Crested Butte Wildflower Viewing
July 6-8, 2022 Every year since 1986, Crested Butte, CO has held a wildflower festival. Since we wanted to see the peak of wildflower season but prefer to avoid crowds, we decided to camp in the area but do our own thing. We found a rocky trail up Anthracite Mesa northwest of Crested Butte, our camp elevation 10,650 ft. This location provided a good view of both the surrounding mountains and wildflowers. For the roughness of the terrain, one might have expected to be the only people on the mountain, but it was surprisingly busy. We even heard one vehicle at 10:30 p.m! More on that later.
The rocky trail to our campsite crossed many high meadows interspersed with aspen and pine forest. Camping in this area is at designated campsite only but is free. We found an empty spot and set up camp. Then we decided to walk farther along the trail to scout the area, check out the view of the surrounding area and make plans for the following day. We had chosen a secluded spot in the trees with a good view of the valley and a small meadow, filled with wildflowers, just outside our camper door. At this altitude, Kepler, who is 13, quickly began to feel the effects so we didn’t walk far. On returning to camp, it became apparent he was suffering from altitude sickness that means rest, hydrate, observe! If he had gotten worse or not gotten better by morning we would have to pack up and leave.
Altitude Sick Pup
Soon we noticed vehicles driving by. Over the evening, maybe a dozen vehicles. All going down the mountain. The last one at 10:30. Perhaps people just like to drive down steep, narrow, mountain roads late in the evening, or they needed to get home, but they might also have heard the weather forecast, rain. When the wind picked up, we quickly installed a couple of the side panels and staked the awning. We moved Kepler inside for a cozy evening. It rained hard for a couple of hours. The awning held but collected water. The tent was mostly dry inside but also collected water. This might be what happens when you buy a camper from very dry Australia or maybe the result of lack of experience with the camper. We adjusted the slope of the awning to drain better and tightened the tent poles. But by morning the tent was sagging badly, and the two layers of tent fabric were soaked through. Luckily, no dripping over the bed. The rug got wet but catching dirt and water is why we have a rug. We hung it in the sun. It got dry.
The next morning Kepler was frolicking like a puppy, at least for a few minutes. Altitude sickness can be like that. With him happy again, we spent a quiet morning in camp drinking coffee looking at the view and taking flower photos. Unfortunately, we were so busy taking photos of individual flower species, neither of us took a grand view of the meadow. I took photos of 17 species of wildflowers. There were probably many more but at my level of wildflower experience I can’t really tell the difference between yellow daisy shaped flowers. I ordered a wildflower book. It should be waiting for us when we get home. That afternoon we drove to town via a different road. It was a typical Colorado shelf-road.
The next day we decided to drive farther up the mountain to the pass. Wow, what a view! Meadow in all directions and a small pond. Pretty! Driving back down, also pretty. Pretty terrifying. If you have never experienced a Colorado shelf road, let me explain. The road is about a car and a half wide. On one side is a steep hill or rock face. The other side of the road is exactly the same, only down. No guard rail, just a lot of down. Take it slow, very slow. In our vehicle, the passenger’s job is to watch for vehicles coming from the other direction so the driver can watch the road and pull over onto one of the pull-outs that is wide enough to let other vehicles pass. Off-road etiquette is drivers coming uphill have the right of way. It’s harder for them to back if it becomes necessary.
Safely home we made dinner and discussed plans for the next day. We decided to move.
Lessons learned:
1 The awning must always slope away from the tent. This seems obvious but is difficult to see when you’re standing under it.
2 The tent poles need to be fully extended. Again, not so easy to determine when you’re in the tent. The poles are U shaped, and it is easier to push in the middle of the U than pull the poles up near the lock.
3 Those poles the RV dealer didn’t know the purpose of, we think they are for supporting the tent. There are two of them, one for each corner and they are the correct height. We don’t have any other use for them so might as well support the tent with them until we need them for something else.