Boondocking in Buena Vista, CO

It feels good to be out of the city and back into some mountains. At just under 8,000 foot elevation, Buena Vista – or just outside BV –  has been our home for the past week. I’ve passed through here a number of times, but this is the first time I have had the opportunity to stick around, and I must say I am impressed, not only with the town itself, but the country surrounding it.

Thanks to Tripp and Megan, who introduced us to a great boondocking spot. We arrived on the holiday weekend to not only a full area, but luckily a spot reserved for us (they were leaving the next morning after our arrival). When the crowds went back home to their 9-to-5’s we mostly had the place to ourselves. The Arkansas river keeping us company with the ever present hum of the nearby rapids.

The dogs had ample time, and room, to play the days away. Each day we had no less then four separate fetch sessions and with a substantial number of bones laying around, the pups always had a new treasure in their mouths.

From here we base-camped to visit the old ghost town of St Elmo, and took [most of] the National Historic Auto Tour up to Weston Pass, as well as a few visits into town to eat and drink a Thursday night away… we are crazy huh?

One thing did happen on our second day in the area- as you can see from the image above, the dirt road down into the boondocking area is very tight. It is not possible for two vehicles to cross paths on this road, so some care has to be taken before traveling up or down. From the top you can see all the way down, and from the bottom you can see all the way up it. On one occasion, after I had already started down a good way a woman in a BMW decided to start her ascent without looking up the road. I flashed and flashed and flashed my lights, but she ignored. We met, nose to nose, about 3/4 way down (1/4 way up for her) at which time I came to a stop and raised my hands into the air all while displaying the what-the-fuck-where-you-thinking expression on my face. She promptly double downed her idiocy and drove herself right off the cliff (two tires off the ground, high-sided on the edge) instead of backing up the 100 yards necessary to let us pass. Since I know from previous knowledge that you simply  can not fix stupid, I squeezed past her, and drove on to camp, leaving her there to learn an important lesson. Not that I could have helped in any way at all since we carry no tow ropes to have pulled her out of the predicament she put herself in. I can’t believe I used to drive a BMW myself.