8-13-19 - (Day 20 - Hagerman Pass/Mt. Massive Golf Course)

We took a ride to Hagerman Pass this morning.  The dirt road started out ok, then it turned into a true rocky mountain road.  We crawled up the the treacherous road over the big rocks and pot holes. Lauren was bouncing around to the ceiling of the truck at times.  I was holding onto the door with one hand while having the other hand on the camera to keep it from bouncing around.

We got to a place where we could pull over, high enough that we were even with the snow and the trees were below us.  We talked with 2 motorcyclist, a family in a jeep, and a couple in an ATV.  None of us knew how much further it was.  The motorcyclist, the ATV, and the Jeep decided to continue on.

One of the motorcyclist almost wrecked, the ATV and the jeep made it.   We decided that we had had enough, (especially me).  We later found out we were less than a mile to the pass.  It took us 40 minutes to ease back down to better roads.  40 minutes up and 40 minutes down to go 6 miles each way is a long time bouncing around.

The scenery was gorgeous, a lot of the pictures I took were blurry, either from bouncing or from my hands shaking.  Lauren thought this was fun for the most part.

We stopped and talked with Bill and Mary Ann, a couple we met at the dispersed camping area where we are camped.  They were riding up to the pass on their ATV.  They clapped when they realized it was us and offered to give us a ride back up on a 2 seater ATV with 2 people already seated, not going to happen.

When we got here last week, we saw that Mt. Massive Golf Course at 10,152 feet in elevation, is the highest elevation golf course in North America.  We have played the lowest elevation at Furnace Creek Golf Course in Death Valley, which is 214 feet below sea level.  We now have a claim to fame of playing the highest and lowest elevation golf courses in North America.

We have been getting short winded just turning over in bed in this high altitude.  We were glutton for punishment. We decided to walk the 9 hole course.   It was a very beautiful course that we finished in less than 2 hours.  We had no one ahead of us or behind us until the 5th hole when we caught up with a 5 some.  After we caught up with them, we slowed our pace,  which allowed us to catch our breaths between shots, making for a more enjoyable round.

We went back to camp, built a big fire under the bright full moon until time for bed.

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8-12-19 - (Day 19 - Avon Walmart Run)

It was a sunny, beautiful, 43 degrees when we got up this morning.  We didn't need the heater after all. We ate our breakfast a lot earlier than we have been, then took a ride to Avon, Colorado to pick up a few things at Walmart.  Riding on the scenic, curvy, Highway 24 is a lot more fun on Amber than in the truck.

We went to Happy Hour at Judy and Rick's campsite.  They have a fantastic view of Mt. Massive.  This is one of those places our rig is too big to get to.  It was evident that our Happy Hour was enjoyable when the Happy Hour turned into over 2 Hours.

We came back and built a big fire, under the pretty stars and almost full moon.  We finally saw a few Perseid meteors.

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8-11-19 - (Day 18 - Lazy, Rainy, Sunday)

It was cold and rainy for most of the day.  We watched a doe walking around while drinking our coffee this morning.  We followed our 2 cups of coffee with hot chocolate.  We finally cooked breakfast about 11:30 am.

We sat inside playing on the computers until about 3 pm when the rain stopped and the sun came out.  We took a walk around doing our usual critter watching.

Ferny Kat was waiting at the door to come outside when we returned.  She enjoyed eating grass and rolling around on the rug.  Sunshine makes us all feel good.

A bug set off the alarm at the house and we noticed a white vehicle parked on the side of the shop.  We called the Pearl River Sheriff's office and they checked it out for us.  We watched the cameras live feed and never saw anyone in the truck.  It turned out to be our neighbors's truck.  He had broken down and coasted into our driveway.  He had texted Lauren on his old phone number.  He now has his current phone number. 

We built another campfire and enjoyed the pretty stars in the skies until time for bed.  We got the heater out for the first time this trip. It is supposed to be 39 degrees in the morning.


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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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