Riding Recce for Camping Spots

 A beautifully warm day yesterday.

I rode Yagi, my TW200, through Silverton, CO and onto CR 2 which takes one out of town and into the BLM areas to the east of it.  The idea was to scout out possible camping spots for future use when in the area.

There's a road called the River Road accessible from CR21 that is nice to ride on with rushing water and rock formations to entertain.  There was even a spot where I saw people in the water and sunning themselves in the sun.

Here's some Fall Colors I saw while meandering on CR2, dodging the herds of OHVAs, as they sped by raising large clouds of dust.

I ended up going a few miles up the very rocky and bumpy Alpine Loop.  Found some campsites but alas, getting to them would not be in the best interests of Uma, my VRRV.

Heading back towards Silverton, here's a view of the mountains which presage one's approach to the town.  There's a campground here in what used to be the mining town of Eureka.

Looking back towards the Alpine Loop

At the campground, which has free wifi btw, there's a historical sign marker.  It tells about the gold mine which spawned the town of Eureka.  I liked the historical picture of the mine when it was in operation:

Here's what remains of the structures you see in the above picture.  It's hard to imagine all the houses and buildings that are shown above, now all gone.

Found some sites, a couple of which were quite promising to future camping plans.  Not much in terms of Fall Coloration however, at least in terms of capturable pictures anyways.

It's going to be a cooler 2-3 days ahead as I type this.  It think it'll accelerate the turning of more Aspen, more to follow.  Today is a day of hanging about the campsite and staying warm.

On a sidenote, my Garmin Inreach Satellite Beacon has ceased working.  I think it's the battery so I've ordered a replacement from Ebay.  If not the battery and if I decide I still need it, it'll be $130 for a exchange with Garmin for a working refurb unit.

T'Dubing to Ophir Pass and Fall Colors are Starting to Show!

Thursday, September 12

Cool and windy day today, not much writing got done but for a picture of these mountains that one can see from the summit of Molas Pass:

Silverton

Turk Head and Grand Turk

from the Molas Pass Summit

The windy conditions coupled with the puny 198 cc engine on my TW200 precluded writing today, she has enough trouble on the steep portions of US 550 without adding headwinds into the equation.

Friday, September 13

This morning I rode Yagi, my TW200 Dual Sport to the summit of Ophir Pass.  This was after checking with the Forest Service to ensure it was still open; that time of the year you know.

Seen just north of Silverton:

Which one do you prefer in this scene: Landscape or Portrait mode?

Yagi did great on the rocky/gravelly surface of County Road 8 which takes one to the summit of the pass.  You can take this road all the way to Telluride but I turned around shortly after the summit.

Just past the Ophir Pass Summit

The requisite sign shot

Heading back down towards US 550

As one nears the northern end of Silverton, there's a road that leads one to the Christ of the Mines Shrine:

Although still early there was a spot or two where one can see Fall Colors already present and glowing in the sun.  I expect more to follow of course over the next couple of weeks.

I spotted a small road near the above grouping of trees, that lead to a plot of land that is for sale.  I ventured down the path:

I found a carved out flat area with power already run to it!  It had an awesome view of the town of Silverton.  It's on sale folks, for a mere $575,000!

I got back to camp just before 12:30 and the plan is to rest up the rest of the day.  Managed to get my back/right kidney area twinging with pain, I'm pretty sure it was because the camera bag was hanging off my back/right hip all morning.  The pain seems to have gone away after I switched the bag to be off my left hip.  Getting old, it's not for the weak.

Stay tuned for more Fall Colors as it appears in this area.

Now Boondocking in the San Juan National Forest, near Molas Pass

I left the campsite on Fawn Gulch Road soon after 9 and by 1130 had lucked into a nice campsite after a couple of unsuccessful recons.

Little Molas Campground, free site run by USFS was full and the sites were small.

About two miles after Molas Pass, I glimpsed a camping area sign as I drove past. Turning the VRRV around, found a turnout which allows safe entrance down a slightly steep gravel road.

2-3 grassy areas near the highway and one site which proves almost prime that I grabbed! There were more sites on the other side of the hill too.

