Rocky Mountain High, or can you still get away with no reservations?

[WeLikeCamping]

So the plan was to stay at 4 mile for a couple of days. While researching this route, I spied a large area of hummocks just east and south of Fairplay. These definitely did not look natural. Digging into it, turns out that there was a bucket line dredge that worked the South Platte river starting in 1944, the "Fairplay Dredge". This machine was the largest dredge in Colorado, with a working depth of 100 ft, it could process 15,000 yards of gravels a day. This dredge worked the river until 1952, when it was dismantled and moved elsewhere. There was/is two more dredges upstream, the Snowstorm Dredge, that worked the river from 1941 to 1948 and is the last intact dredge in Colorado. Unfortunately, it is sitting deep in the riverbed and cannot be viewed. There is one other, near Breckenridge, the Reiliing Dredge sits in a pond in French Creek, rotting away. There may not be much left, and we did not go up to see it. I was more interested in Fairplay.

Fairplay was founded around 1859, during Colorado's gold rush when placer deposits were identified on the South Platte. These were mined until about 1890, when they appeared to run out. Fairplay became a center for supplying miners in the area, rather than a mining destination itself and the town sorta languished. Today it is known as the Trout Fishing Capital of the world, as there are many streams to fish in the area. A lawyer from Colorado Springs, Leon H. Snyder was fond of fishing the region, and while fishing, noticed that ghost towns and relics in the area were slowly degrading and he wanted to save some of this history. So, he created the South Park Historical Foundation and began moving relic buildings to a site on a bluff overlooking the river in Fairplay and called it South Park City.


Buildings were moved to the site and filled artifacts from the era.

D&RG engine 22, a narrow gauge 4-6-0, was involved in a collision in 1902, near Rifle CO, restored and moved here.

Of course, I clambered all over this machine, and yes, rang the bell too

Rolling stock and a Caboose

Inside the Caboose

There are quite a few buildings here and you could spend the better part of a day going through them. The structures are mostly filled with donated collections of stuff from this era.

Loved the old wallpaper.


Roller-crusher and table for sifting out the smaller particles of gold.

There are mines still being worked in the area, and here is one right across the river


It was a great day visiting this historic site, but we had to get back to the dogs, which we had locked up in our camper. Got fueled up, then crawled back up the road to our campsite. Enjoyed another quiet night under the stars, dogs got to play in the water some more, and in the morning. we hit the road for our first big destination, Rocky Mountain National Park.

 

[dierkz]

Wonderful trip with spectacular views!

 

[WeLikeCamping]

One last dip in the creek for the dogs while I prepped the camper and pulled it out of the campground.



Leaving the Four Mile Creek campground was a challenge. This campground is a single road up the side of a hill, with a very small, tight, rock-lined loop at the end. Campsites all around this loop with cars parked in the wide spots - you know, the spots that you need to pull your trailer around this very tight and narrow loop. I made it, barely, but rolled over a large rock that was hidden in tall grass and which violently tilted the trailer, dumping some of our nicer dishes onto the floor. Stupid me forgot to secure the cabinets, and left the cast iron griddle on a high shelf. When the griddle came down, it left a large ding in the cheap linoleum floor and when my favorite coffee mug fell the handle broke :-(. I do not recommend this campground for large trailers - again, larger than say 20 feet and you will have problems. Dispersed camping along this road is questionable at best, even if you are tenting it. There are far better places to go, I'm sure. Besides, while Bigfoot are reported in this area, we didn't see any. When we got to pavement, we stopped to clear of the mess in the camper before hitting the highway.

Collected the wife and dogs at the creek and we proceeded to crawl back down to the highway. While this is a beautiful area, I will not be dragging my trailer up here again. The road is just too slow. To add insult to injury, after crawling around 5 miles out, we encountered two road graders, grading the road smooth. Just a day or two late. We finally made it back to the highway and rolled on through with light traffic. This was Tuesday after all, and all the weekend warriors must have made it back to Denver. We guessed that the huge traffic jam was simply caused by people heading back home on a two-lane mountain highway. I feel sorry for the people of the Front Range, who have to deal with this on a regular basis. We were at a navigation point of making a major decision, Front Range, or western face. After discussing, researching, begging and pleading, I decided that the potential of finding dispersed camping in this region would be nearly impossible, without even looking at the traffic. Besides I had a better plan.

