8-10-19 - (Day 17 - Hanging around camp)

It was another cool morning.  We cooked breakfast about 11:30 am, then went on a hike. 

We walked down County Road 48 to the other entrance of the dispersed camping area then circled back to our site.  We left in jeans and sweatshirts.  It didn't take long for us to shed our sweatshirts.  We hiked 3 1/2 miles.  We are slowly getting acclimated to this altitude.

We got back, sat under the shade tree and watched Ferny Kat explore.

We were very entertained by a squirrel eating a pine cone.  That must have been some good stuff.

We had a bowl of beans and a pork chop sitting around the campfire tonight watching the beautiful clouds. Reminded me of a cowboy movie.

On a very sad note, Aline passed away today.  R.I.P. Aline.

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8-9-19 - (Day 16 - Breakfast with Tuuts)

We met our long time friend, Cathy, (or as Lauren calls her Tuuts), for breakfast in Leadville this morning.  She just happen to be in Leadville on a hiking trip and saw that we were in the area on Facebook.  The same thing happen a couple of years ago when we were at Glacier.  Thank goodness for Facebook.

We rode Amber on this beautiful, cool, 52 degree morning to town to meet her at 9 am.  We had a great breakfast at the Golden Burro.   We had a lot of catching up to do.  It had been 2 years since we last saw her. It was almost noon when we walked out of the restaurant.  We walked with her up the hill to her hostel and met her hiking buddies.

We came back to camp and spent the afternoon, hiking, and taking pictures of critters and such.  It was the first day of no rain that we have had since we have been here.

We grilled some burgers and sat by the campfire.  We had planned to get the tripod out and get photos of stars tonight, but the clouds rolled in.




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8-8-18 - (Day 15 - Moved 50 Yards)

The rain finally stopped last night about 9 pm as we were watching a roku movie. It was another cold night.  We woke up this morning, to a cloudy 45 degrees.  We refused to turn on the heater, so we  wrapped up in our blankets and played on the computer.

                                                                   Cooking breakfast

Ferny Kat started talking to Lauren about turning on the faucet for her to drink as soon as he got out of bed.  Of course, he did.  She has plenty of water in her bowl that she swirls around and slings.    This boondocking is a different lifestyle for all of us.

Our favorite spot opened up this morning, so we moved about 50 yards to it.  It is the first spot at the entrance of the dispersed camping area.  We have a little bit of trees between us and the next camper and a good view of the mountains.

By the time we got moved to our new spot, it got hot. We changed into shorts and tee shirts.  Shortly after, it clouded up, got cold, and rained for a little bit, so we put on warmer clothes, then the sun came out.  This weather pattern was repeated over and over this afternoon.

There is a 104 mile bike race this Saturday, which has greatly increased the population of the camping area.  We directed a few of the campers who had big rigs to areas big enough for the rigs.  They were very appreciative.

We topped off the night with grilled brats and a good ole campfire. 

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8-7-19 - (Day 14 - Loop Around Turquoise Lake and Leadville)

In the wee hours of the morning, Ferny Kat nudged her way between us for warmth.  When we got up it was 43 degrees.

We walked around and drank our coffee waiting for the sun to come up over the trees.  As we were walking back, we saw Ferny Kat sitting in the window staring at us.  By the time we got to the door, she was waiting for us to let her out to explore.

We were zoomed by a Hummingbird several times, and watched a few other birds fluttering in the trees.

We got our pictures and blog caught up this morning, then cooked a late breakfast of blueberry pancakes, sausage, and eggs.

We walked around the dispersed camping area taking pictures of birds and such, then took a ride on Amber around the lake and to Leadville.

We stopped several times and got off and walked around.  One of our stops was a short hike to Shimmering Point Overlook.  It was a really pretty view of the lake.  Our hike back, was pretty much uphill.  It will be a while before we get acclimated to this altitude.

We made it back to camp right before the rain started.  The temperature dropped from the mid 70's to the low 50's in just a bit. We have closed all the windows and placed a heavier blanket on the bed for tonight.

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8-6-19 - (Day 13 - County Road 48 Dispersed Camping)

We loved the North Salida BLM Campground, but when the hummingbirds are buzzing you, maybe it's time to move on.

