Meanwhile flashes of blue-ish-purple periodically light up the dark sky. There are storms off to the east still going at this late hour. The pups all around me.. well, Dixie on my chest, as I lay back in my new 'zero gravity' chair I bought recently. It's pretty nice.. I got the big boy version, too... so lots of extra space... for dogs and cats... Cheddar is on his 50 ft kitty leash looking for anything that moves. We are camping just a few miles east of Vail along Gore Creek this week as Debi has a work conference in Vail.
Flashback to a week ago Tuesday, as we were camping along the Arkansas River in Salida, CO. Debi still had a few backaches, but was overall, feeling better after her chiropractor appt the week before in KC. We decide to head out and explore Salida a little. Cool little town.. lots of funky stuff here.. artsy, river rats.. mountain town.. kinda a fun/weird mix of everything.
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| Downtown Salida, CO |
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Swollen Arkansas River in Salida, CO |
We go into a couple art galleries.. some really cool paintings in this one store. Kinda a mountainy-impressionisty style.. lots of color, shadows, etc. He likes aspen trees... which you find alot of that in the western mountain towns. Debi is ready to buy a painting, but we have no room. We talk to the artist for a bit. Real nice guy... tells us a little about his style. We take his card.. and head on to a few more galleries and stores. We talk about me needing an apron, since I spill food all over me and ruin all my t-shirts. Of course, most of the time it's when I eat... but also for BBQing. We go by this store and find the perfect apron!...
but they are closed!! We make a mental note to come back in the morning before we leave... (unfortunately they were closed again!) It's starting to get dark with stormy skies, so we head back towards the truck... but wait! A distillery! We must stop in. It's a cool little bar/open air room that you can have some drinks, and also sample the gin and whiskey... neither of us are big Gin people, so we get a shot of the whiskey. OMG it's amazing! Ok, this isn't your average American bourbon... it's actually a 5 malt whiskey, aged in American oak barrels. So, in other words, it tastes alot like a good Scotch. We buy a bottle.. and I'm already regretting not getting more than 1.
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| Wood's High Mountain Distillery |
We go back to the campsite and have some of our favorite cheese we have stockpiled (beehive cheese barely buzzed)... and some sausage that my cousin Court gave us at our wedding party a few weeks ago. The idea was to save our dinner for later, as we wanted to head to the hot springs. Well, both hot springs were about 30 miles away, closer to Buena Vista, which is where we're headed next... so we take to the local aquatic center in town.. it has a big pool, then 2 smaller ones interjoined... which happen to be 100% hot spring water. The temps aren't that hot.. about 85 in the lap pool, 95-100 in the other 2 pools... still, it felt good to relax, and Debi's back appreciated it.
You know that feeling after swimming you get... where you could almost eat a horse.. or at least a whole pizza.. or a few burritos. We head off to a local Mexican restuarant in town.. get enough food for 4.. and chow down. It was excellent..
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| La Fiesta Mexicana |
Needless to say, back to the motorhome and to bed.
Wednesday, we get an early start... (Ok, it was noon... ) and headed north towards Buena Vista, only about 45 minutes away. We needed to charge up for a night after boondocking it for a few days, so we picked 1 of the 4 campgrounds in town. Not cheap, almost $40 a night, but there were no other options. Buena Vista is a little smaller than Salida, but it had it's own charm. There is a nice new "village" area by the river they have built, with housing, restuarants, etc.
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| Pups are ready to go... Debi has to hitchhike. |
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| downtown Buena Vista, CO |
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| Arkansas River |
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| Water fun on the Arkansas |
The old town main street had it's usual splattering of bars and dining, as well as a few art galleries, etc. The surrounding mountains were pretty breathtaking, with the Collegiate Range off to the west (and it's 14'r mountains) and to the east were smaller mountains, but with very interesting rock formations, reminiscent of the southwest. The town has a somewhat similar vibe as Salida, with it's artsy culture and river culture combined. While only spending about 24 hrs here, I got a little sense of snoot from the locals... we passed many on trails and at the brewpub, and did not get much eye contact or "hello's" from anyone.
