Colorado – the Rocky Mountains
There are 3,422 named mountains in Colorado. Spanning over 3,000 miles from Canada to New Mexico, the Rocky Mountains dominate Colorado’s landscape. The Rocky Mountains is considered to be one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world, and Colorado is home to some of the best of the Rockies. Home to more than fifteen separate mountain ranges, Colorado is best known as the state that houses 4,053 mountain peaks that rise more than 14,000 feet above sea level.
Reference: Peakvisor.com
Thursday 8/24/23
I flown in from SNA – Denver to meet up with Paul, and then we drove straight to Loveland for the Mountain West Overland Expo in Loveland, CO.
The expo doesn’t start until Friday morning, but that evening we roamed around the expo fairground to check out the venue and started meeting other overlanders, including a couple of other Bliss owners and exchanged stories.
Friday 8/25/23
Not off to a good start on Friday as it’s been pouring rain nonstop. Paul ventured outside to ck out a few vendors and attended one seminar. I elected to stay in to reorganize all the cabinets and clean house. He came back soaking wet from the rain. It’s one of those rainy day that is just perfect with a hot cup of coffee and a good book to read. And that’s exactly what I did, I read a book.
Saturday 8/26/23
The weather is much nicer today, 76 and sunny. We walked around the expo and visited several vendors. They have such cool overlanding gears from high end expedition trucks to modified vans, trailer, rooftop tent, outdoor cooking gears, clothing, earth friendly biodegradable products, navigation equipment, etc., things that you don’t even think of, they have it there!
I was beat at the end of the day, hot and sweaty, so I came back to BAT to rest and relax while Paul stayed out for happy hour.
Sunday 8/27/23
It is much hotter today so I decided to stay indoor; had a decent lunch and painted a few watercolor pictures while Paul roamed about hanging out with his Bliss buddies.
The Expo closed at 3 pm just as the rain started to come down. We wrapped up and dump the two tanks at a nearby station, then join the Bliss rendezvous at the Wild Cider Farm.
Upon arrival, Spencer guided us to our camping spot. We had a total of 5 Bliss units all lined up in the orchard that makes quite a cool view.
Then we headed over to the Cider bar to get our drinks. I had the Spiced Apple Pie Cider and was pleasantly surprised how good it was. I have tried a few of them before, but they tasted more like beer so I was never into it. The Bliss family got a couple of picnic tables where we gathered and exchanged stories. Spencer & Roxanne are the Bliss US reps. Kim & Boyd were from San Diego, retired and moved to Durango Colorado. Todd is from Flagstaff who spoke German like a native, who said he lived there for a few years – amazing linguistic skills. Werner & Tabea are from Germany, now roaming the US the second time since they were not able to complete their tour in the first round due to Covid. We all ordered pizzas and continue with our Cider drinks. It was a beautiful evening with friendly company. We retreated to our truck as the mosquitoes were on the hunt for fresh blood. Within 20 minutes, the rain started to come down so we all got back just in time.
Monday 8/28/23
We caravan to Buena Vista, almost a 4 hour drive.
Unfortunately, mother nature greeted us with a heavy pouring rain upon arrival. We quickly found our camping spot and retreated into our living quarter.
Luckily, within a short time, the rain stopped so we came outside to socialize. Spencer started the fire ring so Roxamne can cook the chicken in the Dutch oven over the fire. We had chicken tacos, chips, salsa, Mexican stew, Posole, cooked by the multi-talented Todd. Roxanne also made fresh guacamole. Paul made his famous margarita, which was a hit. Oh soooo good!
As the night fall, so was the temperature. I had on by big Northface coat, hat & gloves to keep warm. We eventually moved to the fire pit as it was getting even colder. We enjoyed drinks and chat over the crackling fire. By 9:30 pm, we called it a night after a full day.
