MichelleAt the end of July, I needed to escape the summer heatwave coming towards me and I knew that the Colorado high elevations would help me do that. I scurried from Idaho through Wyoming and into northern Colorado over 3 days, landing at Teal Lake Campground near Walden CO. Teal Lake Campground was a nice alpine area and known for good fishing. I don’t fish but there is no lack of fisher persons in Colorado. It was incredible to watch a bald eagle and an osprey both fishing the lake at the same time. There is not much to do in this area and Walden is a wide spot in the road. I stayed just long enough to get rested before moving south to Leadville CO, an old historic mining town that is 10,200 ft in elevation. Higher than Denver, Leadville is considered the highest elevation town in the lower 48 states.
Leadville has an impressive tour of their old mining district. You can drive this tour or bike a paved path that winds through the area. I chose to drive but the bike trail looked fun. I took a good part of a day exploring the area and taking pictures of old mining equipment and surroundings. It was amazing how intact some of the structures were even after 140 years.
One day I took a trip to the Leadville Fish Hatchery which is one of the oldest in the country. They had loads of rainbow trout from tiny to maybe 12”. The hatchery had a one-mile loop nature trail that turned out to be quite pretty. There were streams and ponds, as well as several lakes that supply the hatchery with water. I was really enjoying my little walk until a thunderstorm blew in and doused me with rain. The temperature dropped about 15 degrees, and I was glad that the day was warm to start with, keeping it comfortable even though I was wet. Moral to this story is always carry a light rain jacket even on a hot day!
I spent about 1.5 weeks in this area before deciding to move further south to Twin Lakes and Buena Vista. Although not that far away, maybe 50-60 miles, the geology was quite different and the elevation a couple thousand feet lower. I took a day trip to the town of Frisco that is north 45 minutes. It is a super vibrant ski town with a very resortish feel. There are multitudes of paved bike trails, a large lake for watersports, downtown shops and eateries. The only bad thing about Frisco? The traffic is one massive snarl all day long! Frisco is close to multiple big ski areas including Breckenridge which I didn’t have time for. The area definitely drew families with all of the outdoor activities.
My next camping area was Parry Peak Campground near Twin Lakes. The lakes are large and beautiful with mountains surrounding them. It is a manmade reservoir. One day there was a mountain bike race that drew thousands of cars and people to the lake area. Cars were parked on both sides of the road for miles! I would never have believed that an event like that would draw so many people!
Parry Peak Campground had a large creek/river that ran through the edge and down a gully beside the highway. Willis Gulch trail led out of the campground and down the gulch paralleling the river, but up above it for great views of the cascading water. This river was a lime greenish color and the surrounding rocks were stained ochre yellow. No doubt due to a high concentration of some minerals. It made for a very different river walk.
The campground was along the highway going up to Independence Pass which tops out at just above 13,000 feet. Then it descends down the other side to the town of Aspen. I heard this was a spectacular drive and felt I had to go. When I was a teenager I loved John Denver and his music. He lived in Aspen and the Rockies were an inspiration for many of his songs. I have to say that Aspen is beautifully situated with a river and mountains closely surrounding the town. The ski area comes right into town which must be quite something in the winter. There were parks and paved pathways for walking/biking, etc. But I have to say I was very disappointed in Aspen’s downtown. It’s a decent size but very modern and so upscale that I didn’t even feel comfortable walking into the shops. This is rich man’s paradise! I was happy to see it, but the best part of the day was Independence Pass! Absolutely gorgeous! Lots of pull offs where you can stop and take pictures. The higher you went the more creeks, flowers, and little alpine lakes there were to see. There was a valley between the very tall mountains all lush and green. At the top of the pass there was an area to pull off and walk some trails for incredible vistas. This is above tree line and had very small plants amongst the rocky terrain. It’s a short growing season in these high altitudes so it’s important not to disturb the fragile plants.
I loved Parry Peak Campground and stayed about 10 days. But I wanted to be closer to Buena Vista so moved to Snowy Peaks RV Park just outside of town. You never know what you’re going to get at RV Parks but the front desk folks were so nice! That is not always the case. The park was very clean and quiet.
Buena Vista is another old mining town with historical buildings lining it’s downtown streets. It is quite small with only about 2000 people but it has quite a large summer visitation. I met up with a woman, Bev, from the Escapees RV Club (I’m a member). She happened to be traveling through so we met and had lunch together. It was fun talking with someone who is also a Full Time Solo traveler! It provides an instant common ground requiring much discussion. Buena Vista has so many restaurants, but we opted for a food truck serving American fare with a covered outside eating area. Burgers and Fries here I come!!
The Arkansas River runs north to south the entire length of Arkansas Valley. Its headwaters are in the mountains near Leadville which starts out as a stream and gets bigger and bigger the further south it goes. This river hosts many activities in the ‘Ark’ Valley as they call it. Fishing and Whitewater Rafting seem to be very popular although the water was low in this later part of the summer. Fishing access areas can be found every couple of miles along the highway. I like stopping just to sit by the river and watch people cast again and again. Fly fishing seems to be popular here.
I really liked the Buena Vista area because it just felt comfortable. Not too upscale, not too downtrodden, but Just Right! Next Stop: Salida and Poncha Springs, CO
Love living vicariously through your posts! Thanks for sharing! Hugs, Cindy