Walking About Independence Pass with Martha

Nice and sunny morning today, the afternoon not so much.

After breakfast, we drove the Honda CRV along CO Hwy 82 up towards Independence Pass.  The drive was without issues except for a couple of ass wipes who seemed in a hurry; even though I myself was driving a few miles above the speed limit.  Oh well, they passed us and f*cked off soon enough.

Nice weather at the pass summit, just slightly chilly and windy.

I personally have never strayed far from the pass sign on previous trips.  Martha got me to walk along with her on several paths around the summit area.

No real display of Fall Colors so only one stop while driving back down the road.

We stopped at a trail head down in the valley you can see in the above pic.  Martha was hoping for Moose sign.

No moose, alas, but here's a view of the valley:

On the way back to camp and before the small village of Twin Lakes, we stopped at the USFS campground: Twin Peaks.

We drove/walked about seeking Fall Color.  

As you can see, we're still in the early stages.  I think about another week or so before peak levels.

We got back to camp with no issues and the beginnings of threatening rain clouds.

Uma as seen from trailhead 

As rain clouds approached, I started buttoning things up.  I had almost secured the awning fully when I heard the onboard generator quit.

Leaving the awning not fully rolled up, I hurried to the generator as Martha was needing it to cook lunch.

The storm of course hit soon after and the awning had about 2 ft worth slapping about.  After we got wet just holding down the support bars to prevent damage, Martha got me some rope and I secured the awning supports temporarily.  Close call but no damage except for wet clothes.

The rain / hail storm did not last very long though the winds did rock the RV for a bit. After we finished eating lunch, the weather cleared up and the afternoon was a combination of hazy / cloudy/sunny weather what temperatures in the high 50s. 

I believe we are both leaving this area tomorrow, Martha to go home and me to go further south into warmer and lower altitude camping down in the Poncha Springs area.

Boondocking at Twin Lakes Reservoir

Martha and I displaced from the spot on County 305 where I'd been for 12 days.

After dumping tanks and taking on water in Buena Vista it was a short drive to Colorado Highway 82 to Twin Lakes, Colorado. 

I decided to check out some dispersed camping area then after a bit we thought we found the right spot: 

After lunch, we went for a short one to check out the shoreline of the reservoir. 

There is Fall Color beginning to show in the immediate area.

After a short walk on the Interlaken Trail, we decided to detour off it to check out the sandy shores.

Mount Elbert, Colorado's

Highest Fourteener.

As we neared camp, we spotted a better campsite and bonus, the campers already there were leaving!

After a brief discussion, we walked back to our campsite and did a hasty displacement.

I guess walking does have it's uses eh?  There's a lot of sites in the area, good cell signal for Internet access and not too crowded.

Here's the new site:

Not too bad a site eh?  You can see the trailhead parking lot from the site and fishermen apparently use the area for fishing.

We're at 9209 ft, so a little higher than the previous campsite.

We hope to drive to Independence Pass tomorrow.

Tonight's sunset was pretty good.

Martha joins me for camping

Thursday, September 11

9/11: Never Forget, Never Forgive

Another tree has gotten a headstart on Fall Colors near my campsite:

As you can see, the Aspen near the camp remains green.

Martha joined me in the afternoon and she made dinner for Chris Z. and I as we chatted.  

Friday, September 12

Chris Z. Left in the morning to go try for Cinnamon Pass near Lake City, CO with his camping rig.

It rained off and on most of the day so Martha and I just relaxed inside the VRRV.

Saturday, September 13

Morning coffee:

We drove into Buena Vista after a late breakfast.  The skies were overcast and gloomy:

Some Fall Color at around 12000 ft

The farmers market was a bit small and we were done with it in less than five minutes.

I did see this nice looking Pinzgauer rig on main Street.

A brief walk up and down Main Street confirmed the touristy hipster image of this tourist trap.  The overcast cool conditions didn't stop the crowds blocking passage on sidewalks as they waited in line to get into the various venues.

We left for camp and spent the rest of the rainy day in the RV.  The sun did come out after 4PM so that was nice.

Note: hunting season started today for Bow and Black Powder.  We saw some hunters wearing brand new orange visibility hats and vests motoring past the campsite.

A Visit by Blazeourwat's Chris Z.

Monday, September 8

General relaxation in the campsite, enjoying somewhat cool but sunny conditions in the morning. It was clouding over and getting a little windy when Chris Z. of Blazeourway showed up in his truck camper rig. 

We chatted late into the evening catching each other up on things that's it's been a while since I've last seen him. 

Chris is enroute home after picking up some equipment for his overlander rig in Michigan. 

Tuesday, September 9

More general relaxation by both Chris and I at the campsite. The local chipmunk infestation have become quite brazen.  

Chris put out some leftover rice from a meal he brought. 

The weather got cool and windy in the afternoon so we just hung out in the RV until dinnertime.

Wednesday, September 10

Sunny morning, relaxing again about the campsite with a brief interlude to try out a popup gazebo purchased by Chris Z :

The only spot of Fall Color within sight of camp so far:

We've woken to temps in the low 40s, the last 3 days.