Three State Parks, Bambi, and Bikers

 

While I was writing my last blog post on Wednesday at Vega State Park, I was letting my laundry dry. Since there were no trees at my site, I had to make do:

Nothing like having your undies flapping in the breeze to garner strange looks from fellow campers. There was, however,  a beautiful sunset that evening that took the attention away from me:

 

I talked to one of the Rangers as I was leaving Vega on Thursday morning and they mentioned that Rifle Falls was flowing strong right now. It was out of my way, but they mentioned that there was a shortcut I could take. Where have I heard that before? I am game for anything and had plenty of water and dry food, so why not give it a go. The shortcut starts off as CO 330 and then quickly turns into unpaved Forest Service roads. There were plenty of does and fawns leaping about as I was driving by and I managed to snap a photo of what I believe is the real Bambi. She even posed for me:

 

After about 15 miles of dirt roads, I finally reached the town of Silt, CO. In spite of it’s name, it is a pastoral farming area and I had a few words with Mister Ed and two of his buddies (Ed is the one in the middle):

 

Rifle Falls is in, oddly enough, Rifle Falls State Park. Armed with my trusty Colorado State Parks annual day pass, I ventured forth on my quest for the holy grail, err, waterfall.

The Park is considered one of the gem’s in the system. It is small at only 20 campsites, but the waterfall is a triple and there are dark caves in the limestone behind it. One being a 90 foot room that holds buried treasure and is haunted by pirate ghosts. Or maybe it’s miners and gold. Either way I found nothing, but did take some photos. Below is the waterfall and a typical cool, shady campsite:

 

I continued on to Yampa River State Park, about 100 miles North via CO13. The Park is really several Parks, extending along the entire Yampa Valley. Most are primitive campgrounds with river access sites. Yampa River is extremely popular for people wanting to raft, canoe, or kayak. There is one developed campground called Headquarters. That is where I stopped to take some photos. Below is the river and a campsite. About half had shade shelters:

 

Leaving Yampa, I headed East on US 40 through Steamboat Springs and wound up at Stagecoach State Park. It is a good sized campground with 92 campsites and a 3 mile long lake. They say the fishing is good here for warm water species and I noticed plenty of people on boats pulling other people around until they fell. Here are some photos of the lake, beach, and my campsite:

 

Around 5:00pm Thursday, I heard the roar of two motorcycles entering the campground. Turns out they were Canadians! Yippee! They are on a trip following the continental divide from the Canadian border to Panama. Jamie is from Victoria and Harold from Edmonton. We ended up talking around the campfire for a few hours, mostly me reminiscing about growing up in Vancouver and all the places we knew in common. Good people. I told them to keep in touch and let me know they made it back safely. In the photos below, Jamie is on the right and Harold the left. Which looks scarier, with or without the helmets:

 

I will be leaving here on Sunday morning for the 90 mile drive to State Forest State Park. Someone must have been drinking to come up with a name like that. Ta Ta for now.

Regards,

Greg

Crawford State Park, Vega State Park, and a little bear

 

Monday I was going to leave Jimmy State Park and drive to Crawford State Park. My initial plans were to camp there and take photos. I did not stay there as it was just too hot. I will tell you where I went later. Let’s take a look at the two State Parks first.

Crawford exhibits the classic features of the western slope – rugged beauty and outstanding views of geologic features like Needle Rock, surrounded by mountain valleys and ranchlands. In fact, the town of Crawford is the center of the cattle industry in the North Fork area. You can often find hundreds of tacos being herded down main street, chased by tortillas and salsa. Best in Spring and Fall as it gets warm in the summer.

Below is a photo of the lake and a campsite:

Vega and the meadows that surround it are rich in history and natural beauty. The area was originally a mountain meadow where cattle ranchers grazed their herds of tacos from the late 1800’s until 1962. “Vega” is actually the Spanish word for “Meadow”. So you learned something today. It is about 1500 feet higher than Crawford, but there is no real shade here.

