We were awakened at 6:30 by the chattering of squirrels whose nest was in the tree above the tent. We made coffee and slowly gathered all of our gear. By 7:30 we were on our way to the tiny mining town of Tincup. We saw a couple of white tailed deer and a mule deer and lots of chipmunks…they are everywhere! It was a beautiful early morning ride. From Mirror Lake to Tincup the road is hardpacked gravel.
Twenty miles on gravel road to Pitkin, another small mining town.
Here the pavement begins.
Finally we were on the highway! Another 63 miles to get to the RV!
We stopped in Poncha Springs to get groceries. We spent the afternoon unpacking and recovering from our overnight adventure. This evening I drove to Salida to the closest Laundromat. On the way, I passed a couple of full-grown does and their fawns right in town. As I was folding clothes, this buck walked across the parking lot and out into the road.
We cooked salmon and Mexican street corn on the grill. Tonight we are tired!
Mileage: 67,049 Brown’s Creek San Isabel State Forest Road 272 Nathrop, Colorado
It has been so nice and cool at night, in the high 30’s and low 40’s. We have been sleeping with the windows open and bundled up in blankets. It feels really good after so many weeks of temperatures in the 90’s-100’s.
I followed Tim down the road to our new campsite on Forest Road 272.
This is free dispersed camping. You find a spot and stay for free for up to two weeks. We need this spot to get us through Labor Day weekend. It is also perfect for tonight because we wanted to take the Tincup Pass with the Jeep and spend the night somewhere along the way.
We loaded the Jeep with everything we would need…sleeping bags and pads, the tent, food for lunch and dinner and breakfast and all kinds of other essentials like bear spray and bug spray!
First, we needed to travel back to St. Elmo where the Tincup Trail begins.
These stands of birch trees were at about 10,000 feet.
As we climbed in altitude, the trees were pines, straight and tall.
There were pretty mountain streams and lots of spectacular scenery.
There were a lot of chipmunks. This one was enjoying a meal on the rock as
we passed by.
There was an area where an avalanche
wiped out all the trees above pushing them all the way down the mountain and
across the road. It was amazing to
imagine the power of the landslide.
Tincup Pass is a designated 4×4 and OHV trail. It is rated as difficult. It certainly has some difficult areas but there are NO terrible obstacles to overcome. The view is breathtaking.
At the top of the pass is the Continental Divide at 12,154 feet. The Continental Divide runs mostly along mountain ridges from Canada and into South America. The water on the east side of the ridge makes its way to the Atlantic Ocean. All the water to the west eventually ends up in the Pacific Ocean. It was very windy up on the ridge and we even had some black clouds and spitting rain.
The trail becomes quite rough
as you descend.
We had lunch at Mirror Lake. The air was still crisp and the water was
crystal clear.
We found our overnight
campsite at Mirror Lake Campground.
We met another couple that had watched a moose swim across the lake and climb out onto the bank and up the mountainside. I stood there with them chatting and we saw the moose again. It was way to far away to get pictures. The afternoon was spent quietly, watching the hillside for animals, watching the fish jumping in the lake, and reading. We cooked our dinner and had a campfire. We settled in the tent soon after dark.
Day 2 Arkansas Headwaters
Recreation Area Ruby Mountain Campground Nathrop, Colorado
We began our day at Carnage
Creek. This is an EXTREME 4×4
trail. We decided to just go and look. Tim got out of the Jeep and walked up the
lower portion of the trail. I heard him
say “That’s crazy!” and “That’s nuts!” Waves of relief washed over me. We didn’t have the machine to go over these types
of rocks!
We found a gentle trail through the mountains. It was as lovely as yesterday.
I took a bunch of pictures of
some of the local flora. There are so many
plants and trees here that are unfamiliar to us. I have this neat new app called Picture
This. It is plant identifier. I had lots of fun using it today.
Lunch spot with Tim “putting some glass on it,” or looking through the binoculars.
We emerged from the trail onto the highway. Tim had wanted to check out some trails in nearby St. Elmo’s.
This is a tiny historic town. There is a general store and they sell feed for the tame chipmunks.
We found the Tincup Trail but
it was 2pm and it is 13 miles long. We plan
to come back and do that one tomorrow.
The Grizzly Lake Trail is much shorter.
The trail guide we bought labeled it a difficult trail. We went into the general store for
directions. The first thing the guy
asked was if we had a modified Jeep. He
gave us directions but then remarked that it was a pretty tough trail. He told us to be on the lookout for the winch
points…OY!!! We got into the Jeep to
find the trail. Tim asked if the guy had
made me feel nervous…WHAT??? YES!!! But we were only going to look…
We made our way across the stream and this is when the book says that the difficulty level really kicks up.
