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.

A Drive to North America's Highest Paved Road....Mount Blue Sky

Martha and I drove the 2014 Honda CR-V to check out Mount Blue Sky, formerly known as Mount Evans.  Martha had read somewhere that the road would be shut down all of 2025 for road repairs so a visit was in order.

Mount Evans, the old name was chosen to recognize Colorado's second  Territorial Governor: John Evans.  He was the one who authorized  the Sand Creek Indian Massacre.  The name was changed in September of 2023.  More info here: LINK

Blue Sky apparently honors both the Arapaho Tribe which refer to themselves as the Blue Sky People and the Cheyenne Tribe which has an annual Renewal of Life Ceremony called Blue Sky.

The weather was mostly cloudy and cool, especially at 14,000 feet, where the car's thermometer reported a brisk 43°F with strong breezes.

We figured it was a good omen when we spotted this local while approaching the summit's parking lot:

photo by Martha

We found a spot for the CR-V with no problems, the reservation system in place nowadays keeping the crowding conditions down.

A couple of selfies while we wandered about the "castle", the remnants of a restaurant from back in the 40s and which burned down in 1979.

Behind us is the tippy top of Mount Blue Sky.

You can hike it, we skipped it.

Castle remnants on the left, the observatory on right

photo by Martha

As we exited the ruins of the "castle", there were more locals posing for us tourists:

Here's some marmots we saw as we drove down from the summit towards Summit Lake:

At Summit Lake, we walked a short distance to check out the sights:

Yep, more Marmots, right on the trail!

photo by Martha

On the way further down:

photo by Martha

At one of the hairpin turn's apex

After a quick sack lunch in the Summit Lake parking lot we retraced our way back down the mountain to CO Hwy 103.  We would end up taking Witter Gulch Road instead of I-70 back towards the Metro Denver area.  Slower route but more scenic.

A good day of driving and spending time together.  

Home from the Pawnee National Grasslands

Returned home yesterday under very hot sunny conditions, even with temperatures reported below 80s, it felt quite warm.

Some of the last pics of the buttes:

Found another nice campsite, this one overlooking parts of the trail that lead one to the Pawnee Buttes:

Not much riding got done after the above ride.  Just staying out of the sun mostly as things warmed up on Friday.  Could be because its the start of the school season but there was only one camper out here besides me.  Later a couple of yahoos showed up in the late afternoon and apparently slept in their trucks.

Last view as I left on Saturday morning

I liked this area for the dispersion of the campsites.  Very quiet, no OHV traffic seen or heard.  The second site I stayed at was the best, but the last site I found shows promise if I ever go there again.