The north end of South Park valley is green and beautiful, rolling hills leading up to rocky tree-covered peaks, and it was a beautiful morning, with patches of light rain. About 40 miles up the road, we came to Grant, CO. This is where we turned onto one of the best drives of our trip. Highway 62 meanders up a narrow canyon following Geneva Creek. This was a beautiful little creek, and a beautiful road. Traffic was light and we were mesmerized by the tall trees, flowers and could hear the sound of the rushing creek we were following.

The road is smooth, just wide enough and there are not too many switchbacks. I was able to drive slowly, and with a few turnouts, allow faster drivers to pass me. We crawled up to the top, and then stopped to take in the views at 11,600 feet plus.




Unfortunately, it was still pretty hazy from smoke, so the views were somewhat compromised, but still pretty breathtaking. After letting the rig cool down a bit, we started for the downhill into Georgetown. Again, a beautiful drive and I highly recommend this drive for anyone not fearful of mountain grades. There are a few NF campgrounds along this road, but as far as I could tell, no dispersed, at least nothing I'd want to drag my rig into. While coasting down the hill, we spied mountain goats - on the road, deer and elk. No Bigfoot though. We passed several reservoirs while following Cabin Creek down. These reservoirs are used for generating hydroelectricity using a pumped storage scheme where they pump the water up to the high reservoir during low demand, then release it through penstocks to the lower pool, where the turbine generators produce approximately 360megawatts of electricity, enough to power 27,000 homes. In a tragic accident in 2007, 5 people were killed while working on the penstock tunnels 1000 feet below the surface. Rolling on down the road, you pass Green Lake and Georgetown Reservoir, then down a series of switchbacks which lead directly into a residential section of town. We rolled through the narrow streets admiring the beautiful Victorian architecture and noticing the crowds along the streets. We would have liked to stop and explore this town, but it was really crowded and not a whole lot of parking available for a rig our size. We may come back another time to explore the narrow guage railroad loop and mine tour, but for now, it was jump on to US 70 for a quick run to highway 40, which would take us up over 11,300' Berthoud pass and to the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. Once we dropped out of the pass, it turned again into lots of rural small-town traffic.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

I was dubious about finding dispersed camping here. It was just too populated of an area. We talked about it and decided to try one of several NF campgrounds. From my research, there was nothing available, but I knew that there was some first-come,first-served availability and so we took the chance. We got super-lucky. There was a single site available, large enough for our rig (just) and it was right on the shore of Shadow Mountain Lake. We quickly settled in and while the wife took the dogs over the levee to the beach, I visited the host to pay up. Apparently this site was a recent cancellation, and we had three days here. I looked at the stacks of firewood and asked how much. She just laughed at me and told me they were in fire restrictions. I knew they were in Stage II, and where I come from, you can still have a fire in a designated pit in a designated campground, but no, not here. A different interpretation. Oh, well, I didn't really need a fire.

Looking north across the lake toward Grand Lake and the RMNP.


These are the headwaters of the mighty Colorado River.

Lot's of Geese hanging out.

Osprey with a chick.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

Well, I felt like we got extremely lucky with the Green Ridge Campground. It was pouring down rain when we grabbed the campsite - which of the few sites available we could just fit into, if I unhitched. We were also facing the lake out our backside, unfortunately, because of the dam, the view was limited. Now the big question would be getting into the park, as we had no reservations...

Moose chilling in the Colorado river valley.

There was a major fire in this area last fall. We drove through miles of solid burn scar, then patchy spots. The firefighters did an exceptional job of protecting the park and limiting incursion.


The road up to the top was breathtaking. Speed limit is low, but you want to go slow. At this time of morning, there is a lot of wildlife, and the assorted tourist idiots that have to stop suddenly anywhere to get a picture. We ran into this behavior time and again.