That evening, we decided on sushi at the Asian Palate... a highly rated restaurant in town. We walked into a stifiling hot room, in this old town restuarant with it's brick walls and rustic/modern decor. Cool place, but not literally... I swear it was over 80 in there... and it was filled to the brim, so that didn't help. We ordered some edamame and sushi.. the edamame came out quickly.. and it was the biggest portion I've ever seen. Our sushi took quite a while, so somehow, we ate all the edamame. I have to say, the sushi was some of the best we've both had in quite a while. Very tasty sashimi, and some nice rolls
After dinner, we came back and walked the pups, and got ready to head out to Cottonwood Hot Springs, 15 minutes west of town. It was a nice evening, with some leftover thunderstorms still blossoming off to the east and north. I have actually been to this hot springs back in 1997 when I lived about an hour north, in Leadville. The place was still a little run down, but the springs looked ok... 5 pools and not too crowded. Well, it ended up being a little of a disappointment. Two of the pools were the same temperature of around 104... which is nice for about 5 minutes, then it's too hot to hang out in for long... the other 2 were around the same temperature at 90-ish... too cold. Then the other pool was like 80. We made the most of it and went back and forth between the hot and mild temperature pools. The crowd was definitely more on the hippy side, with no kids after dark, so that was nice.
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| 14'rs west of Buena Vista, on the way to the hot springs |
We had some light rain later that night, so it was very relaxing.... with a tummy appeased with sushi... the body mellowed by the hot springs, some cool mountain air coming through the windows... along with intermittent raindrops pelting the roof lightly. Sleep came easy.
Thursday, Debi is working as usual in the morning as I stumble out of bed looking for my coffee. It's cool enough again to have some hot joe, so I brew a small pot of my last bit of Pinon Coffee and have a pecan cinnamon roll that Debi has made in the oven. I'm surprised the scent of warm cinnamon rolls cooking did not wake me sooner... maybe I'm just getting old...? Or maybe I was having a good dream about cinnamon rolls.
Off to Leadville, city of the clouds. I lived her for a couple months back in the late 90's during my ski bum winter. Cool town, and the highest incorporated city in the USA, at 10,152 ft. It's a cool 65 degrees, so Debi breaks out her parka and ski hat. Kidding... sorta.
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| Leadville, CO |
We ponder staying at Torquise Lake for a night or two before heading over towards Frisco and Dillon in Summit County.. however, we decide while it's pretty here, the mosquitoes are hungry, and I have concerns about getting a site at Lake Dillon on a Friday or Saturday.... so we opt to have lunch here and move on. It's quite a beautiful lake.
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| Torquise Lake... with Mt. Elbert on L, highest point in CO.. and Mt. Massive on R. |
About an hour drive north over 11,318ft Fremont Pass, we arrive in Summit County, home of 4 ski areas and the tourist towns of Breckenridge, Copper, Keystone, Dillon, Frisco, and Silverthorne. Again, I spent alot of time here back in the late 90's... but it had grown quite a bit since then.
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| Frisco, CO |
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| Clinton Gulch Reservoir.. near Fremont Pass |
We look around at a couple USFS campgrounds on Lake Dillon to stay for 4 nights... some of which have hookups. Unfortunately, all the hookup sites are taken... not the end of the world, but I only have 2 batteries for my CPAP machine, so we might cut it close on 4 nights with no hookups.
We settle on a nice spot in Prospector Campground, on the east shore of the lake. While we don't have a lakeview, the views of the surrounding mountains are spectacular... and there was nobody around. (I guess that is one benefit of the beetle kill in this area, they had to remove alot of dead trees in the campground, so it really opened ip the views). So we take about 30 minutes to manuever the motorhome into our spot... not because it was hard to park, but I wanted it a certain way.. plus, I was having fun watching Debi get frustrated with me trying to get it exactly how I wanted it. In the end, we came up with a comprimise, that gave us some nice views, and a little extra privacy by using the RV as a block of sorts, from the other campsites. Even though they are very widely spaced, we were told to expect a full campground over the weekend... and they weren't lying.
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| huge shroom |
Friday, we set out for Dillon's Farmers Market... unfortuately, it started pouring as we left the campsite... but by the time we finally found a spot to park at, the rain had stopped. We walked around, pretty amazed at how big of a market this was.. and how much cool stuff they had. Veggies were slim this early in the season, but we got some killer sourdogh bread, some amazing horseradish with beets, and Debi fell in love with a beautiful southwestern hand made wool rug. We also bought some roasted peppers, garlic and dill goat cheese and a cinnamon crepe. The prized item though was a whiskey chocolate cake... So needless to say, we walked out of there with full arms... and growling tummies. We came back and relaxed that evening, watching the masses of Denverites envelope the campground. I tossed the last of the Copper River Salmon on the grill, along with some sauteed brussel sprouts, and some wild rice. Then we sat back with a nice fire and enjoyed the rain cooled evening air.
