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Published: December 31st 2011
We had a wonderful night sleep and a very welcome shower, walked the dog and Dee had a special treat. The restroom had a utility sink with hot and cold water and she got to do the dishes with some elbow room. We were packed up and off by 9:20. A few things started to fall, mainly the hats, so Dee ended up with both hats on her head. Picture…We drove on 80 west for a few miles then headed south on Rt 789, just a 2 lane road that was fairly straight. It was antelope heaven. I never saw so many and after a while they were just plain scary, would they jump in the road or not. Going 60 mph it would make a terrible mess!
The landscape changed but not as suddenly as it had before. It is fairly dry here with just scrubby grasses and oil wells, or were they gas wells, we never did find out.
Our road became Rt 13 in CO and we followed it to Craig where we turned left onto Rt 40, a scenic highway running along the Yampa River. It wasn’t much of a river, hidden at times under
grasses, but the valley was green with cattle and horses. We reached Steamboat Springs and found the visitors center where they gave us some suggestions for lunch. We parked on the street in town and took the dog for a walk and window shopped. One of the store owners came out and invited us in with the dog, apparently they are welcome in most places out west. We enjoyed her shop then headed out to find a lunch spot. There was a neat little place with an upstairs, outside overlooking the river so that is where we ate. It was a little cool but the sun was bright and kept us warm, along with the beer.
Back on the road we continued east on 40 and finally got to Grand Lake. We were so upset to see the trees dead, almost all of them. There is a pine bark beetle that bores under the bark and sucks the trees dry. The winters have been warmer in the last few years so they live through the winter where in the past they died in winter. SO sad..
We found our campground and picked a spot as we were almost
the only camper there. We went for a walk and saw lots of deer prints and beautiful aspens turning orange and yellow. This campground had cell coverage and internet AND hot showers. We were in heaven. It was starting to get real cold outside so we made dinner and hit the sack. Oscar covered up before we got to bed. Picture….
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