Rick and Noreen

Rick created a 4-day/3-night loop trip: 566 miles  We started out early Monday July 8th, on Rick's birthday. We make every effort to support local restaurants (vs. franchises) however, we tried a new place called "Starvin Arvin's" - JETHRO SIZED PORTIONS!!! Rick's breakfast ham rested on the rim of his plate! Noreen chose a cinnamon roll as her side-option.  We stopped at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park outside Montrose for a few hours before we headed up north on a scenic drive to McClure pass. Night-One: McClure Pass, dispersed camping. Dispersed camping is free camping with no facilities of any kind on BLM or Forest service land. Day-2, Noreen's birthday (July 9th)  Marble, CO: breakfast @ "The Inn at Raspberry Ridge". The Inn had such a cool vibe, just a handful of folks around. These lil po-dunk places and towns are so cool. We then drove the 4x4, high-clearance only  road to The Crystal Mill. Yes, you read correctly, but trucks can...

On a previous day trip, we had driven from Hwy 145, over the mountains to Purgatory, Colorado. During that day trip, we marked a "Favorite" camp spot on the GPS with intent to return a few weeks later and stay for a couple of nights. This campsite has incredible views of a valley and mountain peaks! We also knew that this campsite was right next to the Colorado Trail #520:  segment 27. Upon our arrival, we were greeted with the spectacular view we remembered, and a curious deer. The map below shows our route from Hwy 145 (just about three miles north of Priest Gulch), up Roaring Forks Rd (#435) to the Divide road (#564), and our campsite at the end, 14 miles up.     Below is "Thundra" (thank you to those who suggested names) parked at the edge of the valley. The Colorado Trail runs right through just 15 feet in front of "Thundra". We encountered nine hikers trekking along the trail. Greg was our first. We shot the breeze for a few minutes and then, gifted...