Colorado Day 4, Rest Day and Trails

Day 4 we decided to be a rest day. After the stress of not having a campsite the night before and the stress of staying were we did it was decided to put a priority on securing a decent camp and exploring the local area around Buena Vista. We packed up camp and headed in to Buena to explore. I got some not-so-great pastry at the bakery. I had hoped for better. :) I also picked up a cheap hatchet...since I never replaced our old one and neglected to secure one before leaving on the trip. Foolhardy I know! There is also a very pleasant look Dispensary in Buena, but I didn't go in. In fact I didn't buy any marijuana on the trip. Which is dissapointing. :D After grabbing some maps at the visitor center I realized there was a FS campground literally across the river from our last nights camp. If only I had come prepared. We zipped down there and sure enough there is a beautiful campground right on the bank of the Arkansas River. We snagged a cozy site that hadn't been washed away (remember those rains I mentioned earlier?) and set up our soggy tent to air out and dry the sleeping bags.

Pretty idyllic if you ask me.

Going out from the campground we met up with some of the locals. Goats of some sort I guess?

I am guessing this is not a local. Somebody of the same mind as myself but with a larger budget... We decided to run the 4-mile trails outside of town. They offer some great dispersed camping indeed!

incredible. The far peaks are all 13-14 thousand foot peaks, with Buena Vista in the bottom of the valley.

The only proper obstacle on the 4-mile loop was this out of place cattle-guard. I was worried about clearance because it seemed to just be sitting on the ground. looks like most people just drive around it.

The loop has lots of great views and plenty of spots to stop and have a picnic or something. There are a couple water crossings, though they are probably not too wet during an average year.

The trail comes out just north of Buena on the old railroad grade. These tunnels are just eye-candy. We went back through town and headed back to our camp early and had a wonderful dinner and a nice hot campfire. We stayed up past sun-down and the alpine glow really is incredible. There was so much light from the moon and stars I was in awe. And the dry sleeping bag with the gruggle of the Arkansas flowing by was just what the doctor ordered.