On Sunday, we left Fort Collins about 9:30 AM, arriving in Walden about noon. We had lunch at the Mad Moose Cafe; We waited a long time for lunch, as the restaurant was very busy, with lots of tourists and motorcyclists in town. We drove over Muddy Pass and Rabbit Ears pass, through the city of Steamboat Springs, to Steamboat Lake State Park. Our campsite was on the Arnica Loop, and was appropriately covered with Arnica Flowers (Moose Ear). It was quite nice, with a mix of Aspen and Pine trees nearby. The sunset was red, due to fires.
On Monday, we explored the park some, as well as the historical village of Hahns Peak, and then headed to Steamboat Springs, which Sandi had never seen. We had a good lunch at Cinco de Mayo, Michoacan style Mexican food. We walked across the bridge over the Yampa River, watching tubers float down. We visited Howelson Hill, admiring the ski jumps. Apparently they jump on Tuesday mornings, starting around 8 am, sliding on plastic instead of snow. We also watched some young members of the ski club doing exercises. There are would-be-Olympians in town; people from all over the US come to Steamboat to train.
We visited the town bookstore, as well as the F. M. Light western store, 100 years old. We had ice cream at the Soda Fountain, and then headed back to the park, stopping to check out Pearl Lake. Pearl Lake is a smaller park, with a smaller lake, with smaller and fewer campsites, but quite nice. There were many people on rented stand up paddleboards.
After a dinner of hamburger, we headed towards Steamboat Lake dam to do some fishing. Richard had no luck, but we did see and hear some Sandhill Cranes.
On Tuesday, we drove downhill to the state wildlife area on the elk river. Richard did some fly fishing; he was pretty rusty, and had no bites. We gave some travel advice to some folks from Indiana. We stopped at the Clark store for ice cream. In the evening, we walked from the campground down to the lake; Richard fished, and had one fish on, but it got off... We saw some deer in and around the campground.
On Wednesday, we headed north. Our first stop was in Columbine, a mining town that became a rustic resort. We chatted with the owner's son. Richard solved a puzzle for them related to a mysterious piece of equipment, which he recognized as a rain gauge. They get 300 inches of snow a year. We drove to an old mine, now plugged. We continued into the Routt National Forest, driving forest roads 500 and 550. It was quite beautiful, a mix of pine and aspen, with an occasional large clearing, that they call a park. We had a nice lunch at the Hahns Peak Cafe, with a great view of the lake and mountains. We headed over to Pearl Lake, where Richard fished, unsuccessfully. We chatted with the ranger about fire bans and life jackets. In the evening we drove to Sage Flats, for more fishing practice. Richard had one fish on and two nibbles. Sandi took a hike on the Willow Creek trail. The weather changed as the day went on, from sunny to overcast.
On Thursday, our schedule was dictated by a business conference call that Sandi had at 1 PM. We took it easy in the morning, and then headed for Steamboat Springs. We stopped at a fishing store for a line nipper, and Sandi bought some T-shirts as gifts. Richard dropped Sandi off at the Starbucks, where she would take her call, while Richard drove into town for lunch. It was a bit of a challenge to park the rig, but Richard found a place and walked to the Back Door Grille. Richard noticed that his waitress, Nicole, seemed to be particularly good; when he started asking detailed questions about the tip system he discovered that Nicole was actually the operations manager, filling in, and of course knew all the details. With the high cost of housing in Steamboat, the cooks get around $20/hr and then 3% of gross sales as well. The servers no longer share tips with wait staff, due to Colorado law and the 3%. When Sandi texted that her meeting was about over, Richard ordered a bison burger to go for Sandi, and drove back to pick her up.
Our drive home was somewhat rainy, but not difficult. The nice touch was seeing a moose at a distance on Cameron pass.
