Free Off Road Hot Springs, Black Canyon NP, & Another Hippy Hot Springs

Next day we were headed for a 2 night camp at Black Canyon NP. We were slightly delayed as I left my small backpack at the local brewpub, which I retrieved safely. We further delayed ourselves by going to a very natural and free hot springs, Penny, right out of town and off the road, next to the cold Chrystal river.  We even saw sheep drinking from the river. Another reason not to have a tight schedule and chill with couch surfers.  

When Dan suggested the place; I suggested he and his friend Tom join us. We realized that all of us were recently unemployed and we cheers to that. It worked out nicely as Dan helped us out and even though we did not surf in his cool 1987 old ski bus, we got to meet up. Before heading out, we got a tour of the groovy bus that has been on some epic adventures like taking 9 people to Burning Man.

The drive down was nice through cattle and horse ranches and green valleys. We arrived at Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP (8,000 ft) before sunset and got to finally make a fire and cooked salmon over it.  Next day, after talking to the ranger, we did a 2.4 mile loop hike with proper crampons and poles on Oak Trail. Cool views of the canyon and the pretty clear blue Gunnison river down there.  The canyon is about 2,700 feet high, but at times you can hear the roaring sound of the raging river. The park protects 14 miles of the gorge and was made into a NP in 1999.

Also did the 7 mile Rim drive with tons of overlooks and ended with the 1.5 mile loop Warner Point hike, which was very pretty seeing the Uncompahgre Valley, mts, canyons, and trees. It quickly started snowing and piling up fast. It was too foggy to do the Rim Rock trail, we decided to head back to camp and then pack it up and leave a night early.

We planned on visiting Orvis Hot Springs in Ridgway, so we headed there, as we knew one could camp there. It was pricey but we got an indoor kitchen and use of the pools that night and the next day. This is my second time camping at a hot springs in my life, both being weeks apart and in CO. This was a natural, not so resorty, clothing option; my kinda place. It was actually one of our coldest camping nights; our water bottles froze up, along with my toes I left the tent at 6:30 am to dip my toes in the pools and make breaky. Click here for more pix.

Denver Surgery, Vapor Cave, Roof Rack Incident & Hanging Lake Hike

Last Monday, we headed back to Denver area for Greg to have a cyst from his ear, which went well. I actually enjoyed the day he was drugged up and slowed down.  After 2.5 weeks in central CO area, we headed south and west with a quick stop in Glenwood Springs. I went to Yamaha Vapor Caves, which is a natural cave at 125 deg! I have never sweated so much so quickly. While in there, I thought of all the water use going on as we dumped and splashed water on our heads and bodies :(

We couch surfed with Jackie, a 27 yr old high school teacher who truly cares and loves her job, in a rural area b/w Carbondale and Basalt. It was more country feeling that my parent’s PA country house with muddy roads and old abandoned-like farms. It was pretty cool but would not be able to live this remotely. Originally we wanted to couch surf with Dan W. in Carbondale because he had an old ski bus one could sleep in but he was all full up with friends ending the ski season and employment.  

Our main reason for staying here was to visit Maroon Lake, which is one of the most photographed places in CO, but the road was still closed due to snow.  Therefore, we opted for a hike to Hanging Lake. Then planned on another short hike, Mushroom Rock, and check out Aspen. On the way to the hike, on a windy turn, one of the heavy weighted roof racks (newer but cheaply made one) flew off the jeep.  Luckily there was no one else on the road and it did not skid down the mt. We dragged it back to the jeep, when Greg should not be carrying anything over 10 lbs for a few weeks after surgery. The top got cracked up badly and even one of our sleeping pads got ripped.

Greg got some crazy glue and duct tape it up. We got in touch with Dan W., who let us use his drill while he was not even home. Greg reinforced the rack with new bolts etc, to avoid future runoffs.  To lighten the load, Greg shipped home 42 lbs of gear that he no longer needs.

After a few hours, we at least got to do the 1.2 mile one-way steep hike to Hanging Lake, with about 1,000 ft elevation gain, starting at 6,000 ft. Man, I wonder how different CO must look in the summer and easier these hikes are w/o snow and ice. At the top there was the beautiful clear blue lake; I felt like I was in Switzerland with the snow-cap mountains and canyons surrounding us. Click here for lots of pix.

Couch Surfing, what's that?

I mention couchsurfing  (CS) often in these posts and feel inclined to explain in it a bit for those who are unaware of this awesome traveling network website. It’s a community travelers can use in a few different ways; kind of like a face book where one has a profile and friends, but way more valuable and it is a nonprofit.

There are city groups one can join to ask questions, get/share info, and initiate some meet ups and events. I first did this in Portland, which was a very caring and active group.

People can also choose to host travelers at their house where travelers will send a specific “couch surfing” request. I have hosted a bit in PDX and met so many interesting people from around the world. It sounds a little unsafe, but people have references and you need to be trusting and have an open mind. The times I have are priceless.

It is so refreshing in this life to meet people who trust others still and they are so darn hospitable and generous, to strangers no less. This world has some negative people, but CS allows you to have hope for humanity. You meet a variety of people; there’s so much in this world I just don’t even know and this allows you to get a little taste of life.

It is not a perfect system, but what is? The good outweighs the bad. This network is allowing people to travel very affordable, but it is much more than that. You get to know about local things that are not in the guidebooks and meet awesome people.