We were standing in the stream looking at the trail. Tim walked up the hill to evaluate further.
This is the winch point.
He decided to try to go up
the first part and evaluate again. I stood
watching helplessly.
He stopped and got out to
look again. If only we had skid plates…but
we don’t. We backed out and turned
around. WHEW!!! I love that we both like to have this off-road
adventure and I also love that Tim uses good judgement when deciding whether or
not a trail is right for us! There are
so many excellent trails in Colorado, I know we will have a blast enjoying many
of them!
We spent lots of time trying
to get a campsite for the weekend. The
place we are staying at is fully booked.
Our dilemma was twofold. First of
all, it is Labor Day weekend. Secondly,
there is a major country music festival in the town of Buena Vista featuring Dierks
Bentley and Luke Bryan. We tried several
national forest campgrounds and a private campground with no luck. A gentleman at the private campground
directed us to an area with dispersed camping.
We drove out there to check it out and we plan to go there tomorrow morning
to see what is available.
We began our day with the inclination to head west but without any real plan. Highway 96 away from Lake Pueblo was not a designated scenic route but it was a very pretty drive. We left Pueblo which sits at an elevation of about 5,000 feet. We traveled across the high plains toward the Sangre de Christo Mountains.
From there we took 50W. It meanders along the Arkansas River and the elevation steadily increased. The scenery was spectacular. We felt ourselves relax and we really began to enjoy the ride!
We decided to stop at the Salida
Arkansas Headwaters Visitors Center and get some information about camping and
Jeep trails. Sometimes you meet the
perfect person to help you make a plan.
Mary was able to direct us and even make reservations for a
campsite.
We stopped in Pancha Springs
for fresh water and made our way to Ruby Mountain Campground. Tommy, the camp host, greeted us warmly. He walked with Tim down to the site to check
things out and then helped us get our RV parked. He helped us with directions for the Jeep
trails and we set out.
We followed forest road 300 and
passed through Bald Mountain Gulch and took the Bald Mountain Loop. The loop was labeled as an advanced trail. It was very rocky and had some switchbacks
but it wasn’t too difficult.
At the top we were at 9,620
feet of elevation. We noticed a tiny
shortness of breath with exertion but otherwise felt fine. We ate our lunch on the top of the mountain.
I drove on the smoother easier part after we exited the loop.
We took a paved road into the town of Buena Vista where we found ourselves at the Jailhouse Craft Beer Bar for happy hour.
Back at the RV, we prepared a
tray for our picnic dinner. The tortilla
chips at 7,000 feet of elevation…
Tommy joined us for awhile this evening. We chatted and munched on grapes and chips and cheese.
Our campsite sits right along the river. I think we should be able to hear the rushing water tonight.
We slept well. It is peaceful and quiet here. The song of the cicadas lulled us to sleep. There was a gentle cool breeze through our open bedroom windows. The sky was pink when we woke up.
We gathered water and snacks and headed into Pueblo with our bikes on the back of the Jeep. Pueblo has a system of paved multi use trails over thirty miles long. We parked at a trail-head by the Arkansas River and began our ride. The path was mostly flat with some small hills. It was a pleasant day for cycling!
We stopped in this park for our snack. In the 1960’s a flood claimed all of the houses in this area. A group of mothers got together to make a playground and park for the children here. It’s a very nice park!
We returned to Lake Pueblo around noon and took a Jeep tour around the lake.
We had lunch and spent some quiet time in the RV this afternoon. At 5pm we set out for the Colorado State Fair. Dinner was fried pickles and ice cream!
The sun was just setting as we got back to the campground.
Mileage: 66,908 Lake Pueblo State Park Pueblo, Colorado
We left Palo Duro early this morning. The temperature was 69 degrees and the air felt cool and refreshing. We saw a sign in Stafford, Texas: God, Grass, and Grit! and wind…Tim added wind! We traveled north from Palo Duro into Oklahoma. The winds really do rush across the plains here. The wind speed was 24 mph!
We saw lots of cattle and windmills and cornfields and trains and grassy plains.
We entered Colorado and for a long while, the landscape didn’t change.
As we approached Pueblo, there were silhouettes of mountains in the distance and it became rockier and hillier. We camped at Lake Pueblo. It is a gorgeous place and our campsite overlooks the lake.
We already decided to stay for a second night. There are places to ride our bikes in the park and along the river in town. The Colorado State Fair is also here in Pueblo this week.
Tonight though, we are sitting outside in a wonderful breeze enjoying the view, some music and wine…relaxing!