Below is a photo of the lake and my campsite under the towering pines:

 

I stayed in Vega on Wednesday night, so let’s go back to Monday. I decided to drive CO 65 up to the Grand Mesa National Forest. It turns out that this is another Scenic Byway:

Grand Mesa is the world’s largest flattop mountain. It gets it’s tabletop appearance thanks to a cap of volcanic basalt it acquired over nine million years ago. As the basalt flowed from cracks in the earth’s surface, it filled a wide flat valley. Eventually, the soft rock around the basalt valley eroded away, leaving a mesa high in the air. More recently, about 14,000 years ago, ice caps scoured rocky debris into troughs that caught the melting snow forming more than 300 lakes across the mesa top. At least that is what I remember from school.

Near the midway point of the byway, a spur of the main road leads to an impressive vista known as Lands End. I plan to check it out.

My goal in heading up this route was to find a tree-filled campsite on the shore of a lake. And I found it! Meet Little Bear campsite #18 on Island Lake:

 

At over 10,000 feet high, it was at least 35 degrees cooler than Crawford in the valley below. Here are some more photos of the lake and my campsite:

 

On Tuesday I drove to Lands End. I stopped first to check out the Visitor Center about a mile away:

It was a very informative place with a lake on either side of it. Everywhere you look there are lakes:

 

Four miles North of the Visitor Center is the twelve mile road to Lands End. The first half is gravel, the second is paved. Go figure. You can see the dust in my mirror:

On each side of the road I found meadow after meadow teeming with wildflowers in full bloom. It was just amazing. I also found a herd of the very rare and elusive wild tacos. They were feeding on the flowers:

 

The first 10 miles was easy, the last two were a different story. A mesa is like a brick set on the ground. The sides are nearly vertical. The road started getting very close to those sides. I could literally feel my balls tighten up. I mean, I am 6000 feet above Grand Junction and looking down at it while I am driving. I parked at the old observatory and slowly walked to the edge. There was a three foot rock wall and then nothing. And it was windy:

 

Grand Mesa National Forest was my kind of camping. With no hookups, vault toilets, and a max trailer length of 16’, Little Bear was perfect. There are other campgrounds in the immediate area that can handle big rigs and trailers, but what I think would be a great experience for a family would be to stay in one of the many lodges up here. I checked out a few of them. With waterfront cabins, restaurants, boat rentals, etc., a week or so up here would be a most excellent adventure. Fly into Grand Junction, rent a car, and you will be at your cabin in 90 minutes:

 

I only stayed one night at Vega because there was no shade, and it is still a little warm. That sucks because I already reserved 2 nights. Oh well. My next campsite is at Stagecoach State Park, about 240 miles away, so I will find something on the way or maybe just arrive early. We shall see…

Regards,

Greg

James M. Robb-Colorado River State Park

 

About a 20 mile drive from Highline Lake, you will come upon Grand Junction and this State Park, which will be referred to from now on as “Jimmy”.

Jimmy spreads across a 40 mile section of the Colorado River. It is book ended by the two campgrounds, Fruita and Island Acres, and has several day use areas in between.

Fruita Campground is first. It was opened in 2000 and features a Visitor Center, camping, picnicking, fishing, swimming and launch site for boaters and rafters into the Colorado River. Below are some photos from Fruita. They are: Sign, Beach, Launch Ramp, and a typical Campsite:

 

I continued along Interstate 70 through Grand Junction to Island Acres, my camping destination.

As the Colorado River and and other erosional forces shaped this canyon, a large island was left in the middle of the river. A dike built in the ‘50s eliminated the true island characteristics, but left a neat campground with several little lakes. The day use area around these lakes is very popular for swimming and fishing. Below are some photos from Island Acres. They are: Sign, one of the Lakes, the Swim Beach, the Colorado River, and my Campsite:

The river is just behind my tent at this walk-in campsite.

 

My next stop is Crawford State Park about 80 miles away, but I might not stay there. It is about the same elevation as this one and Highline Lake, and the temperature has been in the 90’s at these campgrounds. I want forests and cool temps! Luckily, Crawford is one of a couple of campgrounds for which I did not make a reservation. My stop after Crawford is Vega and on the way between the two my route climbs up to the Grand Mesa. There are several nice sounding Forest Service campgrounds up there at over 10,000 feet in elevation. So I will probably take photos at Crawford and then go camp in the mountains for two days before I go to Vega. I will let you know what happens.

