The floods in Colorado have been devastating. Fortunately our family and friends have been spared. We had planned on seeing my long-time, dear friends from Illinois, Doug, Becky, Laurence, and Susan in Fort Collins on Saturday. Those plans had to be changed because of the floods, so instead we are driving to Denver to see them on Friday.
To arrive a day earlier so we could see them, we dumped our route that went to the Custer Battlefield. It is something I have wanted to see for a long time, but I wanted to see my friends a lot more. Besides, it will be there next year. We had also scheduled a day of hiking before we got to Fort Collins, and thought we might be able to get at least part of that in, if we could avoid the huge storm that started in Seattle and has followed us all the way across the continent.
Consequently, while driving, we made about six different plans for today and tomorrow. Using the IPad (when we could get a signal), Vicky scoped out several routes and several camping spots, all the while watching the weather channel closely for when the storms were predicted (the predictions kept changing, adding to the fun).
We "finally" decided we would camp at the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.
But about 20 miles from the campground there we passed a Ranger Station. We went inside, and based on what we learned changed our plans once again. Instead, we finally finally decided to drive to the Bald Mountain Campground in the Bighorn National Forest. To get there meant a drive that seemed practically straight up. Our pickup downshifted to second gear several times. But the sights along the way were breathtaking and well worth the effort (although, granted, it was only an effort for the pickup, not us). The grade was 10-12% for 14 miles. That is a beast of a grade.
Here is a nice shot along the road about half-way up. Shows the road below and how steep the ascent was:
Some amazing photos from the top:
We got to the campground, closed this time of year, although people can stay here if they want to anyway. It looks like what happens is that people just move their trailers here, claim a spot, and then maybe come up on the weekends. It was actually kind of a weird feeling. We felt like we were camping in an used RV lot.
Fortunately we got a nice spot. By the next morning, it appeared that there was only one other campsite that had been occupied that night. Not sure why the Park Forest would allow this, but maybe there is some reason we don't understand. If other people traveling through like us wanted to stay here, there wouldn't have been room for them, even though the campground was, in reality, empty.
We got set up, checked out the pit toilets (clean), got inside the camper, and the rains, winds, and thunderstorms hit us.
That afternoon, outside our camper, we saw moose. Eventually we identified four of them--two mothers and two youngsters. They spent the afternoon and early evening munching away on plants not 30 yards from our camper. We kept our distance, knowing that the mothers would not be happy if we got too close to their babies. I have only seen moose one other time in my life, as a child in Yellowstone, and Vicky has never seen them. And yet here we are, 30 yards from four of them, in a deserted campground 9500 feet high in the Bighorn Forest.
That night the storms continued unabated until about 2:00 in the morning, when they moved East, and a full moon came out. Our camper shook in the rain that pelted us with all it could. The next morning it was very cold. We were glad we had heat.
Remember two days ago when we were sweating in 94 degree heat?
A road trip means making constant adjustments. That's what is part of the adventure. Because we made them we saw some jaw-droppingly beautiful country and four moose.
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