July 7 – July 10, 2023
Written By: J.Couch
Day one – We left Denver around 3:30pm and headed west on 285 through Conifer. We made it to Kenosha pass around 5:30pm mainly due to traffic getting out of town. We camped at the Kenosha Campground on the west side of 285, there is also an east side too but we did not drive over there to check out that side. This is dry camping, no power or water, ha, we are really roughing it in a trailer. They do have pit bathrooms if you didn’t bring your own, but we brought our own, so no need for that. We set up camp and ate our sandwiches from Vinh Xuong Bakery, Heather had picked up earlier in the day. While we were eating, a lady came by, she was hiking the Colorado Trail that passed near where we were camping. She wanted to stop and chat, she just wanted to talk to someone for a while. Initially she said that she was only going to be about 10 minutes and that she needed to head on, she ended up staying for at least 30 minutes. She was from San Antonio and was on an adventure on her own, she started out at Waterton Canyon just west of Chatfield Reservoir a few days prior. She was headed southwest along the 567 miles trail to Durango. She packed up and headed out and we made our way to the trailer to call it a day.
Day Two – We got up fairly early the next morning and since it was cold and we didn’t have any power, other than battery, that means the convenient Keurig doesn’t work. So we decided get some coffee along the way. Kenosha pass sits at 10,070 feet, so even though it was warm when we went to bed it cooled off pretty good during the night. We headed west towards Fairplay and ended up stopping in Buena Vista, about 30 minutes away, at a small coffee shop. We got some coffee to go with our vegan muffins that Heather had brought with us. We were off again.
We made it into Gunnison around noon and decided to see if we could check in early. They did have our spot open and we were able to drop the trailer. We were staying at the Tall Texan RV Park just north of Gunnison. Not a bad campground and the staff was very friendly. One word of advise, don’t get a spot right next to the road going through the campground. It was very dusty every time someone drove in and out of the campground. We set up camp, had some lunch and then headed back into Gunnison to look around. We did a quick up and down of main street looking in the shops and art galleries. They had a sign out on the sidewalk that stated there was a first Friday Art Walk happening from 5-8. We thought that might be fun to come back and check that out. We headed back to camp to have some dinner and relax for a bit before going back out for the evening. We drove back into town to check out the first Friday Art Walk, which seemed to be a bust, there was nothing out on the sidewalks to hint that there was anything different than a normal Friday night in Gunnison. From there we decided to drive down to the Blue Mesa Reservoir and see some of the campgrounds that are along the lake. It was a beautiful drive and we were surprised to see how high the water was. We have never been down there before but seeing some pictures on Google maps the water was very low. Back to camp for the evening to wind down and watch a little Netflix before heading off to dream land.
Day Three – We were up early again and had some breakfast in camp then headed out for Crested Butte to check out the wild flowers. We took the 30-minute drive up to Crested Butte and found a parking spot. It was fairly easy since we were there before a lot of places even opened. Today is our 14-year anniversary and what a way to celebrate than in Crested Butte. We walked up and down Elk Street and looked in the shops that were open or just opening for the day. We ended up at the visitor center, the gentleman that was working there recommended that we should go down to the depot and talk to the ladies there to find out the best hikes to see the flowers. We ended up driving down to the depot and talked to the ladies working there. One of the ladies recommended the three main hikes that I think are the easiest and most popular.
We decided to try a beginner or intermediate trail that was southeast of the town and not too far away, called Brush Creek trail. Luckily, we found a parking spot right up front by the trailhead because I think by this time a lot of people had headed back to town for lunch. We took the 3 plus mile hike out and back and saw tons of wild flowers in yellows, purples and reds. The sky was a clear blue and the hills were green from all the snow and rain that they have had this year. It was a beautiful hike and definitely worth it. We headed back to camp and ready for dinner, after dinner we went over to Garlic Mikes to hang out on their river bar and listen to the live music that they have there on the weekends. It has been a great day with great weather and scenery. Time to head back to camp and turn in for the night. We will be up early again tomorrow to head back up to Crested Butte to do another hike and find some lunch in town.
Day Four – Some coffee, muffins and some fruit and we are off again. Wild flowers here we come. This time we headed straight to the Snodgrass trailhead to get an early morning hike in before it got too warm and too crowed. When we got there it was already filling up but we found a spot to park and headed up the mountain. It was a great hike and there were lots of flowers. We did see some of the columbine flowers that were white on top with the purple bottom. We made it through the flowers and up to the tree line then headed across the mountain to another trail that took us back down to the parking lot. Once you get out of the flowers and into the trees the crowd thins down quite a bit, but you are also at about 10,000 feet so it gets a little harder to hike way up there. The air is just a tad bit thin. It was nice to feel like we were the only ones on the mountain. We made it back to the car after about a two-hour hike and headed back into town to check out the Sunday market that they were having on the west end of Elk Street and find something to eat.
The Sunday market had fresh veggies from local farms, art and jewelry from local artists. For lunch we ended up at a place called The Secret Stash. It’s an eclectic gourmet pizza shop with many Indian decorations that were collected by the owners over the years. We had scoped out their menu a day before and they had a few vegan options that we thought try out. See the blog for this place here. After lunch we looked around town and bought a few things to take back as reminders of the fun weekend that we have experienced here in Crested Butte.
We headed back towards camp to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet. We played a few games of Rummikub and snacked since we were still pretty full from our lunch. Tonight, we actually built a fire and sat around the campfire for a while, but it was kind of warm and we had to put pants and long sleeves on since the mosquitoes were so bad. It was not really that much fun. I was ready to go inside and call it a night. We had a great day and really enjoyed seeing this part of the colorful state of Colorado. Tomorrow we are headed back to reality.
Day Five – We slept in as best as we could, made some breakfast and broke down camp. It was time to head back towards home. Along the way we wanted to stop at Monarch pass and see if their gondola was open. It wasn’t, when we came through a few days ago it was closed down due to high winds, it was closed again due to the high winds. Not sure how often it is really open since it was windy both times we were up there. It would have been a great view from up there, maybe next time we are through there. We continued on and made a quick stop in Salida to look around, it was warm and sunny for a bit but the weather soon turned and it clouded up and got really, really windy. We headed out of there as quicky as we could. Back up over Kenosha pass, no moose sightings, and we were headed back towards home. It was a great long weekend and we got to see a lot of beautiful areas in Colorado. Get off the couch and wander. There is so much to see and experience out there and we only have so much time on this planet. Make the best of it.
Thanks for wandering with us,
The Wandering Couchs
