Day 1 of VACA-Most beautiful drive ever out of Flag. The volcanic craters were green! The clouds were rolling low over the rolling hills, mountains, sandstone crags we passed through all the day long. North of Delores we took the Dunton loop which is where we took the pics of these lovely wildflowers. It was so pretty.
We arrived in Telluride before dark. We zipped into town to grab a climbing guide and then hit the Ophir Pass Road where all the free camping is supposed to be -- ofcourse that was a million years ago when Rich lived there. Now, there are many massive homes and even more no trespassing signs. We were screwed. Found a mini hut with an open space next to it on a hill. As soon as we got the tent up a torrential downpour started that lasted through the night.
For some reason we never remember to seam seal our tent when we're at home and everytime we go camping it rains. Hrmm. I didn't remember to velcro the tent stakes in and so after sitting on the porch of the tiny, I mean miniscule, cabin we ran through kiddie pool sized puddles to reach the tent. There were several leaks, but nothing serious. After I velcro-ed all was well. It rained through the night with screaming bouts of thunder and lightning.
We arrived in Telluride before dark. We zipped into town to grab a climbing guide and then hit the Ophir Pass Road where all the free camping is supposed to be -- ofcourse that was a million years ago when Rich lived there. Now, there are many massive homes and even more no trespassing signs. We were screwed. Found a mini hut with an open space next to it on a hill. As soon as we got the tent up a torrential downpour started that lasted through the night.
For some reason we never remember to seam seal our tent when we're at home and everytime we go camping it rains. Hrmm. I didn't remember to velcro the tent stakes in and so after sitting on the porch of the tiny, I mean miniscule, cabin we ran through kiddie pool sized puddles to reach the tent. There were several leaks, but nothing serious. After I velcro-ed all was well. It rained through the night with screaming bouts of thunder and lightning.
Day 2 -
Not drenched but slightly damp. Coffee, tea, and some drying out...
Checked out the Ophir boulders but they were wet so we went to a small south facing bouldering area called Society Turn, but it was pretty hot (because the sun finally came out). Then we went to the mine boulders which were super nice conglomerate. The only problem was they were damp and there were 40 million bugs attacking us. I opted to take a hike to the waterfall, while Rich reminsced the good ole' days at the boulders.
We came down and cooled our feet in the cold stream and talked about what we should do. It looked like rain all day, dark clouds passing between periods of intense sun and humidity. We decided to go to the Ophir boulders again b/c they probably had dried out. They had and we had an excellent time on the sandstone boulders nestled in the pines and Aspens.
Again we searched for a camp spot in some of the old places - to no avail. We ended up in the clearing next to tiny cabin. This night we were able to stay up longer, until the bugs started biting and we dove for the refuge of our tent. It rained during the night.
We came down and cooled our feet in the cold stream and talked about what we should do. It looked like rain all day, dark clouds passing between periods of intense sun and humidity. We decided to go to the Ophir boulders again b/c they probably had dried out. They had and we had an excellent time on the sandstone boulders nestled in the pines and Aspens.
Again we searched for a camp spot in some of the old places - to no avail. We ended up in the clearing next to tiny cabin. This night we were able to stay up longer, until the bugs started biting and we dove for the refuge of our tent. It rained during the night.