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| Dillon Farmers Market |
Saturday, we arose to a bustling campground... it sure did fill up overnight, including the typical 2 AM clueless campers trying to back a trailer into the site next to us oblivious that it was 2AM.. and there were 100 people around them trying to sleep. Sounds of "STOP", "A LITTLE TO THE LEFT"... and BACK UP echoed throughout the campground for about 30 minutes. I made the most of it however, and considered it an early 3 AM snack break... and got up and had a piece of whiskey cake, and washed it down with some dark chocolate almond milk.
Saturday was like night and day from early Friday... very similar to camping in Socal a few years ago. City folk with families of 20 making alot of noise and having campfires in the middle of the day at 75 degrees. Anyway, even though I'm a little reclusive at times and don't like being around alot of people... there was still a bit of the nostalgia factor going on... families with their kids playing, spending the weekend out in the mild mountain air. Good for them... they could all be sitting home doing nothing and the kids in front of the TV. I had to keep telling myself that the next 36 hours though.
I wanted to take Debi around to see a little of the area. We had been here in March to ski, but summer is totally different... and I had actually only been here in summer once. We headed up towards Loveland Pass... going thru Keystone and Arapahoe Basin Ski areas... then the twisting winding road up to the top of the Continental Divide at almost 12,000 ft. This a hugely popular backcountry skiing area in the winter, and also a tourist stop in summer for people. We got out, took some pictures and walked around a little and enjoyed the amazing views.
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| Part of A-Basin ski area |
We went down the other side to Loveland Ski area, and came back through the Eisenhower Tunnel... a mile+ long tunnel going right through the mountain and under the ski area and the Continental Divide. One of the highest elevation tunnels in the world, the highest elevation of any interstate in the USA... and the longest mountain tunnel in the USA.
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| Loveland Ski Area, Eisenhower Tunnel, and Continental Divide |
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| Tunnel entrance... |
A quick story about this tunnel... back in 97 when I lived in the area, I was coming back from Denver one evening and came to the tunnel. As I entered, I hit a wall of smoke/fog.. zero visibility. I was terrified, as was my friend with me at the time. Luckily, there was little traffic, but the thought of a big rig coming slamming into me and exploding in the tunnel really played on my mind. It was honestly so thick, I had to open the door occasionally to see the white line. We finally made it out the other side, and there was a big relief. I can only guess the huge exhaust fans that usually clear out the tunnel had stopped for some reason, causing all the "smoke" buildup... so every time I go through this tunnel, it gives me the willies.
When we get back to Silverthorne, we stop off at the Red Buffalo Coffee and Tea shop... and enjoy some cool libations along the Blue River.
When we get back to the campsite... we start thinking about food.... OK, I have been thinking about it all day... but we're craving something different for dinner, so I broke out the shrimp and improvised some kabobs to grill. Shrimp, red, yellow and orange sweet pepper, a jalapeno for me..and some slice beets and onion. I know, beets... weird, but it worked. We had a couple glasses of Chardonnay to wash them down.
After dinner we walk the pups around the campground loops over towards the lake. It's a nice evening, and the sunset again is spectacular... then come back for to a campfire.
Saturday night was surprisingly peaceful. I guess everyone was partied out form a day in the hot sun. The guy and 2 girls next to us had been partying all day.. Debi encouraged me to get a picture for my blog of a girl squatting down in broad daylight in her campsite taking a pee.. with her big white butt hanging out...but I told her I really needed to consider the mental well being of my readers. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. I'm all for peeing on a good tree, but she there was a bathroom 100 ft from her campsite, and her butt was not flattering, so...
Probably the most challenging part of this campsite was the dreaded vole.. yes, that little bugger this spring in Wopming, that Cheddar and the pups had fun with for weeks on end... they were back. From the moment we got there, cheddar was in hunting mode. The campsite was very open and spacious, so we gave him a little freedom back after his Edwardsville Escapades (EE). After the first day, I calculated that cheddar was averaging 1.8 voles per hour. The worse part about this was Merced... yes, the almost 15 yr old spry senior decided he needed a snack every hour, so the game was... cheddar catch the vole, play with it for as long as possible without Merced seeing it, then Merced comes and steals and eats the vole. I suspect the vole population has dwindled to critically low numbers in loop E of the Prospector Campground after our visit.