Tuesday 8/29/23
Paul tampered with the CTIS with the help of Todd, Werner, and Spencer early in the morning After several hours into the afternoon, they were not making progress so Paul gave up. I hung around with Bella playing Jenga with a $5 bet. If she wins, she gets $5. If I win, I get to keep my $5. Pretty fair right?!!! Unfortunately, Bella didn’t win…
I offered Bella a watercolor painting session. She’s such a fast learner, and so adorable. She had me at “hello” when I first met her at the Overland Expo. Then we played Uno, where Bella (6 year old) had to explain the rules to me. This young lady is such a good host like Mom & Dad. I’m certain she’ll become a public figure when she grows up. She’s incredibly comfortable around adults and not stuck behind electronic toys & gadgets like other children I’ve seen.
Spencer & Roxanne invited the Overland Chef to come to our campsite and cooked us a very gourmet meal: a chaceutterie board, hand made pizza, mixed Jicama salad, and a refreshing cucumber drink (non-alcoholic). We gathered around the Overland Chef trailer to socialize while Jesse & Robin prepare the meal for us. We had 4 different type of pizzas made from scratch:
- Apple blue cheese
- Iberia
- Margarita
- Spicy
And to top off the evening, we had apple pie pizza & S’mores pizza. What’s so amazing is Jesse came up with the idea out of the blue since he had some leftover apples. He asked if anyone of us had cinnamon or brown sugar. Roxanne came up with brown sugar and marshmallows, while Werner came up with the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, and Tabea came up with a chocolate bar. Jesse declared that this combination would work, so he quickly caramelized the apples in the cast iron pan, while I crushed the cinnamon cereal. He topped the prebaked pizza dough with the apples and sprinkled the marshmallows on the pizza. He flashed baked the pizza in the pizza oven and then sprinkled the crushed cereal on top. Voila, a perfect Dutch Apple pizza! But he’s not done yet. He also made the S’mores pizza, another delightful dessert that was spontaneously created on the spot. OMG, the entire experience is just exploding in my mind and so yummy for my tummy! I don’t think we can top this organic experience anywhere else.
Once again we gathered around the fire pit after dinner to keep warm and enjoyed another round of friendly chats before bedtime.
Wednesday 8/30/23
Paul woke me up around 9:30 am for a group picture before a few people take off. Like a good trooper, I got out of bed, put on some clothes, brushed my teeth and came out to greet a group of happy campers who are ready for their departure. We had a group picture taken by Robin and then bid farewell to Kim, Boyd, and Todd… until we meet again — it’s a small world right?!
The charming Bella invited us over for blueberry pancakes, how thoughtful is she at her mom’s expense. 😋
I came back to my unit to make avocado toast and coffee. Then we all met up for the group hike. The trail was beautiful with a couple of the grand vistas. We could not have asked for a more beautiful weather, sunny and vibrant colors of the earth. We had fun taking a few panoramic pictures for the group.
We came back to our camp site and had a delightful lunch provided by Jesse & Robin, and a few sides from Tabea.
I was going to take a shower but Bella asked me to play flatline with her. I waged a $5 bet knowing she would win. Well she went across the rope in 10 seconds, and I did it in 15 seconds. She won fair and square this time.
Then we played hangman and finally Uno. Bella wanted to win some more money but lost her $5 back to me. Oh she wouldn’t quit. She went back to her unit and digged out $2 from her piggy bank so she can bet with me. Her mom said “you know that’s gambling right Bella?” But that didn’t faze her. We took turn winning and losing until Spencer decided to do a group Uno. That was great fun! We actually had to stop the game to go make dinner as it was already 6:30 p.m. We had a beautiful sunset potluck tonight with wine, graced by a romantic lantern, candle lights and also the blue moon.
The evening ended with another fireside chat and laughter. Then the inevitable came, we had to bid farewell to the entire group as this is our last night together and each family will take off at different time in the morning. It was a round of big hug to our new friends and the Bliss family.
A special thanks to Spencer, Roxanne, and Bella for hosting this wonderful event, bringing together 5 families from Germany, Colorado, Arizona and California. Also big thanks to Jesse and Robin from Overland Chef for providing us a very gourmet dinner and lunch while camping in the beautiful Buena Vista wild wonder! ❤️❤️❤️
Thursday 8/31/23
I was up till 2 AM editing pictures and loading pictures into Google photo for the group. Had a bit of the late start this morning with the boiler and computer/jetpack going on/off as we switch on/off the appliances. Also took a bit of time to order parts for the boiler. We had a light late breakfast and then headed into Buena Vista historic downtown. Another charming town with shops and restaurants as people stroll along the shops, or sitting in the bakery/coffee patio enjoying their lunch. If we had more time, we would have loved to walk the town, but we have a three hour drive to Arvada to meet up with a family’s friend in the area.
