My morning didn't start off very well today. Whilst making breakfast, a bowl of strawberry juice fell on me and I walked around the campsite looking like I'd been involved in a stabbing. There were no showers at the campsite, so after wet wiping off as much as I could and changing clothes, we headed off to hopefully a place with a shower!
The drive was very picturesque through the mountains. We enjoyed spotting the tell-tell signs of a ski resort (the runs down the mountains with no trees) and taking in the clean mountain air.
Our first stop was at Lake Fork, a gorgeous lake run by the National Parks Service. We had a little walk around the lake and just took time taking in the amazing view.
We then continued on our drive, initially following the river that flowed into the lake and then moving back into the mountains with more hairpin turns on the edge of the mountains!
Our next stop was the Continental Divide. I had no idea what this was but Lee started to get very excited as we turned up to the sign and soon explained that it was something to do with the direction water drained. Regardless of what it was, I had a really good time going up the bubble lift on the divide to the top of the mountain and looking out over the views.
We stopped off in the town of Salida for some lunch. We found a pizza place called Amicas who did the most amazing freshly made pizzas and a really yummy Peanut Butter Mousse cake. We enjoyed the funky vibe, friendly staff, great food and the local beers.
Salida was a really cool find too. The town is located in the middle of the state, right in the 'Heart of the Rockies'. The main street was full of shops, bars, coffee shops and restaurants, a number of them displaying or selling art and antiques. The Arkansas river runs through the town and had we had a little longer to spare, we might have joined the people in the river taking a dip.
Lee even managed to find a little spot for one of our stickers!
Our first stop was at Lake Fork, a gorgeous lake run by the National Parks Service. We had a little walk around the lake and just took time taking in the amazing view.
We then continued on our drive, initially following the river that flowed into the lake and then moving back into the mountains with more hairpin turns on the edge of the mountains!
Our next stop was the Continental Divide. I had no idea what this was but Lee started to get very excited as we turned up to the sign and soon explained that it was something to do with the direction water drained. Regardless of what it was, I had a really good time going up the bubble lift on the divide to the top of the mountain and looking out over the views.
We stopped off in the town of Salida for some lunch. We found a pizza place called Amicas who did the most amazing freshly made pizzas and a really yummy Peanut Butter Mousse cake. We enjoyed the funky vibe, friendly staff, great food and the local beers.
Salida was a really cool find too. The town is located in the middle of the state, right in the 'Heart of the Rockies'. The main street was full of shops, bars, coffee shops and restaurants, a number of them displaying or selling art and antiques. The Arkansas river runs through the town and had we had a little longer to spare, we might have joined the people in the river taking a dip.
Lee even managed to find a little spot for one of our stickers!
Before leaving Salida, we headed to Soulcraft Brewery, one of the local breweries whose beers we tried in Amicas.
We had planned to pick up a couple of growlers to drink whilst we were camping in the Rockies but after sampling a lot of the beers brewed by Soulcraft and having a lot of good conversation and laughs with the staff and the other customers, we decided to stay for a beer. It was a shame we weren't staying in Salida as we could have stayed all evening but we needed to get back on the road and head towards our campsite for the night.
Our campsite for the night was at Eleven Mile State Park, near the shore of Eleven Mile Reservoir. The site was very secluded with very few other campers which was a good thing since there was very little around to give you any privacy!
The notes we made on this campsite made it sound well developed with a lot of facilities including showers, a snack bar, a shop and flushing toilets. When we arrived, we quickly realised that our notes were not very accurate. There were showers but you had to drive to them and there was a fee, not too much of a problem until I tried to have my shower and the water went really cold just after I had put shampoo in my hair. It was the quickest I have ever rinsed off shampoo! The snack bar / shop was actually in the marina and was really a fishing shop selling a few other bits on the side and whilst there were flushing toilets with the showers, if you needed to go in the night, there was one vault toilet a walk away but it was shared with the entire campsite and the day use people. Not ideal in the morning when you're desperate to go!
We had planned to pick up a couple of growlers to drink whilst we were camping in the Rockies but after sampling a lot of the beers brewed by Soulcraft and having a lot of good conversation and laughs with the staff and the other customers, we decided to stay for a beer. It was a shame we weren't staying in Salida as we could have stayed all evening but we needed to get back on the road and head towards our campsite for the night.
Our campsite for the night was at Eleven Mile State Park, near the shore of Eleven Mile Reservoir. The site was very secluded with very few other campers which was a good thing since there was very little around to give you any privacy!
The notes we made on this campsite made it sound well developed with a lot of facilities including showers, a snack bar, a shop and flushing toilets. When we arrived, we quickly realised that our notes were not very accurate. There were showers but you had to drive to them and there was a fee, not too much of a problem until I tried to have my shower and the water went really cold just after I had put shampoo in my hair. It was the quickest I have ever rinsed off shampoo! The snack bar / shop was actually in the marina and was really a fishing shop selling a few other bits on the side and whilst there were flushing toilets with the showers, if you needed to go in the night, there was one vault toilet a walk away but it was shared with the entire campsite and the day use people. Not ideal in the morning when you're desperate to go!
Although the campsite wasn't what we expected, it was in a beautiful location and without any storms, we managed to have a night without the fly. This meant we could look up at the stars from our beds which were amazing due to the little light pollution in this area.
Some amazing views and scenery on the way to the Lake and then at the Lake itself and down by the river too - stunning.
ReplyDeleteThe continental divide was pretty cool although I expected there would be more than just a yellow line, cable car was cool though an again some great pics.
Lunch in Salida looked good and the Town itself was nice, I'd have defo gone in the river, it looked really cool. Great that you managed to place a sticker too - how many have you posted on your journey so far? I think this is the 1st mention in the blog?!
Yep, looks like my Google research on Growlers was right - nice!
Great pitch for the night and some brilliant views of the tent in its place and the surrounding country.
Re: stickers. We have been putting the odd one here and there, but haven't been overly public about it, as we don't want to be accused of vandalism/graffiti. Better to ask forgiveness than permission and all that I guess?!
ReplyDeleteAhh, I did wonder if you'd been plastering them everywhere but as you say, better to err on the side of caution.
DeleteEnjoyed reading your blog and looking at the pictures but missed the little video.
ReplyDeleteCan see having one foot in the Atlantic Ocean and the other in the Pacific so to speak probably excited Lee more as it would have Dad than Sam or me ;-) :-)
Looking forward to the weekend ( A and Family home ) so he can explain all about the stickers.
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