Sept 3rd, 2023
Written By: J.Couch
We were able to sleep in a bit but woke up to the sound of the bubbling creek behind us. It was nice to wake up to that instead of fire trucks, ambulances and the hustle and bustle of the city. We took our time getting going, we sat by the creek, had some coffee and watched the sun start to peek over the trees. After a little breakfast we packed up and headed out. We headed west again towards the state park that we had visited the day before, but this way we wanted to see Rifle Gap State Park and the reservoir. We didn’t go into the campground but it looks like a big place up on a hill on the northern side of the lake. There are 89 sites that are open to campers year round.
From there we headed south into the town of Rifle just off I-70. We stopped at a junk store to look around and did a quick drive through the main part of town. Not a whole lot in Rifle, it is a small town. We headed west again towards Grand Junction.
We got to Grand Junction and did a drive through of the downtown area. The downtown is not very big and most of the stores were closed. We did wander through a few antique stores and art galleries but didn’t find anything we couldn’t live without. They have a nice downtown area with restaurants and shops but it was pretty quiet for a Sunday morning. We got some snacks out for the drive and headed south this time towards Montrose and Ridgeway.
After about an hour and a half drive, there were a few rain storms that were rolling through that helped cool things off and wash the Jeep and the trailer pretty good. We made it to Ridgeway State Park where we were camping for a few nights, we camped on the Dakota Terraces side. Again we dropped the trailer and set up camp. Made a quick dinner then headed south to soak in the hot pools of Orvis Hot Springs. It’s a very nice place that has been there for many years. Their pools are garden like settings with smaller pools scattered around the grounds. The main pool was warm but not scalding, I did hear that they do have a couple that were really hot but they were all full and we didn’t try those out. We stuck mainly to the big pool until it got dark and watched the stars start to come out. Keep in mind if you go here that clothing is optional and you may see some things that you can’t unsee. Hence, why I don’t have any pictures of that place, you are not allowed to bring cameras in. That is a good thing. Once we had a good warm soak and the fingers were wrinkled, it was time to head back to camp.
When we got back the stars were coming out in force and the milky way was shining in all its glory. I sat outside for a bit and watched the planes and satellites race across the sky. Well another great day was done and it was time to hit the hay. Tomorrow we are adventuring down to Ouray for a hike and some more hot springs action. Good night.
Thanks for wandering with us,
The Wandering Couchs