We arrived in Arvada, CO at about 5 pm. Susan & Todd greeted us at their front yard as the truck pulled up. They were expecting an RV or 5th wheel but definitely not a big ass truck! After a quick greetings, we went into the kitchen to make homemade pizza. Susan has already pre-made the dough and toppings. She showed me the right flour to make a good pizza and the proper mozzarella cheese. She made everything looks so simple as she cuts the mozzarella cake in half and fed it through a food processor which grated the cheese to perfection. Then Todd came in and started to work on the dough and tossed it in the air. I thought he was joking but he said they actually took a class on making pizza. Although he’s not a pro, it was quite entertaining just to watch him. Susan has three types of paste: spicy tomato jam, regular pizza sauce, and homemade pesto sauce. Yes, you read it correctly: tomato jam! This is the first time I heard of it too and it made the pizza tastes sooo good. So I made my pizza half & half. Half tomato jam & pepperoni, and half with pesto & ham, topped with fresh basil and grated parmesan, and sprinkled with Italian herbs.
We took the pizza out to the backyard where Todd has already fired up the BBQ grill which was lined with oven bricks, so that’s the trick! Once he slides the pizza onto the bricks, it only took a few minutes to cook. The pizza came out beautifully done like a pro. And the taste? Fantastic !!! It was so gourmet that I ate the whole pizza of which I usually can only consume half the portion. We sat down in their tranquil backyard and the weather was just perfect to enjoy this delightful meal catching up on our life’s journey.
We went out to show Susan and Todd our truck and then went back to the house for the fresh peach pie. I can’t even remember when I last had a fresh peach pie. The peach tasted so delicious and full of fragrance. I seriously don’t even understand how I was able to pack in a whole pizza and the peach pie! 🍑
I had pizza twice this week and both are so unique and very tasty.
Friday 9/1/23
We said good bye to Susan & Todd about 10 AM and headed out. Traveling south to La Veta, CO to visit an old friend, Greg, a colleague that I’ve known for over 30 years. It was a four hour drive in the hot and dry weather with tempt of 97 degree. Greg owns and manages the La Veta Pines RV Park here after a long term career in aerospace. We arrived at the RV park about 4pm. As we approached the park, I can see Greg coming out to guide us into our parking space. As soon as I opened the door, Greg smiled and said “what a beast!”
We checked in, unwind a bit, and it was ice cream social hour hosted by Greg & Leesa. We met another couple from San Diego and exchanged some stories. Then they excused themselves to go to the “Art Walk” downtown La Veta. We were lucky to have Greg be our local tour guide and walked us into town and visited a few galleries with art work from local artists or artists from across Colorado. After the walk, we ended up in the La Veta Mercantile — a unique gift shop that serves drinks and a small theater that hosts local artists that perform on the weekends.
La Veta is a small town near Colorado Spring with a population of about 800 people. It’s the kind of town where everyone knows each other… seems like a quaint and friendly town so far.
Saturday 9/2/23
Laundry day. After we put all the laundry away, I hung out with Greg, catching up on what transpired in our lives after retirement. Looks like we both did a lot of traveling, and in some cases, went to the same destinations .
Paul and I invited Greg and Leesa out to dinner at the Legends, sharing our travel stories, having a good old time.
Then we went back to camp so Greg can host movie night with S’mores. We watched “Second Hand Lion” with Robert Duval and Michael Canes, quite a heart warming movie.
I really like the entertainment concept that La Veta Pines RV Park has established. Ice Cream Social, Movie Night, and tomorrow, there will be a concert with a female western singer. They have something different every night for their guests that bring people closer together.
