Contents

Rearview Mirror - Summary of the past week
Pups Across America! - Great Pyrenees and more
Headlights - Our schedule as to where we will be heading

(Note: click on any photo for a larger image/slideshow)

Rearview Mirror

Sunday: Day of Rest (and Work)
Quiet day around the campsite. Did some walks (able to capture this handsome marmot) and I worked on my Sarasota project.







Late afternoon we did our normal drive looking for Kodak Moments. We took 40 west turning north on Elkhead Road down to Elkhead Reservoir State Park. We toured the facility by the lake then exited the park northbound on a gravel path under a cloudy sky and occasional drizzle of rain. No sooner had we turned the first corner when Jan pointed out a really big bird sitting on a fence post. I was driving and turned around on the narrow gravel road, fully expecting the bird to take off…nope, he was still there! Reluctantly he let me capture a few images before heading up the mountain for another perch. Within 100 feet we found another of this species sitting on the same fence and once again I took a few photos. I assumed she (larger bird) was his mate (sharing the same habitat). Later, back at camp we confirmed via our reference books that the two birds were Ferruginous hawks. I took advantage of the soft light for a couple other landscape shots.









Continuing up to Corral Gulch Road, we wound around and spotted several deer, grazing cattle, and horses. About a mile from Hayden, we were treated to the sight of a mature red fox in excellent condition shoot across the road in front of us.

Sitting at our campfire in the evening, I heard Janny say, “Alex, look!” I turned to see a stunningly vibrant rainbow, and quickly headed into the coach for my camera. Thirty seconds later I returned, however, the brilliance of the colors had diminished greatly. As I was standing there, disappointed in not getting the shot I wanted, Jan again said, “Look!” as she pointed overhead--a Golden Eagle flew directly over our camp. No time for a photo attempt, but an impressive sight nonetheless. Quite the day.

Monday: On to Steamboat Lake
Another quiet morning at Yampa River State Park. I took the Pups on a walk, and then got to work while Jan readied BERT for travel.



At 10:53 a.m. we left the gate, heading east on 40 through Hayden and Milner. At Steamboat Springs we turned north on 129 and the further we drove up this winding road, the prettier it got. At the Clark store, we turned north on 62 as Google Maps directed. I thought it funny that there was no brown sign indicating a state park was this direction, but I asked Jan to turn anyway. Within minutes our paved road turned to gravel. We pulled over and called the Visitor Center (luckily AT&T was strong). I explained my plight, and the guy on the other end of the line got a chuckle out of Google sending us the wrong way. He said, “Yes you can still get here, but you are on the scenic route.” Jan drove the bus about 20 miles and hour around the west side of the lake on the road less traveled. For the next 50 minutes we drove through hills and valleys covered with wildflowers with mountains acting as the backgrounds of our vistas. We pulled into our campsite and quickly set up. A great view of Hahns Peak was out our door.



The evening ended with a big storm with lots of thunder and lightning.



Tuesday: Strolling through a Bouquet of Flowers
I took the Pups out early into a dark morning with big black clouds overhead.



After making our best guess that no big rains were close by, Jan and I walked about 50 feet to the trailhead of the Willow Creek Trail and started on our way. The trail cut through the meadow along the lake, and we went up and down, over and around amidst summer flowers of every variety, shape, and color. Jan said it was just like walking through a bouquet o flowers--appropriately stated.











On the trail was a ripped open bag of sandwich meat (nothing remaining but the plastic) and the unmistakable print of a bear. I guess some camper was a little sloppy with food security. Field birds chirped and sang along our three-mile trek and this Song Sparrow was kind enough to pose.

I spent the majority of the day working on my Sarasota project along with preparing for my Chicago trip next week. Late afternoon the four of us piled into the car with Jan driving and me on the passenger seat holding my camera, a Schnauzer, and occasionally a Rat Terrier.

