Jul 28, 2012 - Day 15; Mark conquers Mt Princeton

Day 14: The Boys go Separate Ways (for a day) I woke up early and headed down to the lobby to see if the "free" breakfast had anything to offer that was worth the price. Nope........ Charlie woke up as I walked back in and said his shoulder was "combat ineffective" at this point and despite the fact we had more time on our "vacation clock" he wanted to make a straight line to Denver on the highway. I couldn't blame him. Our Cousin and Uncle live there and had extended their usual invitation to us when we're in the west. Deadhorse would be...

Jul 20, 2012 - Buena Vista

We moved from Woodland Park to the Arrowhead Point Campground at Buena Vista on July 16th, Brian’s birthday, for a stay of 4 nights. It was a leisurely trip of 80 miles with no long steep grades, about half of it through South Park. South Park is a large open basin with few trees and many ranches. We stayed in Buena Vista as a schedule adjustment due to the fact that we couldn’t get reservations at Tiger Run RV Resort in Breckenridge until August 3rd, which was two weeks later than desired. We also added stays in Leadville and Grand Lake...

Jun 8, 2012 - Buena Vista, CO

Today we headed for the Colorado Rockies, stopping at Arrowhead Campground in Buena Vista for two nights. BTW - Buena Vista is pronounced Bee-you-na Vista. This is a great campground too, probably my favorite so far. We are at 8500 feet above sea level and we notice it with exertion. I guess that's what happens to the old and unfit! The views here are amazing. This is a really good area to visit for rafting, off roading, biking, hiking and horseback riding. Since we don't have a tow vehicle, we are just relaxing. We have already decided...

Jun 3, 2012 - Day 28 Buena Vista Town

today (28) on KOA camp rocks, photos of buena vista little old town...plus misc stuff...   rocks: https://plus.google.com/photos/101217188791439331471/albums/5749859068361103873   town: https://plus.google.com/photos/101217188791439331471/albums/5749903449858042785   spot map stuff: http://fms.ws/86u7_/38.84192N/106.1319W Sent from our iPAD! Ron & Bebe living for "beyond" the moment

Jun 2, 2012 - Day 27 Buena Vista CO

day 27 will be in this area for a few days..this area is best know for crosscountry ski and winter hunting... our today's photos/videos: https://plus.google.com/photos/101217188791439331471/albums/5749704344574621873 going to buena vista co passing thru gunnison canyon, visiting royal gorge...we are now out, we hope, of arms way for heavy rain storms but here, at 8000', it could be ice/snow etc... most of today's photos were taken in not so good lighting conditions and using this new camera creates it's own problems and googles new photos...

May 18, 2012 - De Estes Park à Buena Vista

Encore une fois, un peu de fouinage, cette fois au vieil hôtel Stanley qui fait partie de l'histoire de la ville et du parc. Départ de notre petit camping, non sans regrets car nous y étions vraiment très bien. Changement de route, nous décidons de passer par Aspen plutôt que par Colorado Springs, question d'être sur une route panoramique dans les montagnes. Sur l'autoroute, ça roule vite et même très vite surtout qu'on monte des cols au dessus de 3000 mètres. Nous lâchons l'autoroute pour la route panoramique qui nous fait passer par...

Sep 23, 2011 - St. Elmo & Leadville & Southern RR

Today was a fall color driving extravaganza. The colors are now reaching their peak. We drove first to the old ghost town of St. Elmo. The town is one of the best preserved ghost towns in Colorado with numerous old business structures and cabins. The town was originally settled in 1878 when gold and silver were discovered in the area. St. Elmo provided supplies and needs for the miners working in the area. It began with high morals but deteriorated as the mostly male population resorted to saloons,dance halls and bawdy houses. There were...

Sep 22, 2011 - Kayak Turquoise Lake

Turquoise Lake is located just west of the city of Leadville,Colorado. It is perched high,10,000 feet, and at the base of Mt. Massive at its southern end. The lake was named for the semi-precious stone that was mined in the surrounding area. Most of the mining activity took place in the 1930's when two Navajo Indians discovered nearly 1000 pounds of rough material in the area. The weather can vary tremendously at the lake and we lucked out with a beautiful sunny fall day. The temperature was 29 degrees when we launched and the kayaks were...

Sep 21, 2011 - Bike Adventure Buena Vista

Today was a special bike trip and it was full of incredible beauty. We began about 9:30AM with sunny skies and a temperature of 40 degrees. We peddled south from our Arrowhead RV park on the county road which paralleled the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range of Mountains. They contain the highest peaks in Colorado. We rode past Columbia,Yale and Princeton Peaks. The massive mountains loomed above us to the west while we passed ranches,houses and preserved forest service meadows for elk migration. We then turned east and rode into Buena...

Sep 20, 2011 - Kayak Twin Lakes

A gorgeous fall day painted a perfect picture for our kayak adventure. Twin Lakes are on the way to Independence Pass just south of Leadville on Highway 82. We were the sole crafts on the entire lake. The sun sparkled off the vibrant mountains which stood at the western foot of the lakes. Mt. Elbert is the second highest peak in the contiguous United States and the highest peak in Colorado. It stands 14433 feet. Mt. Massive is just to the right of Mt. Elbert and it is second highest at 14428 feet. All quite impressive to say the least. With...

Sep 19, 2011 - Hartenstein Lake

Bill Wolf: Guest Blogger While Eric stayed home to rest his sore knee, we did the 6 mile/1,600 foot elevation gain Hartenstein Lake Hike in the Collegiate Mt. Range (the Collegiate Range and its mountains were named by a survey team from Ivy League Colleges in the early 20th Century). The trail follows Denny Creek which drains from the Lake several miles away and is crossed on several log bridges on the way up.The first section of the trail follows through stands of pine, fir, and spruce that are interrupted by stands of aspen which were...

Sep 18, 2011 - Breckenridge to Buena Vista,CO

We saw Erin off at 7AM on the Colorado Mountain Express Van. We then prepared to depart Tiger Run on a gorgeous sunny morning. We drove the 70 miles south on Rt.9 to Buena Vista. We climbed the horseshoe turns of Hoosier Pass (10500 ft.) with great angst. Each turn ascended at a seemingly 45 degree angle. Max speed was about 15 MPH and staying in your lane is not easy at 45 feet length. The scenery was spectacular the whole trip. We then descend into a long valley and extensive high plain . This plain led to another descending valley and...