The mountain is part of Grand Turk Mountain

After lunch and before the afternoon thunderstorm which included pea-sized hail; I went for a ride on Yagi.

I wanted to check out the facilities provided by the Molas Lake campground nearby. Turns out you can get water there for free but no dump tanks which is fine for me.

I had emptied the gray/black tanks in Pagosa Springs as I passed through. No potable water there at the dump station but since I can get water at the nearby campground, I'm good. I will be tapping into the reserve water cans by tomorrow.

The site I am at has no cell signal, so Starlink will be my link to the world.

It rained off and on till about 3PM or so. I then strapped two empty water cans onto Yagi along with a water hose and rode the mile or so to the Molas Lake Campground.

Empty Cans

Full Cans

I really strapped things down with not only a ratchet strap but a cam buckle strap as well as two ROK straps. The water run went well, no issues. Basically, I'd added a 86 lb. passenger to Yagi.

Now I'm all set for water for the next 14 days. Once the sunny weather returns, I hope to get some riding in for pics and mapping other campsites.

The Fall Colors transformation hasn't started yet down here in SW Colorado...

Short stay near Pagosa Springs

 After about 4 hours on the road, including time exploring Fawn Gulch Rd for campsites, I found a spot close to Forest Road 722. 

I did not realize that the offshoot trail from 722 was a closed road and I also parked the VRRV over 300 ft from Forest road 722.  

I found all this out when a ranger came by and said that I was on a closed road and that I had to move closer to 722 to be within the rules.  Otherwise, it's a $280 ticket for being off-road but he let me slide.

I said I didn't see a sign closing the road and he said they're not mandated to do that, apparently a lot of vandalism happens to the signs. I think I better start collecting MVUM maps more conscientiously.  I had always assumed closed roads would be marked.

Anyways, I moved closer to 722 and all was good.  The ranger had originally stopped by to advise that they would be doing prescribed burns close by, probably starting on Sunday. 

So instead of spending a week here I will be moving on tomorrow and see what I can find.

Easy Days in the Four Mile Recreation Area

Not much to report since our visit to nearby Buena Vista, CO.

Lot of time chatting with Scott and Jennifer Y. mostly.  Scott did point out the issue that was causing occasional hot conditions on the solar panel wiring and we fixed it.

A brief ride on Yagi, my TW200, resulted in this shot from "sunset point", the camping area on 315D road.

Sunset wasn't too bad...

Sunday, September 8

Scott and Jennifer left for home late morning, it was a very enjoyable camping visit with them and I'm sure we'll be doing it again.

Here they are, collapsing their camping rig:

We found their camping rig quite fascinating.  Not as much living space of course but its design and layout made sense and took advantage of what space there was.

Today, Martha left to go back to the cesspool for a couple of weeks.  I will start heading towards SW Colorado probably tomorrow.

A Drive to Nearby Buena Vista for a Walk and some Fishing

After a lazy morning of just chatting at the campsite, we went into Buena Vista in the afternoon so Scott Y. could try some fly fishing while I did some walking along the Arkansas River with Martha and Jennifer Y.

The White Water Trail is nice and shaded, it's along the Arkansas River and gives nice views of the water.

check out Scott's casting technique

As we played cards back at the campsite after dinner, we witnessed another fine sunset light show:

Boondocking Again at the Four Mile Recreation Area

 Once again in my preferred habitat....near Buena Vista, CO.

I departed the overcrowded cesspool that is the Metro Denver area at 10:30 AM and by 1 PM I was setting up camp.  Found one of the prime sites I'd seen the last time I was here unoccupied!

In fact, I've only seen two other campers out here so far.  Good stuff.

Next two pics are from nearby small rocky hilltops:

Uma, from the nearest campsite within line of sight

Nothing to do the rest of this slightly warm and breezy day but relax by the URRV, listening to an audio book while I wait for Martha to arrive tomorrow.

The sunset light show was not bad:

We're meeting up with another couple, Jenny and Scott Y., who should be arriving on Thursday to camp with us for a few days.