We drove over the pass and down the other side a few miles, but not all the way. Turned around and headed back the way we came.

It was amazingly cold at elevation, and in shorts and T-shirt, I was woefully under-dressed. We continued back to warmer climes...

 

[WeLikeCamping]

Coming down from the top of the Rockies was just as beautiful. I can never get tired of mountain views, and as we coasted back toward Grand Lake, it seemed that there was more wildlife along the road, and the associated tourons that swerve, stop and gawk. To be fair, I am a gawker too, but only if I can safely get off the road to enjoy the views. For me, it's enough to see the critters in passing, and we saw a few.



The crowds were building, and as we passed the gate, the line was forming. Fortunately, we are morning people, so it worked out perfectly for us. We saw the park, met the crowds and escaped before it got really bad. On the way down, we stopped at a historic lodge that was saved from the fire.

Sailboats were out in force on the lake.

After visiting the lodge, we drove down to Grand Lake and through the town. Grand Lake is Colorado's largest natural body of water, and serves as a reservoir for the Colorado Big-Thompson project, featuring the Alva B. Adams tunnel, completed in 1944, a 13-mile, 10 foot diameter tunnel that carries water in a straight line, dropping around a hundred feet, under the Rockies to the Front Range, at it's deepest, 3800' below the peaks. This tunnel is also used to generate power, running through five generating stations on the front range, and delivering juice to operate the pumps west of the Continental divide.

Dam at Shadow Mountain Lake, the water from here is pumped from other reservoirs and watersheds, then drains into Grand Lake and the tunnel...

This beautiful little reservoir provided stunning view at all times.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

Beau is built for the water, and he could not get enough of this lake

I was starting to wear down from all the stress of dealing with four large dogs, which made our large camper seem tiny in comparison. It seemed like I spent my days collecting dog waste, and delivering it to the proper receptacles. When inside the camper, you could hardly move without wading through a pack of dogs. I decided to get on my bicycle and see if I could burn up some of that stressful energy. I found the east shore trail and followed it for a mile or so, then stopped along the shore and meditated some. When I returned, I was fresh and ready to go again. Telling my wife about the trail, she wanted to see it, so we resolved to hike it the next morning. (she's not a biker). We left camp at dawn and headed around the lake. Geese were everywhere and we spied people kayaking along the shore. We also spied several very tame deer.






Having seen enough of this area, it was time for us to move on. Our next major goal would be Flaming Gorge in Utah, and I had planned a major loop up and over the Rockies, along the Front Range and then head back west following the Poudre river, crossing north of the park, then dropping back down to 40 east of Steamboat springs. After reviewing our dispersed options, and the miles we would have to travel to get there, we decided to change the route.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

Following the Colorado River west, it was amazing to see this mighty river so tiny that you could easily wade across. We drove through a narrow gorge (Byers Canyon), which contained the river, a railroad and the highway, with fantastic views. I wish my wife was more interested in taking pictures, because I cannot while driving. At Kremmling, we turned north and followed the high country across to another range, where traffic came to a standstill. Road construction for about the next twenty miles through rugged mountains was slow going until we came to an overlook above Pleasant Valley. The road then drops into this valley and eventually Steamboat springs.

We needed to re-provision, and decided to stop in Steamboat Springs to hit the Wal-Mart and Safeway, conveniently located in the same very large, difficult to navigate and crowded parking lot. I finally found a spot on the perimeter, that wasn't invaded by homeless people - it was amazing that they seemed to be everywhere. Both stores were tiny, crowded and very busy. We got our stuff and got out as quickly as possible. It took over an hour just to gather a few things and get back on the road, but we made it. The road followed a wide river valley, with views of the Yampa river and a grassy riparian valley. I hadn't researched any dispersed camping along this route, and so we were unsure what to do. Coming to the Yampa River state park, we decided to stop and see if there were any spaces. It's kind of a ragged looking campground, and talking with the host, she told us about Elkhead State Park, just a few miles further. We decided to stop there, as the park had hook ups, and of course, Elk Head Reservoir.

