After leaving Pinedale, WY we headed into Colorado to start our journey south back to Texas. We had decided to follow closely the Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route or the BDR as it is commonly known by mostly motorcycle drivers. The route utilizes a variety of mainly unpaved forest roads that cross mountain passes, traverse rocky roads and water crossings, and generally takes the less traveled route from what most people do. We found the route to be somewhat challenging with the steep rocky passes but the views and lack of people not to mention the countless rivers and creeks, an abundance of unbelievable wildflowers, and the stunning landscape made it all worth it.
Our first night was at a dispersed site north of Steamboat Springs in the Medicine Bow Routt NF. We called it the aspen campsite as the pictures will attest to.
We hung our hummingbird feeders and were visited by rufous hummingbirds, one even flew into the van! The next morning we had pine grosbeaks visit us, they too seemed to be attracted to the van, hopping on the tires and bumpers.
That day took us over Lynx Pass at 8953 feet and we ended up camping in another dispersed site at nearly 10,000 feet on Teepee Creek.
The following day we drove over Gore Pass at 9537 feet, the Colorado River Road which was very scenic following along side the Colorado River at times, and then we descended down to Ruedi Reservoir by way of a very rocky road called Crooked Creek Road. But along the way we enjoyed a wet water crossing, an historic stagecoach stop, meadows of flowers, cows in the forest, and meandering train tracks.
Our stop for the night was along the Frying Pan River at a National Forest Service campground near the Ruedi Reservoir.
One Response
What a great route. You get to see and go places that most people never think about