Rex and Nancy's Travels - "ALL WHO WANDER ARE NOT LOST" - JRR Tolkein

We left Yampa Valley Fiberworks on Friday morning but did not get very far before we blew a front tire on the Jeep.   Luckily there was a wide enough shoulder that we could pull off the road.   It was the driver’s side front tire that blew so Rex had to change the tire on the traffic side.   There was not a lot of traffic but enough to make it uncomfortable because most of the vehicles did not even slow down.   To make matters worse, one of the vehicles threw up a rock that shattered the back window in the Jeep.   So now this is what our poor Jeep looks like. We are staying at The Mountain Range RV Park on the edge of Lander.   This is a very nice small park with wonderful views of the surrounding mountains. We found a tire store and ordered new tires.  We also found a glass shop that looked at the Jeep window but because our top is an after-market top with no brand name, they could not order a window for us.  They said they could custom make a window, but it would take about 3 weeks

  Thursday morning, we left Kremmling and drove to Craig, CO.   We had a beautiful drive going over Muddy Creek Pass and Rabbit Ear’s Pass.   The landscape was very green and there were lots of wildflowers.   We drove through Steamboat Springs and was surprised at how much it has grown since we were last there (at least 25 years ago). We are staying the night at Yampa Valley Fiberworks, a Harvest Host site. Yampa Valley Fiberworks is a working fiber mill making yarn out of their own fleece from their flock. They have a beautiful store selling their yarn and items from local artisans.  We bought some delicious honey caramels. They are a 3 generational ranch producing hay, cattle, and sheep. We enjoyed watching three lambs and a kid graze beside the motorhome. We were greeted by an Australian Shepard and a Border Collie when we arrived.  Rex and Tacky meeting the Border Collie. We enjoyed seeing this old Shepard’s wagon – one of the first RVs!   Lewis and Lorrae were very gracious

  We spent our last four days in Kremmling relaxing, reading, grocery shopping, doing laundry and getting the motorhome ready to travel again.   We tried to Kayak on Monarch Lake, which is behind Lake Granby, but it was so crowded we could not find any place to park.   We then headed to Willow Creek Reservoir but by the time we got there the wind was blowing so hard that we decided to call it a day and go back to the motorhome.  We enjoyed our time in the Kremming area and seeing all the beautiful sites.  We are leaving tomorrow morning to drive a short distance to Craig, CO.

  Tuesday, we took another scenic drive and went over Gore Pass, which is at an elevation of 9,527 ft.   After going over the pass we turned off on a Jeep trail and headed towards the Colorado River.   The Colorado Columbines were blooming along with many other beautiful wildflowers. We came upon two very large mud holes in the trail, and we almost got stuck going through the second one – glad we have 4 wheel drive.  We did get the Jeep a little muddy.  We’ll have to find a car wash when we get back to Kremmling. Now we get to head down to the Colorado River. Shortly after starting down, a small cinnamon colored Brown Bear ran across the road in front of us.    It ran onto the road, skidded to a stop when it saw us and then ran down the other side.   Unfortunately, we were not quick enough to get a picture.    A short distance later 4 wild turkeys ran across the road in front of us. At the bottom looking back up towards where we came down. Another beautiful drive and we were happy to

Friday morning, we drove to Willow Creek Reservoir, a small mountain reservoir between Granby, CO and Grand Lake, CO.   This was Tacky’s first time kayaking and his first time wearing his new life vest.   This was our first time kayaking in a about 5 years and we have missed it. Tacky patiently waiting for Rex to get his life vest on. Tacky's new  adventure begins .                                                                                           Tacky enjoying the ride. The East Troublesome Fire went through here in the Fall of 2020.  This was the 2 nd largest Fire in Colorado History - the same year as the Cameron Peak Fire, which was the largest.  The East Troublesome Fire covered 208,913 acres.  580 structures burned, of these 366 homes.  35,000 people were evacuated and, sadly, 2 lives were lost. The wildflowers were beautiful all around the reservoir. The views were beautiful, especially when they were reflected onto the reservoir.                                 Tac

  We left Loveland on Saturday morning and drove up Poudre Canyon and over Cameron Pass on our way to Kremmling.   This was the area we loved to camp in when we lived in Fort Collins.   The Cameron Peak fire devastated this area in 2020.   This fire was the largest in Colorado history and consumed 208,913 acres.   We were dismayed at the devastation in a canyon that was our playground.   We arrived in Kremmling and are staying at The Red Mountain RV Park on the east side of town.   We are not overly impressed with the park, but it is the only RV park in Kremmling.   It has a lot of permanent residents in older RVs with lots of “stuff” outside.   We spent the rest of Saturday getting set up and looking around town.   We were disappointed that the Visitors Center was not open and when we stopped for ice cream, they told us that it is almost never open.    Sunday, we walked across the street to the BLM Kremmling Field Office where they had a lot of brochures on things to do.   The ladies