Precious Time in Colorado...Bumming Around the Mountain High State for a Few Weeks

[mph]

I am a little behind in my trip reports. Oh well...there have been some great reads on the site lately. Here goes...

Each June, I head over to visit my mother in the Keystone/Breckenridge area. It's a chance for me to see mom and for Lilly to see grandmother. Our schedule is pretty loose. We usually spend a 5-6 days with mom/grandmother and then start making our way back to Utah very slowly. Colorado is such a grand state. The beauty is there, staring me in the face every time. My wife and Lilly's mother usually has to stay behind to work. Dang careers.

Lilly and I headed east on Highway 40 and pulled over past the state line. Popped the tent and got some good ZZZZs. In the morning, Lilly snapped a picture of me sipping some java



Lilly and I usually take our sweet time getting to my mothers. If there is something along the way, we pull over and check it out. On this day, we saw something very unusual-CLOUDS. Utah has been suffering from a pretty dry summer, so it was nice to be up in the high country and witness some unsettled weather.



Our days at my mothers were spent swimming, site seeing, and paddle boarding. Her is Lilly and my sister, Kristen, on the Lake Dillon.



Whenever we are in the mountain high state, we always try to take some hikes. The flowers were starting to pop. Waterfalls, Columbines, green grasses...Summer in the Rockies!





My brother, Rob, came up from Golden to visit us. He just purchased a new Chevy Colorado with the diesel engine. So, what to do? We decided to do a little exploring. The truck seemed to handle everything quite well. The mining history in Colorado is so nice. A history lesson everywhere I looked...





After 5 days, we decided to make our way West. Plan? Nothing pressing. We would explore...We made our way over to the Leadville area. Camping and exploring with Lilly was a hoot. It's truly wild how time flies. We are both getting older but we still enjoy each other's company. Daddy, daughter time are awesome.

Getting the marshmellows ready...





On this evening, we took a stroll and talked about...I forgot. But, conversations with Lilly are interesting, funny, and special. Good times



More to come...

 

[calicamper]

Fun times. Your brother has the rig I want. LoL I had a 80series for 9yrs loved it, moved to a Sequoia its been nice. But our dang Subaru still is queen of the big trips. Primarily due to comfort and range. I'm thinking the LB diesel Canyon, fliptop style cap, with the cooled seats would be the cats meow. ;-)

Thanks for sharing your trip!

 

[mph]

We decided to head south to Buena Vista. This sleepy town is jamming during the summer. Rafting season is on! The Arkansas River flows through the town and the new national monument-Brown's Canyon makes for some fun whitewater. Lilly and I usually raft a stretch as we are driving through. This year was no different. It was a blast to raft with Lilly...Just fun.

Lilly and I were able to ride upfront.



The water was refreshing and exhilarating at the same time



After our float we headed over to the Crested Butte area. This area is one of my favorites in all of Colorado. So many wide open places...

The road ahead looked lovely...





Before we made our way to Crested Butte, we camped and recreated in the area around TinCup. Such a cute town. All dirt roads to and from...



Luckily, we had extra gas...



The high alpine lakes of Colorado are stunning and many are accessible by vehicle. That's good and bad...On this day, it was good. It allowed us to go paddle boarding and fly fishing.

Lilly getting ready...



Didn't seem too busy on this day...



On our way back through Tin Cup, we stopped for services.



Now, if you are ever in the area, notice the many vehicles from Texas. All over the place. The picture below shows a "Texas" size RV park. I talked with a few owners...Why Colorado? Simply, "It's Hot in Texas." Made sense to me...On ward...



More to come...

 

[mph]

Funny...My brother seems happy thus far with it...Good luck. I'm bias...Hard to beat a Land Cruiser

Fun times. Your brother has the rig I want. LoL I had a 80series for 9yrs loved it, moved to a Sequoia its been nice. But our dang Subaru still is queen of the big trips. Primarily due to comfort and range. I'm thinking the LB diesel Canyon, fliptop style cap, with the cooled seats would be the cats meow. ;-)

Thanks for sharing your trip!

 

[mph]

After spending a few days in the Tin Cup area, we made our way to Crested Butte. In my opinion, the best Colorado, mountain town. So epic...scenery, trails, vistas...It's a stunning place!

Lilly was in fishing mode, so she tried her luck on the Slate River. Nothing was biting the dry flies, but Lilly didn't seem to mind.



We decided to wash up at the river. My brother, Rob, watched as Lilly washed and then, got a "brain headache" from the cold, rocky mountain water.



I have a favorite place to camp when I am there and yes, it was open this time too It was a summer evening to remember.