Mileage: 66,534 Palo Duro Canyon State Park Canyon, Texas
It’s a long way across Texas and it is still HOT! The forecast for today in Fort Worth is 104 degrees. Welcome to Texas in August! We are traveling on 20 West and have been since we left Atlanta. Here the roadsides are flanked by cotton fields, train tracks, ranches, stockyards, corn fields, hay-fields, oilfields, and hundreds and hundreds of windmills. The landscape became much flatter and more open as we left the big cities behind. Lunch was at a picnic area in the Fluvanna Renewable Energy Project.
We stayed at Palo Duro Canyon. It is the second largest canyon in the United States. It was formed about a million years ago by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River and the Texas wind. The canyon is really pretty.
This is supposed to be a great place to hike. The temperature at 7:40pm was 105.
It was too hot to do much moving, let alone any hiking. Thankfully we had 50-amp service and could run the air conditioning! We did take the Jeep out at dusk to see the park.
We did see deer, a cottontail, a turkey, and a roadrunner
Our journey began on July 29th. As a Mother’s Day gift, we had invited my mother to join us on this trip. She has been with us before in the RV for a couple of long weekends, but never for an extended time. We were headed to Atlanta so that Gigi could spend time with her great grandchildren. We decided to go the long way to give her a true sense of how we love to travel.
The first day was short. We drove to Shenandoah River State Park.
It was very hot but we went for
a short hike along the river.
We traveled along Skyline
Drive. We even went through Mary’s
Tunnel. The height limit is 12’ 8” and
we are just shy of that. We held our
breath, stayed in the center and easily passed through.
The scenery was awesome and we even saw a bear cub.
We camped at Loft Mountain. There, deer roamed the campsite.
A bear trap was set up at the
end of our loop. The rangers were hoping
to catch an adolescent bear that had claimed the campground as part of his
territory. They had tried to lure the bear
into the trap with hotdogs, peanut butter, and honey but to no avail.
We stayed at Peaks of Otter
on Wednesday and on Thursday we got off the parkway and headed to Kingston,
Tennessee. We took the Jeep into town and
had happy hour drinks at a brewery. Mom
and I had sour hard cherry cider and Tim enjoyed a local craft brew. Afterward we walked around town to a Mexican
restaurant for dinner.
Friday, we stayed at
Baileyton KOA. We did some cleaning and
laundry. That evening, Tim and I went to
visit our good friends Dave and Denise.
We had a wonderful evening in their beautiful new house. It was fun to catch up and the time passed
quickly!
We stayed in Chattanooga for
the weekend. Saturday, we had dinner at
a restaurant on the river…Billy’s, Robbie’s, Scotty’s. We walked along the riverfront and enjoyed a
concert as the sun set.
Sunday morning, we drove back into Chattanooga and Tim rode his bike and mom and I walked between raindrops along the Riverwalk and across the bridge to Centennial Park. We had brunch in town and then drove to the Chattanooga Farmer’s Market. I could have spent a lot more time and a lot more money there. It is a huge indoor/outdoor market with all kinds of crafts and treats.
Monday we finally arrived in Atlanta. We had two weeks of wonderful quality time with David and Andrea, Oliver and Austin. It was so special to watch my mom “Gigi” with those two boys. She has a wonderful, gentle way with children and they loved spending time together. The kids had snacks on Gigi’s porch.
We had lots of fun with playdoh, drawing with markers, blowing bubbles, playing on the swing set, making cakes with sand, reading books and books and books, making puzzles, and cutting wooden fruit. We did some chores while David and Dre worked.
Tim was shucking corn on the cob with Oliver on the deck. Oliver was bringing each ear to us. Here he does a baton-like hand-off to Austin who brought us the corn. They were so proud of themselves!!!
Mom and I reupholstered the kitchen barstools and the dining room chairs.
We did some yard work and helped with the laundry and meals. The second week, both David and Dre were home. We got to watch the boys while they had some time with friends and a date night.
Tim and I made time for a date night as well!
On Thursday Oliver turned three. Gigi and Dre and I all went to school for a special lemonade-slushie party.
David and Tim got to catch a Braves game.
Friday we all took the boys to the Atlanta Aquarium. Oliver and Austin were both entranced by the fish and we all had fun!
Saturday, we had Oliver’s birthday party with a Lightning McQueen birthday cake.
Oliver loved his new Power Wheels Jeep from Uncle Kyle. “Thank you Uncle Kyle!!”
Sunday it was time to gather provisions for our journey and pack. Our time together passed too quickly but it was time for the next phase of Gigi’s Grand Adventure. It was another 820 miles to Fort Worth, Texas. My brother John and his wife, Dana, have a new house there. Monday we traveled 330 miles, Tuesday we traveled 320 miles and Wednesday we traveled the last 170 miles. It was VERY hot. I cannot ever remember riding in the RV when it was that HOT! We almost baked Gigi!