Colorado's Bears Ears



The park was easy to get to and quiet, with big views all around.

We spent a quiet night here, and I slept on the patio of the camper, amazed by the starry, starry night.



The next day, we would be leaving Colorado and entering Utah.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

I've Come to the realization that I'm not that interested in sharing my adventures. It's Just too much work .

Having said that, I will say that I was pretty successful in finding both dispersed and pay to camp locations in both CO and UT, not to mention AZ. And finally, the real reason I went to CO:

 

[Wilbah]

I know the writeups can be a pita but thank you for documenting it. Such a great part of the country. But it is hard w/tourists. One of my most memorable drives at RMNP was in the early 80's. I couldn't find anything at Grand Lake so decided to go over Trail Ridge Road hoping Estes Park had something. Unfortunately it was late at night (about 10pm or so if I recall) and the entire top was fogged in so heavy I couldn't see 3 feet in front of my truck. I drove almost the entirety of TRR above timberline at about 5 mph with my door open looking down at the yellow line while my girlfriend kept watch for oncoming headlights. We got to Estes Park about 2 in the morning. That was no fun....sheesh. But the next day's scenery made up for it.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

So true, the writeup is a pita. The best free camping we had was in Utah, along the Energy Loop road. We found a spot at 10000 feet, easy in, easy out, with awesome views:

Perched on the edge, with a view into the valley below


Amazing sunrises and sunsets, we watched this shepherd move his flock from one distant ridge to another.



Also, in Utah, we stayed at Flaming Gorge - on a recommendation from a friend. Even at 5K feet, it was like 95 degrees and so we only stayed for a day. Also, the dam was not offering tours - which was a big reason for going, so I was a bit pissed about that.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

After the Energy Loop, we drove down 12 through Escalante, an awesome drive which I highly recommend for anyone. If you need fuel at the north end, stop in Loa or Bicknell, as Torrey is about 50 cents higher. We intended to camp in the high mountains north of Boulder, but there was road construction going on and while we did find some free camping, it wasn't very good. We pushed on to Bryce, and got a spot in the CG. Having an ATB pass is a bonus for parks like this...

We rode the bus down to Bryce Point, then hiked back along the rim to our camp...

 

[WeLikeCamping]

After a day at Bryce, we headed south again to the North Rim. I knew of some free camping spots, and found one down a 4wd trail that followed a drainage. The weather was predicted to be really bad, and it was a sketchy spot for getting out while wet, so we bailed before the storm, but not before getting some pics...


The haze is from all the wildfires in CA

 

[WeLikeCamping]

With the huge storm chasing us out of the Grand Canyon, we watched the sky get black behind us as we headed east toward the crossing at Marble Canyon. From here we cut south down US 89, finally crossing back into Arizona.
The black skies followed us, eventually catching up and dousing us with intermittent squalls of heavy rain, finally letting up some as we neared Cameron. Continuing on south toward Phoenix, we had some extra days in our schedule, so we decided to stop for the remainder of time at a well-known dispersed site near Hutch Mountain.

Wasatch Plateau, watching the sun rising over the San Pitch Mountains, town Mount Pleasant in the valley below



We settled in to a favorite spot at Hutch Mountain, with no fire restrictions as everything was wet. The rain seemed to be letting up, but...

Doggies having a blast at Lane Tank, near Hutch Mountain, AZ



We spent a lovely day at this site, and a quiet evening. Early the next morning, the rain began again. gradually getting heavier as the morning went on. Being up another 4-wd trail, I didn't want to get mired in the mud, so I took the risk of bailing during a heavy downpour that didn't seem to be letting up. It was quite sketchy getting out of our site and down to the bigger road, which was sketchy in itself. Fortunately, 4wd, tow/haul and jake brakes allowed me to creep the three miles down a very steep and windy road, with heavy rain making the mud slick as ice, where I could finally breathe at the bottom. We got out to the main highway and set our course for home.

 

[WeLikeCamping]

More pics of Beau, just because...