Sunday 9/3/23
Today is “adventure” day! We took our ebikes onto a dirt road as recommended by Greg to check out Lover’s Leap, part of the Spanish Peaks. It’s been over a year since I rode the Ubco ebikes. It was nerve racking to ride on this dirt/gravel road as the front tire felt like it doesn’t have traction and want to spin uncontrollably. After a while, I was a bit more comfortable with the bike until we climbed up a hill. The bike could not move forward even though it was on full throttle. I had to get off the bike and tried to walk it up the hill. It was not an easy task as the bike weights 116 lbs. After a few incidents of this problem, I told Paul about it. We switched bike so he can check it out. Well he experienced the same problem and had to walk the bike uphill too. He said it seems the bike thermo indicates that it’s overheating. We got to Lover’s Leap, took some pictures and check out the Spanish Peaks towering vertically over the canyon with a river/creek runs through it. Looking down from here, we can see a few cabins along the creek, known as Small Kansas.
On our way out, Paul finally figured out the problem with my bike. One of the cable was disconnected from the rear tire forcing the bike to run on one engine, which caused the overheating condition. Once corrected, the bike was perfectly fine.
We made it back on the main road and as I thought we were heading back to camp, Paul said we’re not finished yet. We’re going to ride into Cuchara, a popular tourist town, which is 11 miles away. I really hesitated because that’s a 22 miles round trip in the bike, and I had very low confidence of riding the bike in the main road. Paul said “c’mon you can do it, that town has lots of shops and restaurants.” Somehow I mustered up the courage and gave it a try.
The paved road was much easier to travel on that I even accelerated to max speed of 30 MPH. It was a little scary as it was a one lane road and we were slowing down vehicles behind us in the 45 MPH speed limit zone. I pulled off the road several times to let these vehicles passed by. We finally made it to Cuchara, and before we can turn into town, the rain was pouring down. We quickly took refuge in the giftshop and then walked around town buying souvenirs. We had an early dinner at the Dog Bar & Grill restaurant to relax and ride out the rain.
By the time we left, the weather was fine and we rode back to camp safely. We were exhausted from the long ride today as we left about 11 am and came back about 5 pm. My shoulders were aching from the tension of riding on the main road. In fact, Greg was worried about us and asked around if they saw 2 people on ebikes because we should have been back hours ago. He was happy to see us back at camp.
Although it was an adventurous day, I actually had a lot of fun and built up more confidence to ride the ebike.
Greg & Leesa hosted a country music night featuring Patty Clayton, singer and songwriter. It was a good show but we were tired from the bike ride beaten down by the wind, sun, and rain so we turned in early for the night.
Monday 9/4/23
Happy Labor Day!
In observance of Labor Day, I decided to have a “do nothing day!” and moped around inside BAT. Well I did do 2 small loads of laundry…
I came over to the office to pay for an extra night of camping at the La Veta Pines RV Park and ended up chatting with Greg, reminiscing about the good old days and not so good days at RTX. We chatted for a couple of hours about work, family, business, retirement, etc.
Later that evening, Greg picked us up to have dinner at his house. What a beautiful property on a hilltop. Upon entering the driveway, a few deer were wandering around, chomping down on the grasses. The noise from the pickup truck didn’t even faze them. They just looked up to see what was going on and then went right back to eating like they can’t be bothered.
We had tacos for dinner, margarita and key lime pie. One of Leesa’s friend, Emily, also joined us for dinner. Leesa and Greg told us stories about campers at their RV Park. He said 98% of the campers are fine and the other 2% makes great stories to share.
Some of the stories were hilarious! Then Emily said “at 8:45, we have to go see the Starlink Satellite Train!” When the time came, we went out to the front yard and sure enough, it is the coolest thing to see in the dark night sky, a train of satellites was moving in a straight formation, but not connected. It looks like a string of fairy lights in the sky. We were snapping pictures and tried to count how many satellites were on this train; looks like there were 20. And as they moved above our heads, they suddenly disappeared into the vast night sky. Later on Emily googled the info and found that they didn’t really disappeared but rather at a certain angle, they didn’t reflect the lights from the sun, that’s why we couldn’t see them anymore. That was a very cool experience! Too bad our phone camera was not able to capture the images very well to really depict the the satellite train properly.