The following morning, Lilly was still after the trout. The scenery in the area is just spectacular. I sipped my coffee as Lilly threw the fly...



CB has many single track trails to hike and bike. There is an area known as Oh Be Joyful...It is a place worthy of a visit. Waterfalls everywhere...



How many waterfalls do you see?



After the hike, we had to leave...Such a sweet place. June is actually a nice time to be there. Things are green and blooming and the monsoons haven't kicked in yet. Our path onward involved a water crossing. The LC is fitted with a snorkel but it wasn't needed.





My brother's stock truck faired quite well too.



We made a stop in Gunnison for food and continued our trip south. CB is my favorite place in Colorado but Lake City and the Silverton area is not bad at all On our way...



More to come...

 

[FinsUp]

Great write up and memories made with the kids are priceless.

 

[mph]

We made our way into Lake City for a fuel and food. The rains started to move in but it was nice. We hadn't seen or felt rain for over the past month. Colorado's mountain showers are delightful!

The mining history is everywhere in the mountains.



Lilly caught just wondering of days gone by...



Our route tooks us high and down to the town of Silverton. Snow was still high but the summer green was popping all over.







The Land Crusier in its element. It's amazing to see and drive by mining structures at 11,000+ feet.



We finally made it down to Silverton and took a mining tour. Lilly was stoked and the tour was grand. We went into the mountain for over a mile. The tour was totally worth it. They gave us information about the "Hows" of mining. Super fun...






The area is full of mining lore...One just has to have some time to explore. Lilly and I were in our element. It was a blast to see and wander through the structures.





More to come...Final Installment...

 

[Luckytibbs]

Great trip report! Lots of places I can go see now. Thanks.

 

[mph]

The rain forced us down in elevation...But, it followed. We stopped at the Golden Block Pizzareira and Brewery in Silverton. We talked to the owner, enjoyed a slice, and planned our route. Lilly and I were just happy being in a great spot and enjoying one another's company.



Where to go? The rain eased and so we checked out another mining area. Just stellar views! The San Juans are just epic.



Couldn't figure out the bathroom siutation in this mining camp...I guess you could talk to one another?







The rain continued on and off...But, the mountains of Colorado are just spectacular to be within...



After a few days, we needed to make our way back to Utah. The monsoons had kicked in and it was time to plan our escape. Yep, the desert...We pulled into one of my favorite spots. The temperatures were in the high 60s. Crazy for June...The morning was stellar.



The rains had caused massive flooding in the southern Utah days earlier...Our escape route was a little muddy.



Time to head north...time to head home. I had always wanted to stop at the Woodside cementary, so I made it happen. It was a worthwhile stop. I need to get back there to replace Old Glory. BTW...The last time I checked, Woodside was for sale for $4 million dollars. Not bad for a ghost town, ehh?





Until next time...

 

[mph]

Thanks for the nice words...yeah, get there...Colorado is outstanding. Have fun!

Great trip report! Lots of places I can go see now. Thanks.

 

[Lunchbox2]

Man it looks like you guys had a blast, Im jealous! It's great to see other parents getting out and actually DOING stuff with their kids, so many people just don't do anything with their kids. This is exactly what I built my van for, to explore the backcountry with my son. I just got it running/driving after a complete ground up build, and am currently working out the bugs. Hopefully she's cross-country worthy soon and we can make it to colorado before it's covered in snow! haha

 

[Bushcoat]

Beautiful trip again, MPH!

We are heading back to Colorado again this year, going end of October-a month later than last year, staying at steamboat springs instead of breckenridge as we did last year. it will probably be cold and snowy lol, I'll throw the winter tires on before we go. Last year was perfect timing, late September around breck is pretty amazing.

 

[mph]

Sweet...Congrats on the van! Yeah, spending time with my daughter outdoors is great. Enjoy your travels and post up a trip report

Man it looks like you guys had a blast, Im jealous! It's great to see other parents getting out and actually DOING stuff with their kids, so many people just don't do anything with their kids. This is exactly what I built my van for, to explore the backcountry with my son. I just got it running/driving after a complete ground up build, and am currently working out the bugs. Hopefully she's cross-country worthy soon and we can make it to colorado before it's covered in snow! haha

 

[mph]

Glad you enjoyed. You will have a blast in the Boat. Have fun

Beautiful trip again, MPH!

We are heading back to Colorado again this year, going end of October-a month later than last year, staying at steamboat springs instead of breckenridge as we did last year. it will probably be cold and snowy lol, I'll throw the winter tires on before we go. Last year was perfect timing, late September around breck is pretty amazing.