Did all my running around and was hitched up and rolling out of Cheyenne Mountain State Park around 1100. It is a great day, mild temps, a little breeze and pulling easy…I take CR-115 south and there is a steady climb..though the scenery is great..When I get to Penrose I take a left (west) onto US-50….it is a 4 lane road for now…next I hit Canon City and of course the “Royal Gorge” area…did not even slow down, much less stop…4 lane stops about here, and there is a steady elevation gain…
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| O'Haver Lake..(c)2015Horst Kelly Photographer |
About five miles East or so from Salida I see a BLM site…..again right off the road, very rough sites and nothing to make you jump off the ground and click your heels. I drive into Salida, stop at a filling station, get gas and ask about campgrounds, other than RV parks…I get a Deer in the head lights look..she apparently is not a camper…I move on. I go about 5 miles, and at the intersection of US-285 and 50 I see a sign about O’Haver Lake…I hook a left to go on 285 south and about another 5 miles a sign directs me take a right on a gravel road…Mmmmm, maybe this not such a good idea..oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained….about a mile on a washboard an ATV is coming my way..I wave, he stops and I ask him how far and is it worth it…not far 1.5 miles or so on a narrow road, with lots of curves, gaining altitude…but its worth it…
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| O'Haver Lake CG...(c)2015Horst Kelly Photograpger |
..And he was right..I hate to see what the inside of the Casita looks like..I arrive in one piece…They have a sign-in board..a lady comes out..no lake side sites left however there are two left on the perimeter.. I take one and set up and the ATV Guy was right…its worth it…I guess so, if its all filled up, mid week, after Labor Day…its not really a lake…lets say a very large pond….but its all wooded serene..there is a stream flowing by my site…no hook ups, but I have my solar..temps right now(six thirty pm) is 60 degrees and dropping…nice breeze….I signed up for 2 days, unless the altitude starts playing a number on me…..this is why I love this Lifestyle so much……I’ll hopefully post this on Thursday….
About 130 miles today….forgot to take a salmon out of the freezer..so it was a Roast Beef on Rye, cheese and mustard…..Happy Trails my Friends..and Family…Horst sends
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| Monarch Pass summit...(c)2015Horst Kelly Photographer |
Sooo…….there was a hiccup on my stay at O’Haver, which is ok…I decided to end up somewhere at Curecanti Nation Recreation area…a little ways west of Gunnison and runs to Cimarron, which supposedly has a campground.
Let me back up a bit and tell you about my stay at O’Haver. Its one of the best kept secrets out there..it has 31 sites, mostly wooded and level from side to side……it was one of the most peaceful stays of all my trips…when the sun went down, you could see millions of stars…what a great way to end the day..the temps. got down to 38 degrees…I had my “horse blanket” and a window cracked and it was a great night sleep..woke up and it was 56 degrees inside…it was still dark..took my camera, coffee and headed to the Lake…sat down and waited for the sun to wake up and rise over the Mountains…here are a couple pics of what Mother Nature provided to us poor minions..as icing on the cake, the trout(I’m guessing that’s what they where) where jumping out of the water……I could have stayed there for a month and never got bored…but I am glad to have experienced it for a day/night….I have memories.
….so I now have to hitch up…and start down the winding 1.5 miles…I get on US-50 and head West….first thrill of the day is to go over Monarch Pass….old Grif, my Casita grinds away…we get down to 35mph at some points…but crest the top in fine spirits…pull over, take a few shots and start the descend…I double check my brake controller, remembering last year, and hope I’ve set it enough as not to burn the Xterra’s brakes…all went well…we stop for gas and stretching….
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| On the Road...no CG found yet(c)2015Horst Kelly Photographer |
We travel on..I see some CG’s that look nice..but I press on for Cimarron…I go over a couple my passes, child's play as compared to Monarch..get to the campground at Cimarron and what a disappointment…no character…..wow, I could kick myself for not taking one of the Campground back several miles…I decide I didn’t want to backtrack over passes again, so I press on. Since the Fall colors don’t start for another 19 days or more, I forego going on the Million Dollar road..but go north towards Grand Junction…My map shows the Sweitzer Lake State Park close to Delta Colorado…as I pull in I notice it is only a day use Park..no camp sites …now what..I remember a little east of Grand Junction is the James Robb Colorado River St. Pk…….I get there a nab one of the last open sites for the night…
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| (c)2015 Its all about the Scenery...(c)2015Horst kelly Photographer |
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| Its on to Canyonlands....(c)2014Horst Kelly photographer |
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