Homeward Bound

 

I stayed at Eleven Mile State Park on Wednesday. It is located in South Park, an expansive high-altitude grassland region of Central Colorado. I looked around but did not see Cartman, Kyle, or Kenny anywhere. The park is bordered on two sides by the Pike National Forest. The surrounding mountains, including Pike’s Peak, the Tarryall Range, and the snowy peaks of the Continental Divide, complement Eleven Mile’s own scenic lake, short grasses, and rocky outcroppings.

That makes for not much shade, but plenty of fish. In fact, the lake has surrendered some of the largest fish ever caught in Colorado. Below are photos of the marina, my campsite, and the ever present afternoon thunderstorms:

 

I headed out Thursday morning for the 300 mile drive to Mancos State Park. Naturally, I found myself on another Scenic Byway called Collegiate Peaks. I know what you are thinking, but it is not a school for some well-endowed coeds, just some mountains:

 

I crossed the Continental Divide in the rain at Wolf Creek Pass, about 11,000 feet up on US 160. Then my GPS called me a Turkey. Click on the photo and you can see the word on the right side. Below that is a photo looking west from the pass:

 

Mancos State Park is in Southwest Colorado, about 12 miles from Mesa Verde National Monument. It has a small lake and nice shaded campsites in a ponderosa pine forest. Wakeless boating and excellent fishing make this a popular spot to camp. Below are photos of the lake and a campsite:

 

I was going to camp in the Flagstaff area for my last stop on Thursday, but I decided to tack on another 200 miles and head to Park Moabi on the Colorado River 20 miles south of Needles. I forgot about the heat. I arrived there around 8:00pm and it was still over 100 degrees. The low was 90. Not fun when you are in a tent. I could hear the AC’s from the RV section going all night. Below are photos of me chasing the sun just south of Kingman, AZ, my campsite at Park Moabi, and some sunrise photos from Friday:

And the obligatory shot in front of the Pirate Cove bar as I was leaving:

 

So that’s it. My final post from this trip. Six weeks went by in the blink of an eye. I saw wonderful sights and met good people. But wait, there’s good news. Dry those tears off your keyboard because I will be back on the road in October for an even bigger trip. Details will be posted in the next few weeks.

Parting thoughts:

What is up with all the suicidal rodents? They wait on the side of the road until you are driving by and then make a mad dash across just in front of your car. Are they playing some kind of game or is it a rite of passage for them? I saw many that didn’t make it.

Who needs coffee? Just walk into a vault toilet in the morning and the smell will sear your nostrils and wake you right up.

There is a definite correlation between the size of an RV and the size of the dog. The biggest motorhomes always have little teeny yippy dogs. Why?

Campers always wave at each other in the campground. Always. Is it because we know that we are cool or is it something else?

Regards,

Greg

A Tale of Two Cities and Two State Parks

We will start with the two State Parks, Mueller and Chatfield. The only thing they have in common is their size. 197 campsites at Chatfield and 132 at Mueller.

Chatfield is about 35 miles southwest from Cherry Creek on the outskirts of the Denver Metro area. Catering to folks in RV’s, all sites have electricity and half have full hook-ups. Most of the sites are pull through, very few spurs. A large lake with good fishing and boating complete the picture. Speaking of pictures, here are two showing the day use area across the lake and a typical campsite:

Mueller is about 100 miles west and almost one mile higher. No lake, just lots of trees and hiking trails. Over 50 miles of them. The temperature was 30 degrees cooler as well. After spending 2 1/2 hours walking Chatfield on the way here, it was a welcome relief. Denver is having record high temps at the moment. But it also suffers from thunderstorms every afternoon at this time of the year. Monsoon season is what the locals call it. Arghhh! Wet tent is season is what I call it. Here are a few photos showing my campsite, my fire after the rain stopped, and a beautiful view:

I left Mueller On Wednesday for the short drive to Eleven Mile State Park. But I did not go straight there. Mueller is on CO 67. A few miles south are the towns of Victor and Cripple Creek, and the road loops back to CO 24 and Eleven Mile. This is where my Dickensian reference comes into play.
Two cities, five miles apart. Both old mining towns, but with one big difference. Which I will get to in a bit. First, the byway:

Victor and Cripple Creek anchor a mining region that yielded 23.5 million ounces of gold between 1891 and 2005. But Cripple Creek is still mining gold from the pockets of it’s casino visitors. That is the difference between these two towns. One has casinos, the other does not. Here are some photos of Victor:

Not much going on. Compare those photos to Cripple Creek:

Heck, the city even has a little train you can ride on, plenty of bars, and neat artwork on the brick buildings:

Unfortunately, the towns real claim to fame has closed down. I was going to visit strictly for informational purposes, but to no avail:

Yeah, they turned it into another casino. Now they have 14. Don’t believe me? Click HERE.

So I headed out of town towards Eleven Mile State Park. I was still a little perturbed about the Old Homestead being closed. Suddenly, right in front of me, was a fine ass strolling naked down the street. I took a photo:

I also saw this sign:

I looked high and low. I could not find my Dad sleeping anywhere…Ba-Da-Bing!

Regards,
Greg

Sweet Cherry Pie

 

With over 1.5 million visitors each year, Cherry Creek State Park is the most popular in the system. It’s 4200 acres are an oasis in the Denver Metro area for boaters, water-skiers, fishermen, campers, equestrians, swimmers, and bicyclists. In fact, just driving around the lake you will find it next to impossible not to run over a bicyclist or two. Let me show you the park the way I explored it, counterclockwise from west to east.

The dam runs across the north end of the lake. At the northwest corner you will find the marina, one of the launch ramps, and a picnic area:

 

Heading south along the lakeshore, there are more picnic areas, complete with ducks, and even an airport for model airplanes:

 

Swinging around the south end of the lake, we pass by the shooting range and equestrian area and continue on to the campground near the east shore. There are about 150 campsites here. Most have hookups, but there are 30 sites for the real campers. Here are a few photos of my campsite in the tent area:

 

The north east shore of the lake has the main beach with food and drink, another boat ramp, and many good spots to wet a line. I heard that several state record size walleyes have been caught here. Here are some photos of the east beach, one of the fishing areas, and a look at the marina from across the lake:

You can see the buildings right behind the marina. That’s Aurora, CO, with the Rockies off in the distance. I camped during a weekend and the campground was full. There is so much to do here, however, that you really don’t notice all the people.

 

Before I arrived at Cherry Creek, I made a detour to Boulder. My brother went to drink, err, college there. So Mike, here are some photos for you. First, the former frat house Sigma Chi. Kinda like in Animal House, they were banned:

A short walk from there puts you on the hill, an area with shops and restaurants and bars

Even the local Del Taco has the Buff spirit!

 

Finally, can you guess what the house below in front of my car was famous for? Here’s a hint: Nanu Nanu…

Yep, that would be the home of Mork and Mindy, at least the outside of it. 1619 Pine Street. Yeah. Ok. Nothing that needs a lot of time to visit so I left.

I will be heading west from now on. First stopping at Chatfield State Park and then continuing on to Mueller. Later.

Regards,

Greg