Tuesday 9/5/23
We took a stroll downtown La Veta, picked up a package from the post office, and then checked out the town from store to store. Of course we went into Charlie’s Market for a malt and some groceries.
There were a couple of real estate offices so we window shopped a few properties. The prices are unbelievably affordable — a 38 acres with ~ 3,400 sqft house for $520K – WOW!
We bid farewell to Greg and Leesa that evening as they have to go out of town since we wouldn’t have a chance to say good bye the next morning. They were amazing hosts in every which way. We hope to catch up with them again in the near future.
Wednesday 9/6/23
The Great Sand Dunes National Park is only 70+ miles away from La Veta so it didn’t take long for us to arrive at the park. We stopped by the Visitor Center to gather info and buy some souvenirs as it’s our way to contribute to the national park system.
Excerpt from the Greatdunes.com website: “On the eastern side of the remote, high-mountain San Luis Valley, between the Blanca Massif and Crestone Needle, are the Great Sand Dunes, the tallest sand dunes in North America. The dunes cover approximately 39 square miles and rise to almost 750′ above the valley floor.
The dunes are the product of the wind and rain eroding the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountains that ring the San Luis Valley. They have collected here because the prevailing winds across the valley blow in this direction. But here, at the foot of the mountains, the wind has to drop some of its load of sand in order to clear the mountains. So over the course of millennia, the dunes have built up to where they are today. And tomorrow they will be different because the wind still blows and still moves and deposits more sand here.”
We parked at the trail head, had a late lunch while waiting for the weather to cool down and the sun to fade and cast more shadows on the dunes in order for the pictures not to be washed out from the bright sun.
By 4:30 pm, we started the hike out to the dunes. The wind was stronger than expected but it helps cool us down from the blazing sun. The hike became increasing difficult as our feet sink into the sands and the wind sweeping across the dunes like a sand storm. We were huffing and puffing ascending along the spine. As we gain in elevation so was the wind speed. We are completely exposed to the element and the wind is swirling in several directions that I had to stand with my back against the wind until it blows over.
Not long after a few more uphill battles, I decided to head back as the wind kicks up so much sand that was irritating my eyes and allergies. I went back to base camp while Park tried to conquer a few more slopes. By 6pm, we packed up and headed to Zapata Falls for our camping spot before nightfall.
We made it there just as the sun was setting on the horizon. In the distance, a huge haze of smoke from a wild fire nearby draping across the valley which made the sun an unusually intense red color;. I didn’t have a chance to snap a picture of this dramatic scenery since we’re still looking for our camp site before it gets too dark.
We finally settled in, had dinner, washed up and shut down for a much needed night rest.
Thursday 9/7/23
We had a nice and easy day today. After a late breakfast, we went for a hike to see the Zapata Falls, a secluded 25-foot waterfall sheltered in a rocky crevasse. When we got to the trail head, the sign said in order to see the waterfall, you’ll have to wade water at the end of the trail as it snakes into a cave like structure. Hmmmm…
As we hiked up the trail, we saw a couple coming out and asked if they had to wade through water to the falls. Luckily, they said you can hop on the stones across the creek so you don’t have to get wet. When we were almost to the creek, we saw another person walked out completely soaked. We asked the same question, and he responded “I jumped in the water, it was refreshing!” LOL, we thought he got wet just to cross the creek to see the falls.
We’ve arrived. Crossing the creek wasn’t easy as you have to balance yourself on uneven and pointy stones from one section to the next. Now we see why they said it is a hidden water falls. On the very last part of the trail, the water was knee-deep, so if you really want a full frontal view of the falls, you’ll have to get wet. We weren’t prepared for that, so we leaned into the cave, while balancing our feet on the stones to snap a few pictures of the falls and declared victory. Woohoo, we did it!
On the way out, we can see the entire San Luis valley and the sand dunes situated against the mountain.