We first drove south on 129 for just a few miles and then turned left at 209, a dirt road that took us through some ranches before ending at Pearl Lake State Park. Here we drove through the park and through the campgrounds with their great views of the lake from the primitive sites. Then we drove back, turning north on 129 past our park. At National Forest Road 486 we turned west and took the trip back to Hahn’s Lake. The weather was getting interesting with occasional sheets of rain, and some impressive lightning and thunder that reverberated throughout the valleys. We saw some deer and wildflowers. It was a drive I’d recommend.





As we drove home a quite impressive rainbow formed, reaching across the entire valley, starting at a ranch house and ending on a mountain (or vice versa, depending on your point of view).

Wednesday: More Beauty



When I arose it was a chilly 45 degrees; cold enough for me to go to the closet and hunt my medium-weather jacket. I walked the Pups down to the marina where I let them go off-leash, as no one else was out.

By 6:30 a.m., Jan and I were in the car, retracing our tracks back to Pearl Lake. We parked at the trailhead and hiked Pearl Lake Trail through the forest along Pearl Lake. As the day before, we were surrounded and sometimes immersed in summer wild flowers. The trail was narrow and overgrown and we were soon soaked after the first few minutes. We walked over the dam and continued along till the trail ended. We took pictures along the way, including one of this jogger (she had a Pup but he didn’t make the blog!).











Back at BERT, I spent the day working on the Sarasota project.

Thursday: On to State Forest
It was a chilly 42 degrees when I walked the Pups down to the marina. When we got back, Jan and I drove to the Visitor’s Center for a hike. The trail we had chosen was closed, so we improvised and took the other end of the Willow Creek trail. I had an 8:30 a.m. Sweden call, and then I worked on my Sarasota project. After a 1:00 p.m. call with a Services Strategies client, Jan turned the bus and the adventure continued. We took 12 south, picking up 40 east at Steamboat Springs. At Muddy Pass we picked up 14 and headed NE, going through Spider and Hebron and on up to Walden, where 14 merges with 125. As we headed north through town, I noticed that the sign only said 125, and no 14. About five miles north of town I confirmed my fears--I had missed the turnoff. Consulting with Janny we pulled over and attempted to make a wide swing to turn back around. Note that there is always risk in this type of maneuver because when towing a car behind a motorhome you cannot back up. Well, you guessed it, Jan cranked BERT as tightly as possible, but the end result was that we completely blocked the highway, unable to move ahead. I jumped out and started to unhook our car, nervously glancing in both directions on the lookout for traffic. Luckily in this country traffic is light, however we did hold up a semi and a few cars for a short time. I would have completed my chore faster, but people kept coming up offering to help! After this small adventure, Jan and I drove separately the last 30 miles of Thursday’s journey. Back at Walden we found the sign to go back to 14 east (later I went into town to retrace our earlier steps and felt exonerated from my navigation error--there was no sign indicating the 14 turn). Looking on the map I saw the familiar Colorado dots, indicators of another scenic byway. So we made our way to State Forest State Park through more gorgeous Colorado scenery.

Moving Up in the World
Since our stay at Highline Lake (4,500 feet) we have been gradually moving up: 6,000 feet at Rifle Gap, 6,300 feet at Yampa, 8,100 feet at Steamboat Lake, and 9,100 feet at State Forest. At these altitudes you have to remember to let air out of your SleepRest mattress the higher up you go, be careful of shooting ketchup bottles from the frig, and you have to wait a little longer for the gas to reach the stovetop.

State Forest State Park is my kind of place, 71,000 acres of rustic beauty complete with mountains and meadows, rivers and lakes. Lots of critters (proclaimed the Moose Capitol of Colorado), scenic drives, and great hiking trails everywhere. I’m really glad we stopped.





Friday: Early Calls and Flying Hawks
I had a 7:00 a.m. phone call with my Chicago client, and since there was no AT&T or Verizon signal at our campground, I left at 6:30 driving the 20 miles on 14 north to the entrance to the Owl Creek ranch that had four bars on each device (iPhone and MacBook). Since I was only a few miles from Walden, I drove into town to fuel up our Element then returned to camp.

