We headed east along Highway 70 and saw Fly Fishermen all along the Eagle River. It was beautiful but with lots of traffic and we were happy to turn north on 131 to Steamboat Springs. As we turned we saw two eagles in the tree watching the river. The river was named well.
We were back to open range and cattle crossing signs as we climbed up and down through the mountains.
Steamboat Springs was a very pretty ski resort town with mountains all around, ski lodges and incredibly beautiful homes. The town had many quaint shops and sporting goods stores, not to mention the river, parks and a great bike trail. Everyone was out walking.
We parked in a bank parking lot as we saw another RV there, put Ben on a leash and strolled the streets.
We stopped at a taco stand and got take out and went back to the trailer in time to see a guy's car being towed away. We decided to forget enjoying lunch there, eat in the truck and get moving.
Brad had mentioned seeing Strawberry Hot Springs and we decided rather than just hurrying on, we should give it a go. We put it in the GPS and it routed us around to the other side of the river, through a residential area and right back by the bank parking lot. We were laughing so hard, that we missed our turn as the GPS lady kept yelling, "Make a U turn! Make a U turn!" We did see some interesting homes and more of the beautiful bike path.
Anyway, we curved around back roads heading towards the hot springs and finally turned up the steep, narrow gravel road with tight switchbacks. Looking at the navigation screen in the truck and seeing those turns, I understand why they call them hairpin. Part way up signs warned of the steep grade and only four wheel drive vehicles were permitted. Keep in mind we have a truck with a four wheel drive, but we were pulling a 24 foot travel trailer with no shoulder to the road and no place to turn around. Bob kept going and I kept whining and he said, "I have to go up, I can't back down these curves." Meanwhile college aged kids were flying by on the way up in Jeeps or similar vehicles as they gawked at us in disbelief. Finally we saw a no trespassing sign on a drive into a small ranch. We trespassed and got turned around and went back down with brakes whining right along with me.
Whew! It was such beautiful country but hard to appreciate till we were safely down the mountain. We never did see the hot springs, but Brad told us it was a beautiful spot with a natural pool formed by the hot water from the spring and the cold water from the river. Maybe we can see it another time.
We watched our navigation to get out of town trying to avoid the town center and take back roads and I'll be darned if we didn't come out right by that bank again. We did get a couple of miles down the road and realized we needed gas and guess what. There we were by the bank again. I was happy to leave Steamboat springs behind.
We went up over Rabbit Ear Pass and drove through every kind of landscape again from open range to rocky peaks to tall timber mountains. Driving down these highways, the scenery seems to constantly change with each area having it's own beauty.
We finally saw seven antelope and that encouraged us to keep carefully looking. We then saw many Mule Deer.
We were getting tired and looking for a camp and pulled into the Moose Ranger Staion which was part of the State Park.
We got a great spot in the Ranger Lake Campground that even had electricity. Ben loved it! We had a large private site with a trail into the woods beside us. The Ranger also told us of a drive we could take to look for moose and elk.
Right after we settled in and were eating dinner, a guy and his son pulled in and said we had taken his reserved spot. The Ranger had told us we could take any open spot and we didn't realize some were tagged as reserved. He was very gracious and told us we could stay since we were leaving in the morning. He camped next to us for the night. We were so relieved as it just seemed like too much work to move.
We took a long drive and never saw elk or moose but nearing our camp in the dark, we twice came around curves to have deer right in the middle of the road. Poor Ben got thrown on the floor, but was ok. He did give Bob a look.
The Stars were brilliant, we were in the woods and we were happy to settle in for a lovely quiet night.
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