Grand Lake, Colorado - September 11th to 17th, 2020

Following the theme of most of the year of 2020, we found ourselves rolling with the punches again. Our plan was to stay three nights at Winding River Resort near Grand Lake, then three nights at Timber Creek Campground inside Rocky Mountain National Park. After discovering that Timber Creek Campground was closed, we found ourselves scrambling for a place to camp those three nights.

We were coming from Bogan Flats Campground near Marble, Colorado. The first order of business was to drive into Carbondale to obtain a cell signal and get updates on wildfires and road conditions. We parked in the library parking lot and connected to the internet. The Cameron Peak Fire had grown from the 50,000 acres we last had heard to over 100,000 acres. However, the fire was relatively calm and stable due to the 15 inches of snow that had fallen in the area. Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park was still closed, no longer due to smoke and poor visibility, but now because there were five to six foot drifts of snow across the road. The decision we made was to head to Winding River Resort where we had reservations for the next three nights. Then we'll play it by ear to see if we want to spend the three nights after that at Timber Creek Campground, assuming it is open. 

On the way, we went through Glenwood Canyon to check out the fire damage from the Grizzly Creek Fire. We had Hanging Lake hiking permits for the previous Wednesday, but the area is still closed due to the fire. As we drove through on I-70, we could see large areas of burnt trees and some charring on the concrete sides of I-70, but we saw no structures damaged. However, other than the rest areas and the Shoshone Generating Station, there are not many structures along I-70 in the canyon. 

We stopped in the Eagle River Park for a picnic lunch before heading north on highway 131. Google Maps routed us on county road 1, which is mostly a dirt road, but our paper map indicated it was a scenic route, part of the Colorado Headwaters Scenic ByWay, so we took it. The dirt road was in pretty good shape, just a little bit of washboarding in places. It was a scenic drive on a road we've never been on before. It took us through Gore Canyon over to Colorado 9, just south of Kremmling. US 40 out of Kremmling brought us east to US 34. 

On our way north on 34, we took a little side trip to check out Arapaho National Recreational Area on the south side of Lake Granby. It is run by the US Forest Service and there are several campgrounds at the southeast end of the lake near Monarch Lake. County Road 6 runs through a Forest Service fee area. We stopped and read the information board. We discovered our annual national parks pass, America the Beautiful, is valid for the Forest Service, so we did not need to pay anything extra to drive back to the campgrounds. Too bad we didn't think to check our annual pass before when we were trying to picnic along the Platte River back in August on our way to Mueller State Park. Oh well, we live and learn.

Grand Lake is just before Winding River Resort. We drove through town and stopped to check out the strength of the cell signals. Left Buddy (LB) needed to have a conference call the next day, so we wanted to make sure we had a good place to make that call. The signals were pretty strong where we parked next to the library. We were good to go.

Winding River Resort is 1.5 miles down county road 491 from the Rocky Mountain National Park Kawuneeche Visitor Center. Our family has tent camped there numerous times, but it's been almost ten years since the last time we stayed there. Both our kids used to go to Camp Chief Ouray summer camp in the YMCA of the Rockies at Snow Mountain Ranch. Winding River Resort became our traditional place to camp on the weekend we were dropping one of our kids off at Camp Chief Ouray and again on the weekend we were picking them up. Winding River is a great base for day trips and hikes into Rocky Mountain National Park and a short drive into Grand Lake for shops, restaurants, ice cream, or renting a kayak or pedal boat for an hour. For several years we would watch a musical at the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theater in Grand Lake. They bring in some amazing talent and we thoroughly enjoyed every musical we attended. Unfortunately, they are not open this year due to COVID, but hopefully they will be back next summer.

Winding River Resort caters to families and horses. They have a horse barn where you can go on a trail ride. Several of the camp sites have small corrals next to them to put guest horses. Our daughter used to love horses. In fact, the last time we were at Winding River was to pick her up from a two week Wrangler In Training program at Camp Chief Ouray. We thought she would have gotten her fill of horses after two weeks, but she and Right Buddy (RB) went on a Winding River trail ride the weekend we picked her up from camp. RB enjoyed watching our daughter in action as she helped a young child who was struggling to handle his horse. 

There is a small petting zoo behind the barn with ducks, goats, pigs, and sheep. There is the usual campground facilities, like playgrounds, a basketball court, and a frisbee golf course. During most summers, they have a pancake breakfast and ice cream social on the weekends which we enjoyed as a family. The pancake breakfast is all-you-can-eat, but we never knew anyone who would eat more than one because they were so large and filling. It was usually an effort to finish the one. They also added toppings of your choice, like granola, chocolate chips, bananas, berries, and other assorted candies. The people working the griddle were usually great characters. They would put on a show by trying to fling a pancake over their backs and a kid would try to catch it on their plate. Many of them ended up on the ground, but don't worry, the campground dogs would lap them up. Again, COVID restrictions prevented Winding River from hosting the pancake breakfasts and ice cream socials this year.

