Camping on the Uncompaghre
This weekend we finally got out for a camping trip. We headed south of town, through a canyon, and then up a gravelly road through many switchbacks to get to the Uncompaghre Plateau. Our first stop was Big Dominguez Canyon. There was a nice shady picnic area at the trailhead where we ate our lunch, then we set off on a hike into the canyon. Cailan said he needed a hiking stick like Mommy and Daddy have, so we found one for him. I was glad for my hiking poles on some of the loose, rocky descents, especially when I had Cailan on my back.
We saw lots of lizards, but the highlights for Cailan were a praying mantis (he spotted it on a rock before I did) and the cryptobiotic soil that was abundant all along the sides of the trail. We hiked about 4 miles into the canyon, then decided we needed to start back so we could find a place to camp before dark.
It was only 30 minutes on slow bumpy roads from where we hiked to where we camped, but the terrain was completely different. We camped in a valley that was covered in sage and tall grasses at the bottom, with aspen and spruce and a few ponderosas covering the tops of the hills. We set up our tent in a small grove of trees, with this as our view:
It started getting cold and dark, so we had to scurry to get our tent ready and then fix dinner. Cailan became cold and overtired before we were ready for bed, but Chris took him on a little walk to look at stars and that cheered him up. We could see soooo many of them, and I saw a shooting star. I put Cailan in long underwear and sweats and he seemed to stay warm in his new sleeping bag.
In the morning, we went biking. Chris took Cailan in the trailer to go look for cows; Cailan was very interested in the numbered ear tags the free range cows were wearing. I rode a singletrack trail that followed a little creek upstream - this was great for Utah, giving him plenty of chances to get a drink and to cool off. The trail was narrow and seldom used, and my legs got pretty scratched up by all the grass and sagebrush encroaching on the trail, but it was fun. After that, Cailan and I had lunch together while Chris took a turn on a trail.
We saw lots of lizards, but the highlights for Cailan were a praying mantis (he spotted it on a rock before I did) and the cryptobiotic soil that was abundant all along the sides of the trail. We hiked about 4 miles into the canyon, then decided we needed to start back so we could find a place to camp before dark.
It was only 30 minutes on slow bumpy roads from where we hiked to where we camped, but the terrain was completely different. We camped in a valley that was covered in sage and tall grasses at the bottom, with aspen and spruce and a few ponderosas covering the tops of the hills. We set up our tent in a small grove of trees, with this as our view:
It started getting cold and dark, so we had to scurry to get our tent ready and then fix dinner. Cailan became cold and overtired before we were ready for bed, but Chris took him on a little walk to look at stars and that cheered him up. We could see soooo many of them, and I saw a shooting star. I put Cailan in long underwear and sweats and he seemed to stay warm in his new sleeping bag.
In the morning, we went biking. Chris took Cailan in the trailer to go look for cows; Cailan was very interested in the numbered ear tags the free range cows were wearing. I rode a singletrack trail that followed a little creek upstream - this was great for Utah, giving him plenty of chances to get a drink and to cool off. The trail was narrow and seldom used, and my legs got pretty scratched up by all the grass and sagebrush encroaching on the trail, but it was fun. After that, Cailan and I had lunch together while Chris took a turn on a trail.
1 comments:
I've been catching up on your blog tonight - what wonderful scenery! Especially in comparison to the fields of corn surrounding us. I'm so envious!
And Cailan is getting quite large! I'm sure he'll be playing the snare drum before you know it!
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