Excerpts from the Colorado.com website:
“The parking lot alone is worth the visit to Zapata. Views of the Great Sand Dunes are breathtaking, as layered dunes build against the base of the Sangre de Cristos to the north. Straight to the west across the San Luis Valley are the sharp volcanic domes of the San Juan mountains. A good time to visit is during sunrise or sunset when subtle pink, purple and gold tones radiate from the landscape.”
We hiked back to camp, had a late lunch. I gave Paul a haircut, cleaned up and relax the rest of the evening.
Friday 9/8/23
We knew it’s going to be a long day today going to Black Canyon of Gunnison so we had an earlier start than usual. The journey is only 200+ miles but it took us almost 7 hours to get to the south rim camping area, mostly due to construction traffic and one stop in Gunnison for groceries. On the way out of the groceries store, the GPS took us onto a dirt road of which we would have to do 70 miles on it to the Black Canyon. It didn’t look right so we stopped and asked a parked pickup on the side of road and he confirmed that was the wrong direction. We had to double back into town and get on hwy 50W.
We finally got to the south rim campground and drive through Loop C since it was on a first come first serve basis. Oh dear, each camp spot was very narrow and short. You literally have to park on the side of the road. BAT can barely fit into one space but we would have to put our stairs onto the road. Disappointed, we were thinking of driving into Montrose, about 20+ miles away to get a proper campsite. On the way out, we decided to try Loop B just in case. We found one decent spot and decided to camp there for the night since we were too tired to drive further. When we looped back to that spot, the Camp Host just got off his cart and about to put up the sign “Reserved” onto the camp spot we were going to pull in. Urgh!!! Luckily, the kind gentleman said we could camp in site 10B even though it was marked as “Closed” with red cones in front of the drive way. We were so sooo thankful for his help.
We got in and call it a day. I was so tired, I stretched out in bed trying hard not to fall asleep, but managed to get up and made dinner at 7pm.
Saturday 9/9/23
Since we had a long ride yesterday, I wanted to hike to a few viewpoints today to stretch my legs. Hiking in 82 degree temperature with dry heat wasn’t such a great idea. We managed to see the Tomichi, Gunnison Point, and Visitor Center. Lots of interesting facts and info at the Visitor Center along with another great viewpoint of the canyon there.
The hike back was treacherous, not because of the terrain, but because of the uphill climb and the heat. We are seriously out of shape. Thinking back on the Angels Landing trail at Zion’s National Park that we hiked in 2014, there’s no way we can do it today, although I was in much better shape then….
We finally got back to our campsite, hot and sweaty. After cooling down a bit, I did a little more reading, but felt compelled to paint since I saw a really nice watercolor painting in the Visitor Center. It’s always relaxing for me to paint. The outcome doesn’t always turn out great, but the process is very enjoyable.
After dinner Paul asked if I wanted to go back out to some of these viewpoints to take sunset pictures of the canyon. I opted out, too lazy to put on all the gears again.
Sunday 9/10/23
The South Rim has 12 viewpoints spanning 7 miles long. Since this Loop is not achievable on foot and BAT is too big, we took the Upco bikes so it’s easier to stop and go at each viewpoint. It is much more pleasant today with the slightly cooler temperature and the easy ride on the bikes. Some viewpoints require a little hike, but not too bad.
We managed to hit all the viewpoints today, each offers a little different perspective of the canyon. Overall a great experience and enjoyable day out.
On the way back, we stopped at the Tomichi Point since it has a data signal so Paul can track his package delivery to a local post office. Paul said he had his mouth opened during the ride, a bug flew in and bit him on the tongue before he had a chance to spit it out. His tongue quickly got swollen on one side. I urged him to go by the Visitors Center since it was nearby and see what advice the rangers have for him. This big boy was embarrassed to see a ranger?!! The ranger said unfortunately the medic team is out on a search and rescue mission and they don’t have anything to dispense for him. He said if the swelling isn’t better by tomorrow, do seek medical attention in the nearby town, Montrose .
When we got back to base camp, I gave Paul an allergy pill to see if it would help. Will see how it goes tomorrow.
Don’t y’all wanna ask why Paul had his mouth opened while riding the ebike?!!! He doesn’t know either!
Endless Trail Expeditions 