After a dinner of pasta with bacon, green peppers and a creamy tomato sauce, we took a walk around the campground. Winding River used to be in a heavily wooded area until the pine beetles destroyed most of the trees. The last time we were there, the campground looked rather barren with lots of tree stumps. We are happy to report that it is looking much better. A lot of vegetation has returned along with small trees starting to take hold. Much of the campground is how we remembered it with a few minor changes here and there, as would be expected over ten years. There was a pretty good cell signal in the campground, so we caught up on some YouTube videos and called it a night.

For LB's conference call at 11 am the next day, we drove into Grand Lake and parked by the library next to the Town Square Park. The park is in the center of downtown with a large picnic shelter, playground and nicely landscaped open space with views of the mountain peaks. We have spent many hours at the park in years past, at the playground, playing Bingo hosted by the town in the picnic shelter, and watching our daughter practicing spinning her flag on the large grassy lawn. While LB was on his conference call in the van, RB sat at a picnic table in the park working on her laptop. Another great office view.

It was time for our weekly takeout meal, so we bought pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw from Sagebrush BBQ & Grill. The Sagebrush had limited seating inside, but they had a large window from which they sold takeout. There were also picnic tables along the curb of Grand Avenue, but they were all occupied. There were plenty of open picnic tables in the park, so we ate our lunch there. The sandwiches were loaded with tasty meat, but we both felt the coleslaw could have used a little more dressing. About an hour later we walked across the street to Polly's Sweet Shop. LB's vanilla shake and RB's double dip waffle cone tasted pretty good. 

On the way out of town, we stopped at the Mountain Market to resupply our groceries. RB bought a little too much to fit in our small 28 liter fridge (paid link), so she pulled out the container of fresh blueberries and put them in our hanging net bag (paid link) with the other fresh fruit and vegetables. The store did not have Coke products, only Pepsi, but it looked like they had reserved space for Coke. RB asked the cashier about the Coke. The cashier explained that they are having troubles with the Coke rep about deliveries. Apparently it has been an issue for a while in the mountains and, as a result, most of the local restaurants do not serve Coke products. RB may have to go without Coke for a few days when our supply runs out. As disappointed as she might be, she'll be healthier for it.

We also stopped at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center to ask some questions. Our original plan was to stay three nights at Timber Creek Campground inside Rocky Mountain National Park, but the ranger confirmed for us that the campground has remained closed for the whole year due to COVID. He also confirmed that the Lone Pine Tree Lake Trail is indeed ten miles long. We hiked it about ten years ago and we don't remember it being that long, but, then again, our bodies were ten years younger back then. We'll see if we attempt it. Ten miles is pushing our comfort zone and RB's knee was still bothering her since our Huntsman Ridge hike earlier in the week. The good news is that LB found a hat he liked in the gift shop to replace his worn out Grand Canyon ball cap that he has been wearing for fifteen years.

The rest of the day was spent back at Winding River Resort where we had leftover pasta for dinner. We started making plans for where we might camp for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights since Timber Creek Campground was off the table. Online we reserved a site for Wednesday night at Green Ridge Campground which is part of the Arapaho National Recreational Area. Green Ridge is on the south shore of Shadow Mountain Lake. Green Ridge requires reservations to be made three days in advance, so we couldn't reserve a site for Monday or Tuesday. We decided we would try our luck at a first come/first serve site at Green Ridge for Tuesday night. However, Monday we already had a 10 am timed entry permit to get into Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). It would be nice to take advantage of that permit and spend the day hiking a trail inside of RMNP. That would make it difficult to get to Green Ridge early to secure a site. Perhaps we'll try to stay at Winding River for one more night.

We also purchased an RMNP timed entry permit for Thursday, since that is the day we plan to drive through RMNP over Trail Ridge Road to Estes Park. The earliest time slot available was 2 pm. That was better than waiting until 5 pm when we would be allowed in without a permit. We were crossing our fingers that Trail Ridge Road would open back up by Thursday. The sky was clear that night so we could see the stars, the Milky Way, and the planet Mars.

In the morning, we walked over to the camp office and extended our camp site reservation for another night. We also found out that our site was available for Tuesday night as well. It sounded like Winding River was not going to be full on Tuesday night, so that will be our backup plan if we can't get a site at Green Ridge.

RB's knee was still bothering her from hiking Huntsman Ridge the previous Thursday, so we hung out in Grand Lake again. This time we parked down by the lake near the swim beach. After lunch, RB took our kayak (paid link) out on Grand Lake. There was a nice sandy spot near the swim beach to put the kayak in the water. The temperatures were only in the upper 60's and lower 70's. Since we normally get pretty wet from water dripping off the paddles when we kayak, RB was a little concerned about getting cold. She wore her rain coat and rain pants on top of exercise tights and a thermal top. At first she was almost too warm, but after she got a little wet and a breeze came in, she was very comfortable. She paddled around the shoreline of the entire lake which took almost two hours. 