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| Vole chasing is exhausting! |
Sunday was nice... we awoke to the sounds of people packing up and leaving, and empty sites from the early departures. I fired up the stove and made some breakfast... By noon, we had almost the entire loop to ourselves again. We both needed some exercise, and wanted to take a hike. I found a lake about 30 minutes north of us that was an easy hike we could take the pups on. It was called Cataract Lake. 2.2 Miles around the lake, and minimal elevation gain. We got there to rumbles of thunder and sprinkles, but the weather held out and we were treated to a lovely hike with just about everything.... lake, wildflowers, aspen, pine forest, waterfall, mountain views... I swear the hike was longer than 2.2 miles.. but oh well. All the pups did fine.. Cheddar was back at home taking a vole timeout...
We were a little parched and dusty after the hike, so after a quick stop back at the RV, we headed to the Silverthorne Recreation Center... a really nice place with 3 huge pools, 2 hot tubs, indoor and out... waterslides (Sorry, no pics... walking around an aquatic center taking pictures is a little creepy to some) and a bunch of workout areas (which we stayed away from).. and a steam and dry sauna. It was very relaxing!
After about an hour or so of aquatic antics, we head a couple miles over to the Dillon Dam Brewery for beers and dinner. I have been here many times.. very good beer and food, and always busy. Luckily, we found 2 spots up at the bar, and bellied up for some libations and comfort food. There was a Cards/Dodgers game on to keep us entertained, along with all the people watching. We ordered a sample of a small batch of whiskey barrel strong brown ale, which was fabulous... but very expensive.. and then finished up with full size pours of a refreshing wheat and hefewiezen beer. For dinner, Debi had the chicken fried chicken.. and I had the buffalo stout braised short ribs.. both of us were pretty happy with our dinner.
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| Buffalo braised short ribs |
Sorry, Debi was too hungry and ate most of hers before I could get the camera on it...
Sunday night was very quiet in the campground, and it had rained again here during the day, making it smell wonderful, with my favorite wet sage and pine scent. It was also quite cool, already around 50 by sunset. We both were tired, so we went to bed early and read a little bit before passing out. The pups were also in zombie land and dozed off quickly.
Monday morning... off to Vail! Debi has work conference in Vail this week at the Marriott... We are also back here for the second one in late August. I searched for a campground or RV park near Vail, and the only one that came up was a USFS campground, called Gore Creek.. in East Vail, about 5 miles from the hotel. It has ended up being a really nice campground, nestled in a deep canyon, surrounded by tall pines and a fairly fast flowing Gore Creek. I-70 in a mere mile away, but being tucked in the canyon, and the sound of the creek rushing, it's barely noticeable. We were lucky to find a campsite to reserve a couple weeks ago online, as it's been mostly full every night. No hookups, but for $10 a night... it's a great spot!
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| No idea how the satellite TV was able to lock onto all 3 satellites thru the trees! |
Monday night, we have Debi's work partners (Gene, Ken and Rob) over for some burgers and beer. I wanted to smoke something, but we just didn't have enough time to put some meat on.... (oh come on, you weren't thinking I was talking about meat were you?).
I have met Gene and Ken before briefly, in Park City a couple years ago.. but it was nice to get to know them a little better. I have discovered Gene is my soul mate when it comes to spicy food... it all started when I mention to him I am drinking a chili lager, and his eyes light up like a kid in a candy store. While normally I'd be hesitant to give out my last chili beer to someone I just met, I was intrigued by his enthusiasm for a beer that most people I know don't like... I also want to keep him on my good side since he's a partner of Debi's firm... so the beer is his. What really made me cozy up to Gene was, I surprised him with a grilled jalapeno for his burger.. It didn't end there though. Gene proceeded to pile up his burger with not only the jalapeno, but also pepperjack cheese and the horseradish beets. This guy was for real. Ok, so now I break out the big guns... I pull out a canister of powdered blue cheese from my holster... sure enough, Gene grabs for it like a crusty ole outlaw. Seriously, if Gene weren't a guy, Debi might have to worry about something.
