Sunday at Difficult Campground

On Saturday night we decided to get up very early on Sunday morning and try to catch a sunrise at Maroon Bells. Up a bit after 4AM, brushed our teeth, made some coffee and headed to the park area. Arrival was about 5:30AM and the sun was just beginning to creep up. The glow on the mountains was just beginning. Doug was the only one of our group who was able to run fast enough from the parking lot to set up for some pictures. He had about 2 minutes worth of pictures before the glow was gone! When it happens in the mountains, it happens fast. Needed to be there a good 15 minutes earlier to set everything up and not be out of breath from the run!
So much for our planning.
The day was cloudy. Not nearly as good as the day before but all made the best of it.
As my joints were not cooperating, I chose to stay near the car and read, Peter & Doug walked off to take pictures and Molly was pushed in her cart (has only 3 legs and doing so well) by Heidi to a field of flowers where she planted herself to do some sketching. Her work is so detailed, it is amazing and many hikers stopped to look and comment.

Following our morning at the Maroon Bells, we chose to drive into Aspen to find breakfast. We found a place named "Boogies". We had a table outside on the 2nd floor deck. Very pleasant way to take in the sites and have a meal. Headed back to camp after breakfast. Checked out water damage --- none! and decided what to do for the rest of the day.

Pleasant morning and in a very pleasant locale! Will be heading back there this fall hopefully when the aspen have changed colors!

First Morning at the Maroon Bells

On Friday July 30th, Peter & I left Fort Collins and headed West to go camping with Doug, Heidi and Molly. We traveled to a campground named "Difficult Campground" which was about 5 miles from Aspen. The entire trip took about 6 hours as we had to drive through some rain storms and then up and over Independence Pass (about 12,000 ft). Views were breathtaking for most of the way. Hard to say something bad about the landscape in Colorado. We passed through small mining towns like Leadville that would be great to return to at a slower pace.

We arrived at our campground about 6PM and it was raining. Not hard, just enough to make it a bit miserable setting up camp. After setting up, we chose to drive into Aspen to see what nightlife was like and to grab a bite to eat. Much easier than cooking on a camp stove in the drizzle! By the time we arrived in Aspen it had stopped raining and we ate outside at a restaurant called Mustang. We were treated to some live music at the eatery and to some great people watching. Many art galleries in Aspen and all seemed to be doing a good business....at least there were a lot of lookers. We had a leisurely meal and drove back to the campsite about 9PM. Headed right into the tent after cleaning up as the sun had already gone down by that time and we were tired. It had been about 5 years since I had been camping and sleeping on the ground. Sleeping was not easy and I chose to get up during the night and sleep in the van. Peter stayed in the tent for the night!

On Saturday morning, we were waiting for Doug, Heidi and Molly to arrive so we decided to take a drive and explore the area around the Maroon Bells. The weather was great! No rain! And the skies were blue! The best part was the abundance of wildflowers in the area. Other hikers that we met along the path told us that this year was the best for wildflowers. We picked a great time to visit. After our walk, and picture taking, we headed back to camp to relax and have lunch. Doug, Heidi & Molly arrived at about 3 in a downpour! Peter & I were in the process of putting up an extra structure that would be used as an eating shelter. Done in the nick of time! By the time the rains stopped (for that day) our tent was in the middle of a river.....
such fun when camping......

Camping Trip

Getting ready to head out on a camping trip for the weekend.
Doug & Heidi invited us to share the weekend with them camping.
We are headed South and West toward Aspen. We are going to a place called the US Forest Service Difficult Campground. Difficult Campground is located within the boundaries of the White River National Forest at an elevation of 8,180 feet.

This will be our first time camping in about 5 years. The last time we camped was just overnite in the Tetons. This will be for 3 days. Will my back handle it? Time will tell. Keep posted.

While there we will hopefully be able to go the Maroon Bells. A place that we have heard about for years from other photographers as a great place to go. Anytime of the day should be good for pictures. Will let you know what we find.

Preparing for cool weather at nite....expected to be in 30's or 40's.