8-3-19 - (Day 10 - Vail Loop)

Lauren and Ferny Kat got up and left me lounging around in bed.  Ferny Kat insisted that he give her running water to drink, so he placed her bowl under a trickling water faucet.  A little bit later, Ferny Kat turned on the kitchen faucet wide open and was lapping water from it as Lauren was scurrying around to turn it off.  She is done with this water conservation.  That Dang Cat!!

We had another enjoyable cool, pretty morning drinking our coffee outside, watching Ferny Kat plunder around.

We took off on Amber around 10 am and headed North.  We took a ride to Turquoise Lake and looked at some potential future boondocking spots.  Turquoise Lake is very pretty and we found some spots we may like when we leave here.  The roads were very rough in the BLM campground so a spot near the entrance is best for riding Amber.

Main Street in Leadville was closed for an event. The only sign we saw was an Ice Fishing Derby sign.  Not cold enough for ice fishing, we are not sure what was going on.

We took Hwy. 91 to check out our possible drive to Granby.  It was gorgeous going up, and gorgeous going down the pass with a 7% grade.

We got on I-70 and went through Vail, Colorado.  OMG, we avoid interstates as much as possible, but it was the most enjoyable ride on an interstate that we have ever rode on Amber as we continued down the mountain.

There were 100's of bicyclist riding on bike paths near the interstate and then on Hwy 24.  There must have been a marathon going on.  The lowest number on a bike that I saw was in the 800's, the highest number I saw was in the 1100's.  Those folks are in really good shape.   Lauren said it tired him out watching them peddle up the mountain.

We toured through Minturn then continued on Hwy 24 for our other route option to travel to Granby.  It was a narrow road with drop offs on one side and the mountain on the other side.  We will probably avoid this route with Rap.

We finally stopped 3 hours later for a picnic lunch at Camp Hale.

The afternoon thunderstorms usually get going around 3 pm.  We thought we would get home before they started today.  We thought wrong.  They started around 2 pm.  Although, the roads were really wet in spots and we saw heavy rain in the horizon, we only got in light rain.  Whew!

Our 1st campfire of the trip.

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8-2-19 - (Day 9 - Cripple Creek)

When we got up this morning, it was in the mid 50's.  We drank our coffee outside and watched the sun rise above the canyon.  Yesterday's rain plus a beautiful morning had the critter action going.

Ferny Kat even got in the action, leading us to a Western Tiger Salamander, (a vulnerable conservation species).

In about 2 hours the temperature rose 20 degrees.  Sunshine is a good thing when you are boondocking and using solar to run the camper.

We rode Amber to Cripple Creek to say hello to our friend Baxter at Bronco Billy's Casino.  We met Baxter many years ago when he worked at Isle of Capri in Natchez.  He is now the General Manager of Bronco Billy's.

We have always enjoyed touring Cripple Creek when we are in the area.  It made it more enjoyable to have a friend to go visit.

It was a beautiful morning, with blue skies and pretty scenery.  The beautiful skies made for a perfect scenery back drop for Trout Creek Pass Summit and Wilkerson Pass Summit.  It was a very enjoyable hour and a half ride looking at gorgeous scenery.

We gambled a little, won and lost a little, and ate a late lunch at Baja Billy's Mexican Restaurant.  Baxter recommendation for the entree was fantastic.

The weather was imperfect on our ride back.  We got our head, butts, feet, and pretty much everything in between, soaked about 5 minutes after we left Cripple Creek.  We got in  a horrendous thunderstorm with lightening, hail, and water rushing across the mountain roads.  I don't think there is any rain gear that could have kept us dry in this storm.

We got home safe, sound, and cold, about an hour and a half later.  We put our hiking boots and clothes outside to dry.  Ferny Kat came outside for a while with us, until she heard the thunder.  The thunder in the canyon definitely gets your attention.

We are in for the night listening to the rain peppering on the roof of the camper.  I have no doubt, we will sleep good again tonight.

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8-1-19 - (Day 8 - Hanging around North Salida BLM)

It was a quiet and cool night of boondocking which makes for a great nights sleep.  We woke up this morning to the sound of a Raven calling and a cool 51 degrees.

We got the Coleman stove out and cooked breakfast.  Breakfast always taste better when you are camping.

The pretty morning turned into clouds with on and off light showers deterring our plans of riding Amber, giving us time to catch up on banking and our blog.

We strolled around the campground, hiked up a hill, and made it back down without a slip.  Although, I really took my time with my footing to make sure.

Today was not a rain out, but just enough to keep us off Amber.  We went to the Poncha Springs Visitor Center and rode around checking out other boondocking spots.

The visitor's center had changed since the last time we were here.  George, Lisa, Lauren, and I, had picnicked at the visitor's center a few years ago when we rode there from Gunnison.  They have taken out the picnic area and put up flags, but I am pretty sure we had the same sweet lady manning the Visitor Center.

The boondocking spots had really rough roads.  It was not the kind of road we would like pulling Rap, but definitely not the kind of road we would ride Amber on.

We came back to the camper and waited for a while for the rain to quit.  We finally gave up and pulled out the awning to cook our burgers on the almost, stainless steel Hollywood Casino Charcoal Grill.  When we were finishing eating, the sun came out and a rainbow appeared above the canyon.  It was Mother Nature's precourse of  a beautiful afternoon.

Ferny Kat came out to wander a bit and then drank fresh Colorado rain water that had collected on a rock.  She is doing her part in conserving water while we are boondocking.

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7-31-19 (Day 7 - North Salida BLM)

We traveled a whopping 21 miles today to our boondocking spot.  We made a couple of stops along the way to get a few necessities at Wally World and fuel for the truck.  We are boondocking at North Salida BLM.  We have a view of the mountains and the canyon.

After we set up camp, we decided it was time for a relaxing day.  We sat around looking at the Rock Squirrels, birds, butterflies, and such, enjoying the afternoon.

While we were sitting outside enjoying nature, we heard a moo every now and then.  We knew there was a gate at the end of the BLM and assumed it was cows in the pasture.  Much to our surprise, we walked around the camper and found about 15 big horned cows. They continued grazing and walked on by.

As we were grilling steaks over the charcoal grill, they came back by.  They stopped and gave us a look, then continued on.  Glad they didn't know what's for dinner tonight.

Ferny Kat loves this place.  She likes to lay near the canyon wall in the tall grass.  The Rock Squirrels, on the other hand do not like that she is there.  One of them sat on a rock on the canyon wall and fussed about her being there.  It didn't bother her one bit.

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