"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood... And sorry I could not travel both. I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference." --Robert Frost

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Boondocking in Nathrop

Nathrop, Colorado
Boondocking - National Forest


A new favorite among our boondocking spots is here in Nathrop.  Only 2 miles west of Hwy 285 in the beautiful pines of CR270/272.  Easy in and so close to endless hiking and bike trails in Buena Vista and not too far from Salida.  You can get water and dump at a nearby RV park and there is propane, gas and supplies in town.
Our new neighbors
 
 
Plenty of shade and sun for solar.
 
 
Great Verizon and AT&T without boosters.
 

We were here for 2 weeks.  Below is what kept us busy during out time here.

Salida Farmer's Market

The best cinnamon bread ever!

Our goodies from the Farmers Market
Some Hiking
  
 
There was some geocaching too.  One was hidden in a cave.  Hurley volunteered to check it out.
 

  

A small beaver dam.
A hike up one trail led us to this memorial for a beloved grandpa.  Must've been his favorite trail?


We found our 900th geocache on this hike!

A Road Trip

Chalk Canyon
We took a dirt road up in the canyon and came upon some interesting things.  One was this chimney out in the forest.  Must've been a nice cabin/homestead at one point.  And an old cabin by the river.
 
 
I love cemeteries.  Especially old, old cemeteries.  We found two today.  Iron City Cemetery was particularly interesting. 

 
It's a very tidy cemetery with white picket fencing and old wooden carvings.


 
There is an index to the deceased with descriptions of where they are from or how they died.  Most died working at the Mary Murphy Mine.  Most were from Europe.

 

 
There was a Children's section where some graves were outlined in fancy wrought iron cradles.

  



While most died long ago, here is one of the newer burials.  Not sure what all the pottery shards were about, but it must be an interesting story.

 
Not too far away is the Iron City Cabin.  It was built by the Browns in the 1800s and can be rented.

 
On the way out of town we watched some kids learning how to rock climb.

 
And More Hiking

 
We hiked this trail from the other end last time we were here.  Now were doing it from this end.

 
Back in Chalk Canyon.

  


 
 
You have to carefully hike over the slide area.


Hurley drinking from his hiking water bowl.

Whatcha lookin at?

Someone was tired after all that hiking.
 
 
More neighbors.  Pronghorn and the bull that always hung out by the road.


 


 
We drove through Browns Canyon and Castle Rock for a little more hiking and geocaching.

 
The Castle Rock area had these rocky "castles" that jutted up in the gentle grassy meadows.  Some of the rocky areas were fenced off to protect nesting Golden Eagles.



And a little Socializing
While we are out and about we love to talk to the local people and meet others who are just passing through.  At a local distillery, Deerhammer, we met a young couple who were on vacation.



 
Mike and Lauren were from Texas.  We were having a nice conversation when we all decided we were hungry and headed out to have dinner together.

 
Well, we ended up having appetizers at The Lariat Saloon downtown, then had pizza at Eddyline Brewpub.  What a fun time we all had.  We meet the nicest people on the road.


Next Up
Time in Crested Butte
 

16 comments:

  1. Looks like a great place to hang out for a couple weeks. 900 caches! You guys are putting us to shame!

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    1. We actually have just over 1000 :-) This is a great boondocking spot! We're actually here now (again) and just had dinner with Dave and Dianne!

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  2. Wow, what an awesome boondocking site.

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  3. We just left Cascade Campground along Chalk Creek yesterday. 900 wow! We are now in Creede and our cache of the day was missing. I guess I didn't read the remarks before we went to look but found a great waterfall. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Just missed ya! We're planning to be in Creede in a week or so! Where are you camped? We're hoping for some boondocking.

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    2. We are at Mountain View RV Park but there is some nice boondocking up CR 504. As you enter Creede, stay left on hwy 149 around 2 quick turns, on the right is the Bachelor Loop CR 504. There are signs for wildlife viewing and cemetery there. Go 1.3 miles to Sunnyside Cutoff on the left. The road gets steep and narrow past there. There is also an area on the opposite end of the Bachelor Loop by the Willow Creek split but heavily traveled and lots of campers on top of each other on the weekends. Don't go up that road with your RV. I bet there are many more.

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    3. We are looking at Palisade, Crooked Creek and Rio Grand. Any advice on those? When do you leave?

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    4. Any of those should be fine. We just drove by them. We leave in a few days and have enjoyed our time here.

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  4. Another wonderful spot in beautiful Colorado:) What an interesting Cemetery. We enjoy visiting these old cemeteries, especially with information. Love Hurley's "water bowl!"

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    1. This little cemetery was special because of the intricate carvings all around and it's somewhat remote location.

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  5. Great photos and congrats on your 900th cache. Love seeing your boondocking spots. We need to spend more time in CO.

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    1. It's just beautiful here and so much to do! We're glad we stayed here all these months. Great boondocking spots!

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  6. I can see why this is a favorite spot and why you've returned! That slide looks very "challenging" :-) Nice to have a big, brave Hurley to scout the caves. Old cemeteries have such interesting stories - especially when someone takes the time to include the information like this one. There are so many old cemeteries here, that are also current cemeteries - they're in every little town!

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    1. Yes, brave Hurley! If nothing chases him out we figure it's then safe to go in ;-) We have loved all the old pioneer cemeteries here.

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  7. Whatever. Nice pic of you two though

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