Colorado vacation day 7 - July 16

The day after my birthday was a rest day. I ended up driving around scouting locations for an upcoming Colorado vacation with the family unit and then found a nice campsite and just hung out by myself for the rest of the day and the evening. Sometimes a day alone is a good thing, and this was one of those sometimes. Lots of opportunity for reflection.

Here's the trip journal entry:

Day 2 of my 50th year - it's all right.

Was up & out of the cabin @ 9:00 - a nice alpine start! (ha) Took a nice, slow ('cause the rd. forces you) relaxed drive up to the pseudo ghost town of St. Elmo - about 25 mi. from the Shell station in town. Then drove the back way (Chaffee County 321) to the abandoned Maxwell school & then 326 W past the school to 339 over to Cottonwood Pass Rd.

Turned left @ County Rd 344 to Cottonwood Lk. Took pics @ lake & then drove 344 way up into Mineral Basin to above timberline. Had truck in 4WD & needed it. Some pretty steep (10°?) slopes (especially when I came back down). I ended up driving the truck until it got to a willow basin crossing that looked like a bog. I backed the truck down about 400' & turned around & came about 4 mi. back down (prob. 3-5 mi. above the lake) & am camped in a grove of trees fifty to sixty ft above the creek (which is rather inaccessible - bummer). But there are lots of fir for shade. I got here a bit after noon, set the tent up in a place that should get shade the rest of this 75°-80° (80° in the tent) day.

It is 2:15 as I write this. Not a cloud in the sky! A cool, gentle breeze is blowing to keep it from getting that hi altitude "too hot" feeling at 75°. The sky is that nice Colorado dark blue against the dark green fir needles, the aspen quaking softly behind my tent.

The best thing about this July trip is that for all the rain CO has been getting there are very few bugs. I've only put repellent on once, the 1st day going up Silver Creek. I am sitting against and in the shade of a tree feeling very unmolested (I will prob. get W. Nile virus or spotted tick fever just for writing that down! :o))

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7:33 p.m. Perfect evening - sun behind the ridge but not down, no wind, birds singing, stream flowing far below. The temp feels about 65°-75°. I am in my (t-shirt) shirtsleeves & comfortable. Dinner was a 3-egg corned beef hash omelet w/pepper jack cheese. I also boiled 3 more eggs, they're cooling now.

I have collected wood & built a little pyre of sticks to be lit a bit later, hopefully to result in a merry fire for an hour or two in the fire ring (one of many where I camped - it must be a popular place on the weekends but I have it to myself tonite (so far! :o)). This is the place where I wish Mike were here - he builds the best fires! Mine are more iffy.

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9:30 p.m. Actually had a nice fire from when the sun was no longer shining on any of the high pks around me until lots of stars started coming out, @ which time I doused it (Hopefully! That fire ring was still smoldering from prior campers when I set up camp this afternoon.) Still no wind nor clouds! Unreal, almost "call the X-Files!" :o) Nice, relaxed evening. Perfect night! Never did put the fly on the tent - just slept toasty in the 40° tent.

Had a deer (doe) graze thru camp w/me standing by the fire. She got w/i 30' of me & even after I purposefully made noise after watching her eat for 10 min she didn't run very far & ended up basically dilly dallying thru camp.

Still some more posts on the way!