Me and You and a Dog Named Boo: Colorado, Summer 2019

Before any camping plans could be made, we went up to the Lyons' cabin in Drake for a few days of R and R. It was delightful, but much too short.

Boo was so happy to be out of the car and into his bed
in the fresh air of the Rockies!

There is a wonderful creek below....

And a delightful place to rest below the cabin.

The old man and his sons kept time with us on the road.

At our friends' house on the plains, a beautiful rainbow greeted us as we
planned a trip to Westcliffe, CO for our first camping trip of the summer!

They have the most incredible house and the views are to die for.

We'd never been to this part of Colorado before. This is the Wet Mountain Valley. It is on the Eastern side of the
Sangre de Christos Mountains.

We lucked out of the weather and the campground-Alvarado.

We camped up in those foothills ahead.

Enjoying the breeze

Oh, to be a horse in this country!

Harley makes some veggies in their new camper.

They had the site above and we had the one below and to the left of
the rest rooms.

I just adore this picture of Jimbo and Boo relaxing. Finally!!

There are still many wildflowers about.

Chatting in the shade

Maxine is happy with her spot! And, so are we.

Lushness is everywhere-might be why these are called the Wet Mountains.

Awaiting dinner at our place

A pretty nice table, if I do say so myself. Note the
Equestrians in the background - gramma, mom and
a young girl of maybe 8, camping down the road with
their horses!

Attempting to solve the problems of the world

Just hangin' out, enjoying the day

And, occasionally escaping the sun...

Must be an Amish or Mennonite community here. All were
going to Sunday services.

For Labor Day, we rented a double site up by Brainard Lake at Pawnee Campground and entertained some friends and family.

I think this is my favorite view in all of Colorado. We used to camp up here before they disallowed it because of overuse.

A great place to fish for trout but not today. We decided
to hike the lake-about 3 1/2 miles around.

Jason and his fiancé, Katrina, joined us for Labor Day BBQ.

Such a happy time!

Julie joined us for most of the time we were here. She
stayed in a tent the first night but dreamed of bears all
night, so slept in our extra bed afterwards.

Gail and Harley stopped by for a glass of wine on the way
home from their stay at their cabin.

Lynne, having a quiet moment on the hike. She did a
great job of watching out for me on our hike!

Oh, how I love this hike! So many memories!

Taking a break!

Do I look like I'm going to keel over?

A little picnic by Long Lake

And, on Friday, The Dyerdings arrived to camp a few sites up from us. It had suddenly turned rainy and cold, unfortunately, but the guys kept the fire going and we had some great food and a wonderful time.

Chris and Meg

Carter, Chris' brother-a delightful guy and knowledgeable
camper.

Jamison thinks that sleeping in the camping is one of the
highlights of a camping trip.

Julianna brought a friend to share her tent. They
were the bravest of the bunch, considering the
torrents of rain and the warning of a bear in the area.

We had a delightful Sunday afternoon at Chautauqua with the elders of the Cunningham/Kyer clan. We were thrilled and blessed that Janet was well enough to join us.