Regards,

Greg

This post is sponsored by Danny, the world’s bestest boy!

Highline Lake State Park

 

On Wednesday morning I left Steinaker State Park and headed for Colorado and my destination, Highline Lake State Park.

Taking US 40 East, you reach the town of Dinosaur, Colorado just over the Utah border. Then it was CO 64 and CO 139 south to the campground. This stretch of highways is known as Dinosaur Diamond, a Scenic Byway.

The landscape through which this byway passes once shook under the footfalls of giants. Dinosaurs were abundant in this area and have since left their mark on the land in the form of fossils and footprints. CO 139 crests at Douglas Pass, almost 8300 feet high. The second photo below shows the view looking North from the pass, and the third is looking South:

 

I arrived and set up camp, then about 2 hours later a thunderstorm hit. I noticed one of my neighbors was in danger of having their tent blown away, so I hurried over with extra stakes and guy lines to help secure it for them. They repaid me with fresh ribs for dinner. The pictures below show my campsite, inside my car as the storm rages, and the sun shining on the lake as the storm breaks:

 

Highline Lake State Park is the center for watersports in the Grand Valley. It is about 10 miles from Fruita and 30 from Grand Junction. It’s warm water provides a comfortable setting for waterskiing, swimming, fishing and picnicking. Little Mack Lake, just to the North, is for non-motorized boats only. There is also a 4 mile trail around the lake, so that I was I walked on Thursday.

The first 3 photos are from the trail, the 4th is Mack Lake, and the last is the beach area at the campground:

 

I will be leaving on Friday for the short drive (30 miles) to the James M. Robb-Colorado River State Park in Grand Junction. I’m looking forward to a dip in the river. No snappy comments to end this post. I am still mourning the loss of my eReader. Till we meet again…

Regards,

Greg

Starvation, Steinaker, and Red Fleet State Parks

 

I left Rockport State Park Monday morning for the 160 mile drive to Steinaker State Park. I first stopped at Starvation State Park to take campsite photos.

Located 4 miles northwest of Duchesne on Utah 40, Starvation was established in 1972. While the park’s name is accredited to cattlemen whose tacos on the hoof often froze during the harsh winter months, it’s name hardly seems fitting given it’s scenic coves, remote beaches and unusually blue water. Starvation is a favorite spot for boating enthusiasts and hosts several walleye fishing tournaments. Below are some photos of the sign and the beach:

 

I finally arrived at Steinaker State Park. Located in the heart of Dinosaurland, Steinaker is well known to geologists, historians and collectors for it’s fossilized oysters, clams and other shellfish that lived in the ancient seas that once existed here. Steinaker also enjoys a reputation as a first class water sports destination. After the skeeters at Rockport, it was very nice to be bug free. Below are some photos of my campsite, #6, and a view of the day use swim area:

 

Tuesday morning I drove over to Red Fleet State Park. It got it’s name from the immense red sandstone rock formations that loom above the water resembling a fleet of ships moving through the sea. The lake offers 750 acres of idyllic fishing and boating – the lake teems with rainbow trout, largemouth bass and brown trout – as well as waterskiing and swimming.

Two significant paleontological sites preserve the imprint of three-toed creatures that lived here millions of years ago. One group of three-toed (tridactyl) tracks, 200 or more in number, dates back to the Jurassic period, 200 million years ago. At least that is what I remember from school. Here are some photos:

 

On a sad note, my Sony eReader headed to that great library in the sky on Monday. It has served me faithfully for over a year and a half, but when I turned it on when I arrived at Steinaker, this is what it looked like:

I am an avid reader and used to bring boxes of books with me on long camping trips. These little eReaders can hold hundreds of books and a charge lasts for weeks. I was in heaven. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to my account at PayPal: wgwood@cox.net. Any amount would help, as I still have over 4 weeks to go with nothing to read. I am on a very tight budget, and if I pick up a new eReader for around $140, my food budget disappears. Luckily, all my books are on my computer, so I can transfer them to the new device.

This was my last group of campgrounds in Utah. Wednesday I am off to journey through Colorado for a month. My first stop will be at Highline Lake State Park, about 110 miles away. Talk at ya later.

Regards,

Greg