically say “no water” then water was available. Not the case. Always be sure to check that it says “water” as an amenity. Fortunately, it was our last night camping and the next night would be in a hotel.

Speaking of water, I purchased a solar shower before we left. Up until Monday morning I was super pleased with Dr. Prepare. And then I wasn’t. Sadira went to fill it up Monday morning and the hose disconnected from the bag. We tried to duct tape it. But, it just didn’t work. I don’t recommend the Dr. Prepare. It only last 4 days for us. That’s ridiculous.

After settling into our campsite, we decided to take a short hike. According to AllTrails, the trail was a 1.4 mile loop. We found the trail easily and set off. We hiked up and enjoyed the view as we climbed. A little over a mile in, we became concerned because we hadn’t looped around. When I checked AllTrails, no surprise. We were off the trail… again! We double backed and couldn’t find where the trail was supposed to turn. It looked liked it had been blocked. We continued back down the way we came and our 1.4 mile loop turned into a 2.5 out and back! Haha

Despite the extra distance hiked – the views of the mountains were beautiful.

We think this was some sort of mushroom.

After our hike, we prepped the tent one last time and Sadira made us quesadillas for dinner!

Tuesday morning we packed up for the last time. We headed to Denver for the day. We stayed close to the airport Tuesday night so I could fly home easily Wednesday. Tuesday we had lunch at Lowdown Brewery. We split a mushroom pizza and salad. Yummmmm!

It was a fun and relaxing camping trip. We had a few hiccups throughout the week… but, overall it was a success. As always, thanks for following along!

Crested Butte, CO

By wabisabisole

On July 13, 2021

In Aspen, Camping, Crested Butte, Hiking, Road trip, Wildflowers

Sunday morning we were up early and packed up by 9am. We wanted to hike the Snodgrass Trail in Crested Butte. George and Juliana hiked this trail two summers ago and highly recommended it. Their directions to find it left us doubting we would. “Drive through town and follow the road until you see a parking lot with a port-a-potty.” Sounds sparse, right? Actually, they were spot on! we spotted the potty, found the trail we wanted to take and set off!

After reading AllTrails, the hike was 5.8 miles. We packed water and snacks and set out. Ironically, the AllTrails map took us to the top of Snodgrass Mountain. The trail Sadira is pointing to in the picture above is what we walked for about a mile before realizing we weren’t on the trail. Our 5.8 mile hike turned out to be 8 miles! The views were amazing! Wildflowers and Aspen and of course Crested Butte.

Once we realized we weren’t on the summit trail, we turned around and started up the mountain. Everyone knows the reason you hike a mountain is for the panoramic view at the top. Hopefully. We hiked up about 1.2 miles in what seemed like straight and steep uphill. In the sun. Only to find the top was covered with pine trees that obstructed the view.

Regardless, it was a great hike and a quick walk down. More Aspen, butterflies, and flowers.

After the hike, we hopped in the car and started the drive over to Redstone Campground. It was about a 2.5 hour drive. We had to go up & over the mountains using Keebler Pass. Little did we know the drive was mostly (40 miles) on a curvy gravel road. It was awful. Sadira was car sick by the time we got over it. We stopped at a little campground and had a snack while watching the hummingbirds until she was feeling better. Whew! What a drive!

Saturday was the only night we’re stayed at a KOA. Camping life in a KOA campground is much different than camping life in a National Forest. The perks of a KOA include showers, laundry and flushing toilets. Oh! And a dishwashing sink that ONLY has hot water. To enjoy those perks you pass up seclusion, privacy, and incredible views. Sunday night we were in Redstone Campground. It was appropriately named – there were red stones all around us! We had privacy, scenery and clean pit toilets!

I forgot to snap a picture of our meal. Sadira made us pimento grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was delicious. We took a dip in the creek and then had a solar shower… our last one, actually… more on that tomorrow-

Taos Take 2 & Elk Creek

By wabisabisole

On July 11, 2021

In Antonito, CO, Aspen, Camping, Elk Creek Campround, Hiking

Friday morning we drove back to Taos for a very important mission… Fun Rings! As we drove down the mountain, we got stuck behind the line marking truck. Painfully slow trip down most of the mountain!!

We made it to Taos, finally. After a quick stop at the Walmart for fizzy water, ice, and pimento cheese, we walked through the Taos plaza on our ring hunt. The second store was a huge success. A fun silver and turquoise ring for each! The lady who helped was super nice and warned us of bears while hiking. She suggested we carry a knife. ??‍♀️

A few of my favorite pictures from our walk around Taos.

We fixed pimento cheese sandwiches for lunch and were back on the road. Our next destination was Elk Creek Campground near Antonito, CO.

We had no cell service in the campground. It was kind of fun to fall off the grid. We decided to take a hike. The skies were overcast and the temperature was in the low 70s. We thought it might rain while we were hiking. Luckily, the rain held off and danced around us. The hike was lovely.

After our hike, we set up camp and made a gourmet dinner of tortellini and sauce. We also had a chance to try out the portable shower. It was cool and refreshing. We had to layer up because the mosquitoes were really bad. But, with cool dry nights in the upper 40s layers were good!

The next morning, we relaxed and didn’t leave camp until 10ish because we needed to stop at the visitor center to use their wifi to get directions. As we were sitting there, the nice host – who told us about the hike the day before politely ease-dropped on our conversation. When I said we needed to head back to Antonio, he replied, “That’s cute. It’s Atonito.” We had a good laugh. Me especially, because I’m notorious for mispronouncing places.

With another bag of ice for the cooler, we were off for Gunnison, CO.

Yin & Yang

By wabisabisole

On July 3, 2021

In Aspen, Forest Barhing, Hiking, Japan, Shinrin-yoku

According to Ancient Chinese Philosophy, Yin and Yang is a concept of dualism. It describes how two very different things can be complementary to one another. I realized today that my Yin & Yang are Palm trees and Aspen trees. Neither can be found in the same place and both are in places I want to be! Also, when I’m around one, I’m super happy and can get really excited to talk about seeing the other. We had one last hike in Park City today. I knew I just wanted to Forest Bathe or as I learned in Japan, “Shinrin-Yoku”, in an Aspen Grove. That meant we went back up the Ontario Trail (longer side) of the Bald Mountain. As we shinrin-yoku, I was in hiking nirvana.

At the top, we snagged a selfie #favoritehikingpartner and stayed a minute in the best chairs in Deer Valley. Just enjoyed a chance to look out at the future together.

While we were hiking, I also sorted out why open chair lifts stress me out. I grew up loving the thrill of the first drop of a roller coaster. And chair lifts seem to trigger that same reaction…. Oh, crap! I’m gonna drop and I don’t have a harness! But they don’t drop fast. Nonetheless, I grab tight to the closest person… sorry, Dave! Thanks for hanging on to me!