New Friends and the Really Big Fish

We really liked Bogan Flats Campground. The fall colors were amazing and the campground was very nice. The site was the best part. Here is the view out our back window of the Crystal River:

When we woke up in the morning and looked out the window, it looked like we were floating on the river. And there were fish in the river. My kind of place. We will return to site #23 in Bogan Flats.

One of the other great things about this lifestyle is that we get to meet and get to know some other like minded folks. We met Dave and Kay our first day at Bogan Flats. They were camped just behind us. We kind of hung out together for the time we were there and had a few meals together. Dave and I went fishing and after just about 10 minutes he caught this huge Snake River Cutthroat trout. We debated the species, but we finally got a definitive identification from our camp host Doug. Doug is a very accomplished fisherman and was very helpful with advice while we were there. He is also from Conway, Missouri. Which makes him a neighbor when we are at the ranch. Here is Dave and Kay and "the Fish":

While we were fishing  I took a few other shots of the area around the lake. 

I really liked the reflection in the lake.

This one is my favorite:

We had the fish for dinner. Dave did a great job fileting the fish and cooking them up. We added a dish and we had a nice evening. Thanks Dave and Kay!

Independence Pass and Leadville

 

We decided to take a long drive to see the beautiful Aspens over a large area in central Colorado. We drove more than 200 miles for the day, but it was worth it. We left Bogan Flats at 9:00 AM, that is very early for us. We stopped just outside of Aspen at the Grotto.

The water has worn caves into the rocks. i understand they turn into ice caves in the winter. Pictures don’t do it justice.

We met 4 ladies that asked us to take their picture. They were from Russellville, Arkansas and probably know our son and daughter in law. They took our picture also.

There were also some very nice waterfalls.

We then headed up to the town site of Independence.

It was over 10,000 and there were not any Aspens.

We then went up to the top.

The views were awesome. We ate lunch and enjoyed the beautiful day. Then we descended down to Twin Lakes. The Aspens and the reflection on the lake were beautiful.

 

Then we went on to Leadville. It is a blue collar version of other mountain towns.

 

Then we took Hwy 24 to Mintor. We followed the Eagle river. It was beautiful.

We stopped at the site of Camp Hale. This was formally the training center for the 10th mountain division. They had over 1200 buildings and trained here for action in the Alps in WW2.

We then jumped on I 70 and drove back down through Glenwood Canyon to Glenwood Springs. We did not take any pictures of the canyon, we will have to do that on the trip back to Denver.

It was really an awesome day. Make sure to take time in your life to enjoy what God has given us to enjoy.

Crystal Mill

 

I decided to take a ride on the DR to the Crystal Mill. it is only about 4.5 miles up the canyon from Marble. i decided to do the ride by myself to see if I could take Kim up there. The road is very rough with many rocks. Much of the road is nothing but rocks. It is very dangerous on a motorcycle and I don’t think it is a good idea to take Kim up there. The colors were also not very good at the mill.

We had a picture of this mill, that my brother Bob took, for many years. Kim always loved it, so she really wants to go. I think she may just hike it.

I then went up to the town site of Crystal. There is not much there, but some people still live in the old town.

This one is back down in the town of Marble.

That was enough adventure for one day. We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the campground.

Maroon Bells and Ashcroft

 

The Aspens are beautiful at the campground, but there is much more to see while they are in full color. We decided to head over to the Aspen area and see the Maroon Bells. We have had a picture of the Bells hanging in our house for many years that my brother had taken. The site is now run by the National Park Service and our interagency pass got us in for free.

 

There is something about this shot I really like:

We did not have a sunny day, so no blue sky, but still impressive.

Kim and the evidence of the promise kept:

My favorite shot:

The Maroon Bell were very impressive, but we got a tip that the next canyon over was even more impressive. We headed up to Ashcroft, which is a ghost town.

This one got a “WOW”!

We then headed over to the Ruedi reservoir and the Frying Pan river. There were a bunch of fishermen enjoying the river. I did not fish, but it sure looked good. It was a long day, but it was what we came here for. The Aspens did not disappoint. 

Leaving Erickson Springs

 

We stayed at Erickson Springs for 2 full weeks. It was a very nice little campground and we had a great campground host. Here is Mel:

Mel is 81 and gets around like he is 60. He claims this will be his first and only camp hosting adventure, but we will see.

Before we left we took a ride up Kebler Pass one more time to see if the largest stand of Aspen in the world had started to turn. We got a few pictures of some isolated stands of trees that have turned to gold.

 

Here is a picture of our campsite at Erickson Springs. It did not get much sunlight, but it was sunny every day except the day after we arrived and the day before we left.

This picture is for my Mom. Check out the big Blue Spruce on the left:

We decided it was time to move on. We moved a grand total of 10 miles as the crow flies to Bogan Flats campground on the Crystal River. It was a 40 mile drive up and over McClure Pass.

It was a steep but short climb and then back down to the town of Marble.

You may get tired of seeing yellow and gold trees. Bogan Flats is beautiful. We have the Crystal River right out the back window of the rig.

I think we are going to like it here.