Fall Trip - SW Colorado

Usually we try to escape the Texas heat for part of the summer by going up to the beautiful mountain in Colorado.
We've been often enough to know where we like to camp, eat, hike, and jeep roads to travel. So why change a good thing? We'll usually do some exploring to see if there is something new to try and add that to a future itinerary (if you think we actually have an itinerary .. remember we are the 2nomads!).

We've driven this route a number of times. Spicewood to Lubbock, Lubbock to Lathrop State Park, and then to Buffalo Pass Campground. From there we went to Gunnison, Fruita, Grand Mesa, Ridgway State Park, Santa Fe, and back home.

Buffalo Pass CG is at 9500 feet and a good place to get acclimated to the altitude. Totally dry camping (no hookups, no water, no power) so we fill our tanks, and use our solar for recharging batteries. Very quiet with catch up reading, etc.

We usually go on some short jeep rides. This is one of our favorite picnic areas, right on the Continental Divide. We also went over to the La Garita Wilderness area to explore some other potential camping spots.

This is at Fruita, Colorado .. a very nice Colorado state park that is on the Colorado River with some lakes surrounding the area. We usually stop over Labor Day weekend. Perfect for walking at any time of the day. Fruita is located about 10 miles west of Grand Junction.

The Colorado River was running full. Very unusual for early September and a good sign that the drought is modifying. It's been as bad there as it's been in Texas with many forest fires.

Panoramic view of Grand Mesa. On top are many lakes and some lava ridges. It's quite a transition coming from the desert up to 10,000 feet with the typical Colorado feel.

This was our camping spot at Ridgway State Park. Lots of privacy, wonderful weather, and a nice view of the lake down below. Good hookups for power and water. We usually stay in this area for 10 days or so.

Our neighbors, David and Ruth Henderson from Spicewood, camped close to us and we went up to Silver Jack Reservoir via Owl Creek Pass. As you can see, the aspens were turning. This was a perfect day.

Silver Jack Reservoir is used for irrigation. About 20 miles north is very dry sagebrush country.

The rock formations are amazing in this area and contrast with the forest. They've had some fires up on these ridges from the persistent drought that has been going on over the past 4 years.

Yep, this is why we stay in the Ridgway area. We've discovered that we can camp at Grand Mesa in early September and view the color there and then come south to Ridgway and do it again. Kind of like an extended fall.

Thanks for visiting our site .. we enjoy sharing our stories and the best parts always involve the people we meet while making these trips.
Bob & Cindy Richards