JEEPIN’

Jeepin’ the Rocky mountains is a continuous chain of marvelous sights. Our time off is spent exploring and muttin’ aroun’ in the Jeep. Here is a peek.

This road dropped off down into Idaho Springs. It was a first gear drive, all the way down.

The Bald Mountain Trading Post was closed as we passed through on our way to the parachute steep drop down into Idaho Springs.

This remote, ancient Rocky Mountain mining town had way more to see than we had time for. We will be back to see more of Nevadaville Colorado.

ECHO

Echo Lake campground in Clear Creek Ranger District, is up pretty high, but it is worth every minute  of the very beautiful drive.

Click photos for a better look.

Click the photo for a view that will let you read the sign with all the details about North America’s highest highway.

That is echo lake in the background behind the sign.

So, how high is it, one might ask ? High enough that the University of Denver has a High altitude research laboratory located there !

Betty and I were sight seeing in tee shirts. There was snow under all of the trees. We didn’t tarry outside of the Jeep’s warm interior for very long.

Seven miles of steep and very twisty highway to get back down to Idaho Springs, mostly in second and third gear, with the engine holding back.

I sure do like the jeep’s new five speed automatic transmission that shifts electronicly, making the long descent in lower gears easier.

MICROBURST

It looks good from the front. but        .  .  .   . . . .

The errant microburst has downed timber all over the campground.

A contractor has cut up the timber into  camper manageable lengths for firewood.

And the slash has been stacked out of the way.

Columbine campground, 9200 feet up in the front range of the rocky mountains.

It will be home sweet home as we are off of the grid for a little over one hundred days !

This is our fourth Spring/Summer of getting paid to camp in the Rocky Mountains.

SIGNS

One of the first things that we saw as we arrived at our new campground assignment,

was the signs of off season vandalism.

Guess who’s tax dollars will be spent,

replacing and repairing all

of these signs.

Kind of a sad state of affairs.