A Successful Drive and Looking for Moose

This was a travel day that was short on miles but long on elevation change. We couldn’t leave too early because we couldn’t arrive at our next campground until after noon, so we stayed at our no-hook-up site at Stove Prairie until noon. Then we left our 6,000-foot elevation campground to head 47 miles down the road through the beautiful Poudre River Canyon.

This road is officially called Cache la Poudre River. But for those of us that like numbers and locations, it is Highway 14 from Fort Collins all the way to Walden, Colorado. 

Denisa hung out the side window of the pickup taking pictures of the tall rock walls and the rushing Poudre River. We were driving through more of God’s wonders!

The high point of the drive--literally--was Cameron Pass Summit at an elevation of 10,276 feet. We were glad to start soaking in the cool temperature that comes with that kind of elevation.

This was the biggest test of our Chevrolet Colorado’s ability to pull our trailer so far. Over the 47 miles, we would gain over 4,000 feet in elevation. The pickup and the experienced driver did a great job handling the winding road and the elevation gain. Today's drive took us from the bottom of the canyon beside the river, to the top of the mountains as we topped the pass.

Then the road sign warned us about a steep downhill section immediately after topping the pass. That’s another new test for the pickup—handling going down the mountains with the weight of the trailer pushing it. Just a few miles after the pass, we pulled into our new home for four nights, State Forest State Park. At 9,300 feet in elevation, it was a pleasantly cool temperature in the 60s when we arrived in the afternoon.

Our second Colorado state park so far, we got to use that annual pass we purchased. Without it, we would have to pay $10 per day in addition to $40 for our site in the Ranger Lake Campground. Once again, we have absolutely no cell phone service. So after setting up the trailer, we headed two miles down the road to the state park's Moose Visitor Center and its free wifi. Right outside is a life-size statue of a moose with a unique texture. Can you guess what he is made out of?

It’s made of barbed wire . . .

with a little smooth wire to fashion the ears and antlers. It was a work or art!

After two days with no internet, we were glad to find out the visitor's center had free wifi. So we used one of their outdoor picnic tables as an office to catch up on some correspondence. That's not a bad view from an office, huh?

Our view was a field of wildflowers in the foreground, with mountain peaks in the background.

The ranger gave us information on hiking and kayaking in the state park. We also got the pre-printed list of the best places to see moose. That’s obviously a question they are asked often. We’re pretty pumped to see moose, as we were greeted with this warning sign when we pulled into our campground. We were excited to see that there were moose in our area!

According to our ranger’s list, one of the best places to see moose was the Ranger Lake Nature Trail. Just a short walk from our trailer, we headed that way at the recommended time the first evening. We were ready to find moose! We walked right by the first lake, with the trees and mountains reflected in the lake.

We hiked all the way around the handful of lakes on the Ranger Lake trail—but still no moose sightings.

So we headed down the Gould Trail, also on the ranger’s list.

We found valleys of willows, with streams running throughout. That’s the perfect moose habitat—but still no moose sightings.

We were amazed at God’s wonders around us--as well as the cool temperatures and the green valleys. We were blessed!

We saw the mountains that surrounded us—but still no moose sightings.

We found out from the visitor center that moose had pretty well disappeared from Colorado. So in the 1970s they re-introduced moose to this special part of Colorado that is full of the good things they love—willows and water. The Colorado legislature deemed that this is the moose capital of the state—but still we had no moose sightings.

We hiked 3.4 miles at a very slow pace in the areas recommended at the recommended time this evening—but still no moose sightings.

It was a successful drive to a great new camp site with deliciously cool July weather. But it was an unsuccessful day for moose hunting. Maybe we’ll find moose tomorrow?!?