The lake is surrounded on three sides by mountain peaks. She was noticing that there seems to be quite a few more houses and buildings along the shoreline than she remembered. There were still some under construction. We're not sure if most of them were private homes or rentals. Quite a few of them were quite large and luxurious. RB remembers a marshy area near the west end of the lake where our son tipped out of his kayak years ago. There is no longer a marshy area anywhere along the shoreline. 

There is a short canal that connects the west end of Grand Lake to the north end of Shadow Mountain Lake. The entrance to the canal is under a pedestrian bridge. The opening between the supports for the boats to get through looked too narrow for most of the boats, but RB watched a pontoon boat pass through with no problems. She's guessing they made the opening just wide enough so that boats would have to go slowly into the canal. 

As we waited for the kayak to dry, we headed over to Miyauchi's Snack Bar next to the lake for ice cream. We liked the ice cream better than what we had at Polly's the day before. Miyauchi's has been around for a long time. We remembered having ice cream there as a family quite a few times years ago. What makes it even better is that you can enjoy a wonderful view of the lake as you eat.

We made dinner back at Winding River Resort, fried egg sandwiches with bacon, tomatoes, lettuce and mayo. They always remind RB of her childhood, as it was a meal her mother made often. It was laundry day, so we spent the rest of the evening at the campground's coin laundry in the bath house.

We spent most of the next day, Monday, inside Rocky Mountain National Park. The details of the day will be in our next blog post about Rocky Mountain National Park - Western Slope.

It was a leisurely morning as we took our time leaving Winding River Resort on Tuesday. From Winding River we drove over to Green Ridge. It was about noon when we arrived and there were plenty of open sites to choose from. Our Wednesday night reservation was in Loop A, but we decided to try an open spot in Loop B. None of the sites have a view of Shadow Mountain Lake because they sit below the dam. Loop A is closer to the lake, but Loop B is closer to the Colorado River leading from the dam with views of the mountains off to the south. Interestingly, our reservation cost $31 while the first come/first serve site only cost $23. If you come for a first come/first serve, then prepare to bring the exact amount in cash. The self-serve envelope at first looked like you could pay with a check, but who to make the check out to was all blacked out. So if they allow paying by check, it was not clear how to make out the check. We suppose we could have asked one of the camp hosts, but we had the right amount of cash with us.

We ate lunch at our camp site before driving into Grand Lake, again. We worked awhile in the picnic shelter at Town Square Park before getting ice cream, again. We attempted to try Grand Chocolates ice cream this time, but they were closed, so we ended up at Miyouchi's Snack Bar, again.

Dinner back at Green Ridge was pizza on tortillas. After dinner we walked across the dam to the East Shore Trailhead, at the boundary of RMNP. There was a sign indicating a timed entry permit was required to enter. What? We thought the timed entry permits were for vehicle entry, not pedestrian entry into RMNP. Our plan was to hike the East Inlet Trail to Lone Pine Lake the next day and we did not have a timed entry permit. We hustled back to our camp site and searched online for answers. Yes, the parking lot for the East Inlet Trail which is at the east end of Grand Lake is inside RMNP. Yes, a timed entry permit is required to park there. Oh no! Well, a timed entry permit is not required when entering the park between 5 pm and 6 am. We'll just have to get there early in the morning. We set our alarm for 5 am and went to bed early.

Our hike on Wednesday took most of the day. We'll save the details of Rocky Mountain National Park again for our next blog post.

Thursday was the day we planned to drive through RMNP on Trail Ridge Road over to Estes Park. Our timed entry permit was not until 2:00 pm, so we had time to relax and recover from our hike the day before. After packing up at Green Ridge Campground, we headed over to the town of Grand Lake, where else? We ate our leftover pizza from the day before in the picnic shelter for lunch, then, you guessed it, we walked down to Miyauchi's Snack Bar for ice cream. You can never have too much ice cream. 

Many people don't like to make campground reservations when they travel. We are not those people. We would rather not spend our time looking for a place to camp and use that time to explore the area instead. However, when circumstances change and our plans or reservations do not work out, we don't give up and head home. Instead, we make the necessary changes and move on. So we didn't cry over not being able to camp in the Timber Creek Campground. We embraced the adventure of discovering a new campground, Green Ridge Campground. In a tough year where so many people were making much harder sacrifices than we were, we were grateful that we were able to travel. Our inconveniences seemed so minor in comparison.

The Grand Lake area was hit hard by the East Troublesome Wildfire a month after we were there. Two people perished in the fire. 580 structures were destroyed. Winding River Resort lost its West End camper services building, the one where we had done our laundry. The historic downtown of Grand Lake survived, but many of the surrounding communities were not so fortunate. The Grand County Wildfire Emergency Fund has been set up to help those affected by the wildfire. Our hearts go out to those who suffered losses in the area.

Check out our related video: Grand Lake, Colorado

(RB)