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| Gene's Jalapeno burger.. |
Ken was not to be outdone by Jalapeno Gene, however... Beer and grass fed beef apparently puts Ken in quite the chatty mood, so he delves into a story about his college days, and some time he spent in Pagosa Springs, CO.. a place we plan to visit in August. The story started getting pretty lively when Ken detailed his days at the rodeos, riding miniature horses, and warming many a bar stool... I think I remember a character in one of my old west books I've read recently, called Cowboy Ken. There was something in that book about 'what happens in Colorado stays in Colorado'... so I'll keep with the theme.
After dinner, Rob was feeling a little left out. No cowboy stories or close brushes with jalapenos or blue cheese... We mention what we have for dessert, Whiskey Cake... Rob gleams... This was his chance... Rob feels his game coming on, and before long, he's not only shoveling the 80 proof cake down the hatch... but he's also taking shots of our Wood's Malt Whiskey we picked up in Salida. To show he means business, Rob slams the shots out of a Japanese sake cup. Rob's run in with the whiskey has carried over into quite the rebellious stage... His antics on the shuttle bus last night are grounds for eviction from the Vail city limits.The jury is still deliberating... at the neighborhood saloon.
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| Rob breaking the law on the shuttle bus. |
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| L to R... Jalapeno Gene, Whiskey Rob, Innocent Debi, and Cowboy Ken |
So the evening was coming to a close, the three musketeers ... Jalapeno Gene, Cowboy Ken, and Whiskey Rob had to head back to the hotel to prepare for the next day's business meeting. It was a good time had by all, and we look forward to the next time we can share stories around the campfire... I think.
Monday night, I got to stay in the hotel while Debi stayed at the campground with the zoo. I needed some power for my CPAP batteries, and Tuesday was Debi didn't need to be up and pretty by 7:30.. so I got the room to myself... and slept horribly. I guess the sheets were too soft, and I had no dogs on the bed... so I felt out of place. The 30 minute shower was nice though.
Vail is strictly a ski resort town.. unlike many other Colorado towns that have a mining history long before skiing became a big thing. Thus, it doesn't have a real town... it's mainly pedestrian villages and accomodations, which can be a little overwhelming. Cool I guess for the ski thing, but not a place I could ever live. That, and all the roundabouts at every intersection, give me nightmares of Clark Griswold at Big Ben. Problem is, I know how to use them, and like the concept... but 75% of the people visiting here don't have a clue about what's going on.
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| Not so Vail |
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| Vail Village |
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| Too tired to walk the mile back to hotel after dinner and beers... bike carriage ride |
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| Lionshead Village decor |
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The Vail Valley on I-70 looking east |
There is a nice off leash dog park just down the road... it has a pond and a big open grassy area. Pretty nice, and rare... in the city limits of a town. There is another off leash area on the other side of town, too... but I've not been there yet. Anyway, Merced took a nice swim to cool off on Tuesday, and even Dixie got her paws wet. Sierra, who is not a fan of water stayed away. I had to take Dixie to the vet again as she has had a little cough the last week. Vet thinks it's a mild version of kennel cough... so I got some antibiotics. None of the other dogs have it to this point, so we'll keep an eye on them all.
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| Dog Park |
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| Add caption |
Wednesday started very warm. It got to 90 yesterday, which is pretty hot for 8,000 ft. Today we had some buildups though, and by noon it was thundering and raining lightly. That made for a pleasant rest of the day. I worked on the blog part of the day, went to the dog park, walked the dogs on a trail... and cleaned up a little. Around 6, I met Debi and her 24 other conference guests at the Marriott, and we all took a shuttle over to the Atwater on Gore Creek... at Casade Hotel... which turned out to be a really nice reataurant with great food and ambiance. I had picked this place based on reviews, menus, and pictures... I also picked Vail and her conference in Nashville in June... just a little something else for me to do that I enjoy and can help out with.
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| Amazing pork shank |
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| Scallops |
I get back to the motorhome tonight, and it obviously rained a little more here than in town. everything is wet and cool... just the way I like it when I want to go to sleep. The campground is quiet, with the exception of the creek... and a few crackles of campfire from some campers across the way.
We will be here until Friday afternoon... and then plan to head west to near Glenwood Springs to stay the night and visit the hot springs. After that, we'll be headed to Park City, Utah to meet up with Debi's parents for a few days... not exactly sure of the route yet, as we may head up towards Hwy 40 and Dinosaur National Monument.. for a night or two... or stay on I-70 into Utah. Alot depends on campsites and the weather... if it's too warm, it's tough to camp without hookups and AC.
That's all for now... until next time,
Debi, Todd, Merced, Sierra, Dixie and Cheddar
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