Baby raccoons in a tree. Mama was on the path behind us so we took quick pictures and kept walking!
We spent 4 days visiting in Fort Worth. Their new house in beautiful. The pool was amazing!
Tim and I rode our bikes on the Trinity Trail.
On Sunday, my mother flew
home. We enjoyed having her with us for the
past 4 weeks. We really want everyone to
love camping as much as we do. My mother
survived the bugs and the heat. I know
she enjoyed her adventure but I’m not sure we will ever make her a “camper!” We certainly made lots of memories!
As we leave John and Dana, our thoughts are with them and their son Ian who is battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He is young and strong and fighting hard. We love you all!
Mileage: 62,811 Jeff Busby Campground Natchez Trace Ackerman, Mississippi
We began our day at the southern terminus of the Natchez Trace. We traveled the northern portion of this road on our way back from Alaska.
This route began as a Native American trail and as the west was settled, it became a postal route. Our first stop this morning was at the Old Trace.
We stopped at the Emerald Mound. This is a sacred Indian site. This mound began as a natural hill and was reshaped 800 years ago by the native people. This was and is an important site for social, cultural, and spiritual rituals. The mound was formed using primitive tools. People carried baskets of dirt to create the shape of the mound. It took approximately 300 years to complete.
I drove for 80 miles or so. This really is a gentle, soothing, lovely ride. The woods are lush and green. The weather was perfect with a soft breeze and warm sunshine. There was Spanish moss hanging from some of the trees. We saw woodpeckers and hawks and turtles. We passed farm fields and hay fields and meadows and cypress swamps. The road was flanked by tall pines and other mature hardwood trees. In some places the branches stretched across the road to form a canopy. We stopped for lunch at the reservoir overlook at the Pearl River.
We are camping in the National Park. It is very quiet and peaceful here. Tonight is the last night of this grand adventure.
In the past several months, we have lived in cities and towns, in the mountains, by the sea, on a river, in a bayou, in the desert, in national parks and state parks, in a wildlife refuge, in the woods, at Walmart, at the beach, and even at a racetrack.
This life enriches us. We encourage you to get outside and explore. Find beauty wherever you are. Find joy. Find peace.
We have reshaped our definition of home. Home is where we find ourselves alone together. Home is also in Reisterstown with our family and friends. And, home is in Atlanta with David and Dre and our 2 precious grandsons. Home is where we park it!
For the next several weeks, we will be in Atlanta visiting. Then, we will head back to Reisterstown for a month or two. We want to thank everyone who has followed us. It means a lot to us when we know our friends and family are reading. You can be sure that we are already planning our next adventure. In August we plan to head back to Atlanta and then out to Colorado. We will restart the blog at approximately the end of August.
We got back onto 10E through the rest of Texas and into Louisiana. We wanted to stop at the Louisiana Welcome Center but though it looked brand new…it was not open. We ended up having our breakfast in the parking lot of a bingo hall.
We took 165N after Lake Charles. We were headed for Natchez, Mississippi.
We passed lots of rice fields, lots of nurseries, and lots of lumber trucks. Water is plentiful here. Actually, water is too plentiful here. The river and its tributaries are flooded. Trees are submerged up to their branches. The area is very swampy. We called the River View RV Park to get a site for tonight. The woman who answered the phone explained that the Mississippi River had flooded. As a result, the restroom, showers, laundry and septic system were all not working. They were all shut down by the county. She suggested that we try back another time!
Crossing the Mississippi River from Louisiana into Mississippi.
We found a free campsite in the parking lot of the Natchez Visitor Reception Center. The people here were very friendly. The woman in the gift shop asked where we were from. She is from Westminster, Maryland! She and her husband moved to Mississippi 14 years ago when they retired. They have only seen 2 inches of snow in all those years!
We took our bikes to the Vidalia Riverfront Park. We rode along the river and then along the top of the levee.
This construction yard is flooded. The water was up another 3 feet at the worst point.
We rode until we had to turn around. As we were riding, Tim got a flat tire.
We put the bikes back on the car and took a walk. These sandbags form a temporary levee. They are placed across the boat ramp.
The handicapped parking area at the ramp/submerged pier are under a lot of water as well.
This is a portion of the campground where we originally planned to stay.
It looks like it will be a long time before all this water recedes! We returned to the visitor center and grilled some bison burgers for our dinner. Tomorrow we plan to start at the southern end of the Natchez Trace.
