Three Corners

 

Aspen Motion Blur, Kaibab Plateau, Arizona

This adventure was conceived a year ago, when friends introduced me to the Crested Butte - Aspen - Paonia area of Colorado.  I kept thinking, “I could camp here,” so as soon as I got home the planning began.  Since my husband is feeling freer to travel (our house build is about done) and we have the wonder dog, the trip (to my great joy) morphed into another thing entirely.

 

We were 11 days on the road and mostly didn’t know where we’d be night to night.  I think I’m too much of a planner by nature, so it’s good to be out of my comfort zone. We found some phenomenal spots.  The only reservation was two nights in an Airbnb in Crested Butte for fishing, laundry, showers, and resupply of groceries and such.

Red aspen detail, Kaibab Plateau, AZ

Arizona’s North Kaibab Forest feels like home, so we started there.  Three nights in an area we can navigate by heart was lovely.  We hung out with friends and rather than our usual camps at viewpoints, stayed at places deep in the forest with aspens and solitude.  There are just so many people out camping these days; rude people and litterers.  Humbug.

Gunnison Forest, Colorado

After crossing into Colorado, we used the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) method of camping; something like, how about this BLM road?  We love the liberal rules about camping, and there are about 245 million acres of BLM land, mostly in the west. Our favorites were in the aspens and provided lots of places to hike and photograph.  One in the Gunnison Forest we called “Cow Camp,” and it would have been about perfect except (wait for it) for the cows.

Gothic Peak at dawn, Washington Gulch Road

 

Just outside Crested Butte, we enjoyed Washington Gulch Road.  A friend was traveling a similar route, and fortunately for us was a few days ahead.  She gave us a tip that the color was nice there.

Spot of red, Kebler Pass

I was particularly anticipating spending time on Kebler Pass again.  It was beautiful, indeed, but was uncomfortably crowded with fast drivers and loud campers.  We managed to find a place for one night and moved on.

In the boonies, Southern Utah

Our friend in Green River Utah walked us to Ray’s for a burger and fries, which was either really great or we had just been eating camp food too long.  From there we were looking for a place to stage so the last day’s drive wouldn’t kill us.  We were willing to settle for about anything not too close to the road but scored a spot with a view between Hite (Lake Powell) and Bear’s Ears.  It killed me to just drive through the latter, but that’s a whole trip for another time.

 

Incidentally, there were two wildlife sightings which I was too slow to document with photos. There was a moose in the San Juan Mountains, and a snowy owl in Crested Butte.  These are the things which get my blood moving.

 

Technically we did drive through New Mexico; on 0.9 miles of highway 160 near Four Corners.  I’m going to say that doesn’t count.  Hence, three corners.  Maybe next time.

 

There are more images in the Autumn in the West Gallery on the website.