Metal Dinosaurs, Beers and Meditation Center - Oh My

Ft. Collins (FoCo) was a great visit. We stayed with a friend of mine, Kelley, who is from FoCo but lived in PDX for a few months in 2008; we met a couch surf meet up. We met Kelley at her work place, Odell brewery, and sampled a few beers. My tummy can’t keep up with all the delicious local beer here.

On Sat we were lucky to get 75 deg weather and hit another brewery, New Belgium. I am told this is the 3^rd largest microbrew in the US. They give 4 free good size tasters. I love that you can walk everywhere here and there’s so many places to visit.

Sat night we headed to Denver for Kelley’s friend bday event at a salsa club. Yeah, not something I normally do and had to borrow a skirt and some heels, as I did not pack for such outings. Mark tried to teach me the way. It’s not too hard as long as you have a good leader.

As we headed home we were welcomed by another fire near town. It’s been a very dry and windy season so the fires are much worse than usual. We smelled it from Kelley’s house!

The fire prevented us from hiking the Horse tooth trail, so on Sunday Kelley took us for a nice long drive to Fort Collins Shambhala Center. An unexpected treat; meditation is something I have attempted but have not given much priority, even though I know of its great benefits.

We ended the day tour at Swetsville Zoo, which is a free place people can witness wicked cool art recycled from metal parts. Lots of dinosaurs and fun play with old school cars; all very real looking and creative things on here.  Thanks Kelley for an awesome weekend! Click here for pix.

Snow Camping & Hiking Rocky NP

It was crazy windy for the two days we were in Rocky NP last Wed & Thurs. We arrived at 6pm and thankfully decided to do a regular tent camp near the jeep rather than back country. The wind was shaking the heavy loaded jeep and there was snow everywhere. Cooking and eating in this wind was not pleasant. Must have been 35 mph. I kept chasing after the bowls, matches, bags, etc. Next day still windy, but we attempted to do a long 6 mile loop in the snow. We got a lost a few times; it was so hard to see the trail and following skiers does not mean that is a trail. So we did a simple small loop around Bear Lake. Wet tried to find a waterfall another trail, but again could not find the right trail.

Back at camp, we saw two wolves while we were in the jeep. Yikes. Windy again so had dinner in the jeep. Saw a tad bit of red sky behind the snow cap mts then the stars were out a night.

Next day we thought we could do a 6 mile regular hike at Deer Mt. Its a 10footer but we only hike about 1,000 elevation gain in 3 miles. The last .5 mile was a nightmare; we badly needed snow shoes. We kept sinking into the snow, which admittedly was fun the first few times, but it was so tiring pulling yourself up to just fall back down. We ended up crawling at some points to distribute our weight. Luckily, we met a couple with snow shoes so we were able to follow their tracks even though they got lost a few times. We would never have reached the summit without their tracks. Another lesson learned, talk to a ranger before attempting snow hikes to be better prepared.

Afterward we were headed to Ft Collins to see a friend of mine, Kelley. Before that we stopped at touristy, but pretty Estes Park for an awesome Nepal buffet lunch, which is very similar to Indian food
Click here for pix.

After Thoughts

It is unfortunate that we had to drive through the night in New Mexico and southeast Colorado without stopping. People say there’s nothing to see in such places as Oklahoma and Kansas but I’d like to be the judge of that. Being from a big city, I am more interested in nature, landscapes, farms, animals, and non-touristy areas (uniqueness is what I seek).

Driving through CO, we passed by these huge suburban sprawls. I quickly grew tired of looking at these gigantic cookie cutter houses and seeing strip malls or how I say “shitty malls’. I felt sad for the people who lived here all of their lives and having only known these mainstream, not so great, restaurants and stores.  I don’t mean to offend those who live in such places, these are just thoughts that ran through me mind.

In Englewood, south of Denver, we saw an apartment/town house complex that was literally inside the strip mall. Enough said! Hopefully, we will find ourselves off the main highway soon and be able to loose ourselves with something unfamiliar.

I realized that my postings have only been reports of places that I have witnessed and the good people I have encountered. I must make time to reflect, to capture a few of the so many thoughts that run through my mind while traveling that I can’t seem to collect.

Ending this post with a few quotes from the book that I am reading “Traveling with Charley”:

“In this a journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you can control it.”

“We find after years if struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”

“… everything in this world must have a design or the human mind rejects it. But in addition it must have a purpose or the human conscience strives away from it.”

Chillin in Boulder

Last Tues in Boulder, we were hosted by Joe who is from NJ but spent five years with the Marine Corps living in Russia, Switzerland, and Tanzania.  We traded books, he gave me “Travels with Charley” and I gave him “Vagabonding”. We went out to a local brew up  “Southern Sun Pub and Brew” (just like OR so many breweries!) while Greg went to the rock climbing gym with Ira.  Lots for rock climbers in CO.

I heard great things about Boulder, but it wasn't much to me. Great people, but the town is just so darn small for me with a busy road. I disliked Pearl Street (a touristy area) and felt that I could not walk around the town much; sorry no photos. Oh well, CO is still pretty sweet.

Wed, we went back to Denver for Greg’s pre-opp apt then we headed up back to Rocky NP. Greg’s surgery is this Tues and we learned that we need to come back mid May for a follow up visit. Gonna spend a lot more time in CO than planned! Maybe I don't have to move to CO b/c by the end of this trip, I will have been all around the state!