Mineral Creek

Monday, June 22

This morning we headed south on CO 550, the Million Dollar Highway. A beautiful drive. Some articles I read talked about it being a hazardous road. I didn't find it like that at all. Both lanes were wide even in places with no road shoulder.  The most tense drives I can recall, are some of the steep and narrow roads accessing the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. They were build to accommodate two passing 1940's vintage cars and not motorhomes, large trucks, etc. plus some of the grades are over 10%.

I was always hoping I would not encounter a large truck on the road. The truckers didn't even slow down or make an attempt to pull over a little. 

Right now we are at the Anvil disbursed camping area. Right on the South Fork of Mineral  Creek. 

37.82117. -107.71959

Got real lucky on this site. We pulled into the area hoping  for a nice riverfront site. A women with a group traveling in a big 5th wheel waved us over and said they were packing to leave. We pulled off the road and waited. Got a really nice site.

Mineral Creek

Right now its us, a big fifth wheel with a couple and their two grandchildren from Oklahoma. We can just see them through the pines and a motorhome  parked across the creek. Very quiet.

Put the hummingbird feeder out. Attracted a few. Maybe more tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 23.

A nice couple from New Mexico pulled in this morning. They are looking for a campsite for their 5th wheel from this coming Friday through the July 4th holiday. They were thinking that it they got here this early in the week, they would have their choice of prime sites. They came up here last month on a scouting mission when most of the small roads were still snow covered. Their top two sites were already taken. 

This place is much like Owl Creek Pass where we just came from. People from NM and southern CO go to the mountains to escape the heat. Plus, the 4th of July weekend is approaching. Today alone, three campers pulled in, set up their equipment then left. 

They asked if we would mind if they parked the 5th wheel across from our site and park their truck on part of our site so as to stake their claim to the last really good waterfront site. Certainly. We told them we would be leaving here on Thursday and would spread their lawn chairs around to further solidify their claim. 

Now they are both going to see if their boss will let them take Thursday off. 😃

This is just the way it is camping in the CO mountains in summer. Easy during the week, packed on weekends.

Like Owl Creek Pass, for us this would be a Monday through Thursday sort of place. The weekends have to be a madhouse. 

I'm guessing that if you don't have your camping area established by about tomorrow, there will be nothing left for the 4th of July holiday.

We plan to be home by about July 1 so we won't have to deal with that.

Not much hummingbird action today. Two or three, that's about it.

Wednesday, June 24

  

Gopher and I took a nice walk up to a marshy area. Perfect for a moose but we didn't see any. Just a deer and a squirrel. 

The high iron content in the rock colors the water in the ponds.

People continue to drive through the area looking for a good spot for the upcoming holiday week. Not much left here.

In the morning we continue south towards Durango.