We went a little south today to Poncha Springs, to use the dump facilities and fill up with water then headed 48 miles North to County Road 48 dispersed camping.

We came here a couple of times and checked out camping spots.  There were 3 that we knew Rap would fit into and the solar panels would get optimum sun.  There were more campers here today, we did manage to get one of the 3 spots we picked.

We moved to an elevation at 9636 feet.  We have a view of the snow topped Mt. Massive through the Pinon Pine Trees with lots of wild flowers at our campsite.  We usually put out our big rug when we are going to stay for a few days, but not this time.  We do not want to cover up our beautiful wild flower garden.

Ferny Kat came outside for a while.  We have another Ferny Kat approved campsite.

We took a couple mile hike, (or stroll for us flat landers), and found lots of  big roomy campsites.  Only problem, you have to drive down a narrow road with a low hanging limbs.  There's no way we are pulling Rap down that road.

We lowered the back gate and rolled down the canvas so we could have plenty of fresh air and views.
Ferny Kat is loving her view from her ladder.

The campground land butts up to Mt. Massive Golf Course.  We have our golf clubs and just might check it out.

When we got here today, we saw a camper and truck that looked like one that was boondocking near us at our last spot.  Lauren went over to talk to them, and it was the same couple, Judy and Rick.
We enjoyed talking with them.

The temperature started dropping as the sun went down.  We built a small fire and grilled pork chops for supper.  We will put an extra blanket on the bed tonight.

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8-5-19 (Day 12 - Hanging around North Salida BLM)

We slept in this morning and didn't get up until after 7 am.  We sat outside, drinking our coffee and critter watching for a while.

We took off on Amber after our coffee and breakfast and checked boondocking spots toward Leadville.  Our first stop was Clear Creek Reservoir.  It was a nice campground, but not on the lake.

Our 2nd stop was County Road 48 Campground near Turquoise Lake. We checked this place out a few days ago, and this is where we want our next move to be.

We stopped at Crystal Lake and checked out the critters in the area.  We saw a weasel, ground squirrels, birds, and ducks.  There were plenty of fishermen fishing here today.

We got lucky with no rain on our ride today.

The solar panels soaked up the sun.  This is the first day we have gotten to a 100% charge.

After we got back we went to Wally World to stock up.

It has been 5 days of spit baths with no shampoos.  We got a can of dry shampoo and spruced up a little bit, then heated up some water we scooped up from the melted ice in the ice chest from days ago to soak out feet.  Ahhh!  the little things in life.

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8-4-19 - (Day 11 - Monarch Pass)

Ferny Kat was ready for us to get up at 6 am.  She walked on us in bed, played with the sink stopper, then banged the shade pulling it out so she could look out.  We finally gave in.

We did our usual sitting outside, waiting for the sunshine to come over the canyon wall.  We had 2 hungry hummingbirds that fluttered near by.  Every other time we have seen them, they left in a hurry.  They must have decided that we aren't going to move on, so they moved in.

We had steak and eggs for breakfast, then sat around until about 11 am and took a ride on Amber.  We rode about 30 miles to Monarch Pass.  There were campers with their boats and ATV's coming down the pass in droves.

We have been to Monarch Pass several times.  It has always been rainy and cold so we never took the gondola ride.  Today, it was cloudy with temps in the mid 50's.  So up we went.

We walked around for about an hour taking pictures and enjoying the scenery.  We headed down when it started raining.  The gondola shut down for lightning after we got off.

We went inside and ate our free popcorn and talked with some bikers from Texas waiting for the rain to stop.  After a little while, the rain stopped.  We put on our rain gear and headed down the pass without anymore rain.

We thought it's Sunday and it will be a quiet here at the BLM land.   We were wrong.  We had more people come in and turn around today, than the last 4 days combined.
The young ladies camped across the way hiked up the canyon and brought down big ole pieces of wood.  They played really loud, good music, sang, and danced.  They looked like they were really enjoying themselves and we were quite entertained by them.

All for it's Sunday, it's gonna be quiet, cause everybody has to go to work tomorrow theory!

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