Deer Lake, Slumgullion, and Moose

We do not have ATT service here at the campground and drove into Montrose this past Wednesday to talk to ATT and also Verizon (picking up a separate line if the dollars worked out - not), and also picked up our car which was finally done.  Dave was feeling pretty punky so I drove us the 215 miles round trip to Montrose and back, getting home by 5pm.  Long, long day in the saddle, but - we have our car back, hopefully car problems are behind us.

This baby bear is visiting the campground every day, we think he
crosses the river right below us to come up - he's always wet.

He (could be a she) is a cutie, love the pigeon toed walk

We have had excitement here in the campground just about every morning (and probably night) with a young bear visiting.  Little scary to see, Dave got pictures of it while it was right beside our RV, and other mornings we have alerted the camp host who is parked 3 over, a group of people shush the bear out of the park.  Clapping hands, yelling, just nudging it out and gone.  If the bear is reported to the authorities, they will come and tranquilize it and tag it it shows up again in a ‘peopled’ area, they will euthanize it.  We all feel that is not right - this is the bear’s home and we are intruding, so we are diligent in shushing it away.

Lake San Cristobal, right behind our campground

Slumgullion Pass and the slide

View from Windy Point, looking north, snow still on mountain

Rocky Mountain High, in Colorado

By Thursday Dave was really under the weather and this little town has a Med Center/small hospital so we did a little visit.  He had a viral infection, just take some over the counter meds which we picked up at the local grocery store, and we just chilled out for last couple days, letting the virus run it’s course.  We both feel that we were run down, still have the mental effects of me almost drowning and with the both of us helping our neighbors through the fire near their summer home (traumatic for us - must have been really bad for them). And the commotion of entertaining everyone, being at high altitudes, being in very smoky environment due to wildfires - no wonder one of us crashed.

Start of our off-road, Slumgullion to the left

Fir trees this side of Slum are devastated from the beetle infestation

Trees dead behind the beaver pond

This is beautiful country!  We think we found a summer get-away location - we both feel that we could come to Lake City late spring and then return late fall back to Arizona.  We feel very comfortable here and the scenery is breathtaking.  Lots of wildlife to see, lots of off-road places to visit, would not get boring.  Lovely little town.

Spotted Momma and baby moose

Hello, baby

Yesterday we took a little drive up and over Slumgullion Pass which is right above us - we can see the road as it winds up above the mountain.  We will have to drive this when we leave here, will not have the car hooked up which means I will drive separately, not take pictures.  We did the stops along the way, saw Slumgullion Pass at Windy Point and was able to view our campground from above.

This was abandoned? Still had furniture in it

We  drove a few miles beyond Windy Point Lookout to the cut-off for Deer Lakes which is an area everyone said that we should see moose.  We had our hopes up and started down the dirt road.  Yep - we saw a Mom and baby moose grazing in the wetlands to our right.  Big animals!  And deer grazing, lots of birds.

We followed the Forest Service road east and then it turned northward towards the Powderhorn Mountain area.  Just amazing scenery.  Hunting lodges, ranches, some abandoned homesteads, lots of private homes tucked in the valley between the towering mountains.  We wondered if in the wintertime they snowmobile out to the main road just to get shopping or mail.  The Forest Service roads typically are not maintained so it must be only for the hearty folks to live there full-time.

My kind of neighborhood watch!

In the Powderhorn Valley - hunting lodge boarded up till fall

Round-em up

Lots of hunting lodges

2 legged moose

Rocky Mountain Biological Lab - Cebolla Creek Campus

The road was used by dirt bikers, ATVers, cars, trucks, even saw a bicyclist - wow - passing by.  And again - a truck with a horse trailer and his dogs herding cows along.  Many campgrounds (pit toilet only) were in use by tenters (I would not do a tent because of bears) and RVers.  Some campgrounds right by a lake.  Would be amazing to see the stars at night.  Rivers running by, there are no wolves in this part of the country however I understand they want to introduce them and the ranchers here are pretty upset.  Yesterday in town there was a pro-wolf organization who brought wolves in cages and had set up  information booths to inform the public about the animal.  Was attended by lots of people, but then wondered with the attendees we saw, how many of them were tourists versus the full-time folks (about 400 live in Lake City year round).  Love this town!