I worked on my Sarasota project in the motorcoach, and then later in the day we packed up for a family drive. We took 14 north to Walden where we took 12 west, past the Walden State Wildlife Area, eventually hooking up with 7 north then 7A north to the Lake John State Wildlife area and Lake John. From here we took 5 south to the Delaney Butte Lake State Wildlife Area, and then on past an unnamed/unnumbered road out through the valley. We could see for miles with mountains on all sides corralling us in.







Since it was prairie country we encountered several hawks on barns and bales and posts. The first was a Swainson’s Hawk standing on this hay bale. The second was a Rough-Legged Hawk, sitting on this fence post waiting for a meal opportunity. The flying hawk with the attitude is another Swainson’s Hawk.







Jan drove us until the public road ended, and then we retraced our steps back to Walden. Here we drove 125 south about five miles where we took the Wildlife Auto Tour through the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge.



We just saw birds, but lots of them, especially ducks on the numerous lakes and a hundred or more white pelicans. We drove back to Walden once again to take 14 south. Here we went past our campground and up to Cameron Pass, 10,278 feet. Bull moose had been spotted there the last couple of weeks. We saw no big guys, but did see a cow and her calf. From there we headed back into the state park and drove the minutes of narrow, rough, steep, dirt road through the forest up to the Agnes Lake trailhead (we really have to get a Jeep). Past 6:00 p.m. and getting chilly, we decided against hiking, as we had not dressed for this activity. We drove back down and returned to camp after a big day.

Saturday: Moose Hunters
All of us were in the car and out of the campground by 6:05 a.m., and by 6:10 we saw a moose, a big bull about 50 yards parallel to the road we were on. That was the good news; the bad news was that it was way too dark (even with a tripod) to take any pictures. Reluctantly, we traveled on, going to Cameron Pass. When we saw only a cow and no bulls, we decided to head back and see if the bull we had spotted earlier was still within viewing range. After some careful scouring, we found him, but he had meandered much further away. I set up my tripod by the side of the road anyway and got a few long-distance shots. (Man it was cold. I have to remember to take gloves.) I only got one shot that shows the profile of the big guy. The lighting wasn’t the best and I had to crop it a lot, but it shows his profile and the large rack of his maleness well.



Next, we went back to Cameron Pass one more time with luck finally shining on us. There was a mature bull grazing away in a flower-covered field. Even with a tripod and using a high ISO, the shutter speed was low, but I stood out for a good 30 minutes firing away while Jan and the Kids watched from the warm car. Here is a shot of Mr. Moose.



Back at camp, we had breakfast, and then the four of us walked to the Ranger Lakes trailhead and hiked around the four lakes. Another gorgeous setting with the only other humans being a couple of fly fisherwomen.



Back at BERT, I spent a few hours developing a proposal for my Minneapolis client. We then went for our afternoon drive, first stopping off to shoot out my proposal and catch up on mail past the KOA, then east onto 41 to check out that countryside. From there we went back north on 14, turning west on the road to Rand, on through the Owl Mountain State Wildlife Refuge. Not finding a way to circle back, we retraced our steps and stopped off at Gould for dinner at The Drifter’s Cookhouse, (www.drifterscookhouse.com). This is a must-stop place if you are in the area. A great couple owns it, and the help provides good service in a comfortable atmosphere. Absolutely great food, and they have cabins complete with moose as well as a few RV sites. Next time we are in this area we hope to stay there.

Pups Across America

When returning from our Lake Pearl hike, this ranch dog, a Great Pyrenees, greeted us by the end of his lane. By his looks, I don’t think he sleeps on his master’s bed--maybe not even inside!

Headlights

August 21-28: Boyd Lake State Park
August 29-31: Parker, CO
September 1-15: Heading north and east
September 23-October 7: Markin Glen County Park, Kalamazoo, MI
October 8-15: ???
October 16 to 31: Visit Kentucky friends
November 1: Head back to Pine Island

Have questions or comments--send them in.

See you next week.

Tags: Colorado State Parks