I left Leadville last Monday. To back up for a minute, when I left home, there was a road detour less than 25 miles from home. They were working on the detour road as well, and they had sprayed water on the road. It splashed mud up onto the front of the camper, and that mud hardened like cement! I was so happy when we had the rain on Sunday that softened it. I went out and got it all nice and clean again on Sunday afternoon.
They were also working on the dirt road as I was leaving the Leadville campsite, and I had to run though water again!! Just one lousy day after Iβd gotten it all clean. Well I found out later, theyβd sprayed the road with oil, not water! Oh my, what a mess. The whole car and camper are covered with oil, which has turned to mud/oil after driving on the dusty dirt roads. I havenβt seen a carwash yet, either.
I moved to a free campsite at Pioneer Park right in the town of Hot Sulphur Springs. Finally I had a site with a good wifi signal! I thought I might stay there several days to get my fill of the internet but I wasnβt particularly impressed with the campsite. It was across the campground road from the Colorado River but most of the sites were very narrow and close together, like neighbors less than 10β away! You know thatβs just not my kinda place. Butβ¦.a good wifi signal!!! Β Also I was hoping to get a good nightβs sleep at that lower elevation. I didnβt sleep worth a darn at the 11000β campsite; Iβd walk up feeling breathless and not be able to go back to sleep.
My campsite was the closest one to the railroadβ¦..only about 50β from the tracks, and about 100β from a crossing that did not have a lighted signal when a train was coming. At 3:30 in the morning, a train came through, blaring the horn (whistle?) for about 15 seconds straight. I was just about to get back to sleep when another train came through at 4:20. I wasnβt able to get back to sleep after that.
This VW Westfalia was next door….I wonder how much that roof weighed, with all that stuff on it?! They had a West Highland White terrier…the guy said they HAD to have a Westy, to go with the car!
So I left there and headed to Grand Lake, which is on the βback sideβ of Rocky Mountain National Park, near the West Gate. I found the free national forest dispersed area and had made up my mind to stop at the first open campsite because I thought maybe I could get a wifi signal, but the first 4 or 5 were already taken. I was starting to worry but found one a little ways up thatβs decent. It doesnβt have any shade but the highs are supposed to be between 68-72 every day so it should be okay. Β I could legally stay here for 28 days if I wanted! I donβt know yet if Iβll want to stay or move on. It depends on temperatures, bug populations, βhitch-itchβ, etc.
Check out this awesome campfire ring Iβve got! Of course I donβt ever have campfires, but if anything tempted me, this one sure would.
This is a very popular ATV area and the staging area is only about 100β away through the woods, so thereβs quite a bit of traffic and noise during the day but it dies down at night. Β I kind of like watching all the ATVβs go by. Itβs about 8 miles from town, and only 1 mile from a paved road.
I went into Grand Lakeβ¦.really cute little town, very upscale, with lots of nice mini-mansions all around the lake.
Here are some of the pretty wildflowers near my campsite. I don’t know what they all are, do you?
Well Iβm pretty horrified. This morning I got a container of really hot water, lots of Dawn dishwashing detergent and a scrubbie/sponge and tried to clean the nasty oil off the front of the camper. It didnβt work!!! I was able to get it off the plastic and aluminum parts but on the painted aluminum, it just smeared it around! So Iβm guessing a carwash wouldnβt help either. What to do???
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7 replies on “Grand Lake, CO”
My plant identifier says the first one is Colorado Columbine, the pink one is a Nootka rose. The third one is bluebonnet and the last one is a jasmine.
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Thanks Rose!
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Try using some diesel fuel to remove the tar. Just wash the area well after your done to make sure that it’s off the paint as quicklu as possible.
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Janet, you might try Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. I haven’t found anything they won’t clean, yet, and you only need water to use them. Worth a try. You can get them in grocery stores or almost anywhere.
As far as not liking a campsite, the beauty of that is that you can move! Imagine being in a house and not liking it. I get altitude sickness at 9000 feet. I bought canned oxygen the last time I was out west, and it helped. Rolaids are supposed to help as well (or so an Native American lady told me).
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I didn’t have altitude sickness; just trouble sleeping. I’ll try a Magic Eraser; I have some but I think it’ll just get clogged up right away. Thanks for the tip though….I’ll try anything!
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Hi Janet, again I admire your bravery, striking out on your own.It is good that the lower elevation is helping your breathing. I wondered if you have plans to meet up with any of the Women Aframe group on your travels. I missed the beginning of your saga, how long will you be traveling, and do you have a route already planned? Stay safe and thanks for sharing your adventure. The Westfalia was quite interesting, especially with all of the gear on top!ππ
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Hi Cathy! No, I don’t have any plans to meet up with any of the WACS on this trip; I don’t think any of them are in my path of travel. I’ll be out all summer.
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