Newbie from western Co.

[darkstar]

Hello everyone, my wife and I have enjoyed reading many of your posts and have learned a lot over the past few weeks.  I'm glad to have finally joined the forum so that we can post some of our comments and questions.  We are the excited owners of an '03 Coleman Carmel by Fleetwood.  We were very happy to find out that we got one of the newer roofs, not the problem-plauged ABS roofs.  We enjoy astronomy and have a research-grade telescope that we plan on taking with us on some of our outings this year!  We would like to hear from anyone with the same model camper or anyone interested in astronomy.  Let us know if you are ever in the area of beautiful western Colorado!  Glad to be aboard...Brady and Misty

[cobalt&3]

We are new to Co. and just bought a new pop up and would love to have some reccomendations of where you love to camp-thanks!

[tlhdoc]

We are new to Co. and just bought a new pop up and would love to have some reccomendations of where you love to camp-thanks!

Cobalt welcome to PUT.  What PU did you get?

[cobalt&3]

Cobalt welcome to PUT.  What PU did you get?

THANKS for the welcome, we bought a fleetwood colbalt for the 3 of us
We bought it last weekend at Kettlers and wen to Golden for the night on the creek, we love it and are VERY excited to explore all of Colorado....we just moved her last Sept. so we have a lot to see

thanks I read all the other info too....perfect....what about Estes park, what are your thoughts about the camp grounds around here??? TIA..

cobalt&3

[Starryart]

Hey darkstar! Welcome aboard! My DH and I live on the Texas gulfcoast but we own a small cabin between Gunnison and Crested Butte and like to spend part of our summer there. I've been going there since the early 1960s ( no age jokes, please...he he) when my dad built the place, so it is my 2nd home.
    I also love astronomy and am the secretary/newsletter editor for our local astronomy club. I am just an amateur but it has been a hobby of mine for a long time. I frequently take my NexStar 8 with us to the cabin and when we camp. In fact, I am real excited about the observatory that Gunnison, CO is building. I hope it is ready to go this summer.
    Tonight our club was supposed to have a star gaze at a nearby state park but the wind and clouds kept us away. We plan to try again next weekend.

   Hey Cobalt&3 there are some great campsites (maybe 8 or more campgrounds)on the Taylor river north of Gunnison ...take hwy 135 to Almont and hang a right. If you follow the road all the way to the Taylor reservoir there is a gorgeous campground called "Lakeview". It has a beautiful view of the lake and the continental divide in the background. It is not to far from an old minign town called TinCup.
I'm glad you joined our group.

[kwatson51]

"... there are some great campsites (maybe 8 or more campgrounds)on the Taylor river north of Gunnison ...take hwy 135 to Almont and hang a right. If you follow the road all the way to the Taylor reservoir there is a gorgeous campground called "Lakeview". It has a beautiful view of the lake and the continental divide in the background. It is not to far from an old minign town called TinCup...."

Hi Starryart,
Did a search on ReserveAmerica for Lakeview and it turned up 2 CGs:
   Lakeview/Taylor Park and
   Lakeview/Pike & San Isabel
Which one are you refering to? It a NF CG isn't it?
I've heard good things about it. Plan to go as soon as weather permits.

[Starryart]

Hi kwatson!,
       Yep, the cgs are NFS- no frills but great spots to be, I think. The taylor river runs through a narrow canyon with tall very rocky walls. Some cgs are on the river itself, some are across the road from the river.
At Almont, CO there is a wildlife area that is home to some bighorn...look out for them and the rock climbers like the canyon too. We have stayed at a primitive, walk-in, tent only cg called "One Mile" . We would sit and watch a popular rock climbing canyon wall directly across the road. Geez, the climbers would make me nervous.
Almont has "Three Rivers Rafting co." that does some great rafting trips on the Taylor River.
 By far though we like Lakeview-Taylor Park the best. Some spots have water and elctric but the prettier sights in the older sections do not. Those are the ones we like of course. This is a pretty large cg, and lots of the spots are pull through, so easy parking. The cg is on a high hill above the lake which is why the scenery is so gorgeous. Room with a view!
   Check out a Colorado map with NFS cgs on it and you will see quite a few in that area.
    Sigh.... I can't wait to go back to the high country!!!
Whever you go, Have a lovely time :p !

[kwatson51]

Thanks!
BTW, I gotta confess...
We're from Austin -- moved here in '02.
Got folks in Edna and Pearland as well.
Hope y'all can make it this summer.

[Starryart]

Hey Kwatson! Lake Texana state park is our main campground for those quick weekend trips. Know Edna well. Ha Ha!  

[kwatson51]

Hey Starryart,
If you ever need supplies, stop by the convenience store/gas station there by the high school in Edna...my wife's aunt & uncle own and run it. Great folks - stop by and say "howdy!"

[kwatson51]

We are new to Co. and just bought a new pop up and would love to have some reccomendations of where you love to camp-thanks!

Hi Cobalt,
We went to Estes park last year for the Scottish/Irish Festival (awesome event if you are interested in that sort of thing). We camped at Estes Park Campground..
http://www.estesparkcampground.com/Index.HTML

Of the 3 CGs we've stayed at in EP, we like it the best. It's kinda away from the crowds, to the south of town, past the YMCA of the Rockies. The CG could use some "tweaking", but we were generally pleased over-all. We're going back this year.

Our favorite place so far is Mueller State Park near the Springs. It's close by for us,  beautiful and and interesting place with some great views. Great for hiking, biking, photography (my thing), being lazy or learning stuff. Electric at most sites, water not too far away. Vault toilets scattered here and there, and clean camper services building with (pay) showers and flushing potties.

[darkstar]

[QUOTE
 By far though we like Lakeview-Taylor Park the best. Some spots have water and elctric but the prettier sights in the older sections do not. Those are the ones we like of course. This is a pretty large cg, and lots of the spots are pull through, so easy parking. The cg is on a high hill above the lake which is why the scenery is so gorgeous. Room with a view!
   Hey, Starryart, we've been reading your description of Lakeview CG on Taylor Res.  It's also recommended in a book I picked up called "Colorado Camping".  Can you tell us how far of a walk it is to the lake?  Also, Do you need to make reservations ahead of time if you're going on a weekday?  Thanks,  Brady

[DoubleD]

THANKS for the welcome, we bought a fleetwood colbalt for the 3 of us
We bought it last weekend at Kettlers and wen to Golden for the night on the creek, we love it and are VERY excited to explore all of Colorado....we just moved her last Sept. so we have a lot to see

thanks I read all the other info too....perfect....what about Estes park, what are your thoughts about the camp grounds around here??? TIA..

cobalt&3

Hey Cobalt&3!  DW and I just bought our first PU, a new Cobalt at Kettles too, took it over to Cherry Creek SP on March 10 and it snowed, the furnace had a bad regulator and didn't work.  We called Kettles Monday AM and they said "come on down" they fixed the issue within one hour and we headed to Moab for the rest of the week.  Besides a couple of SPUTs and near SPUTs, it was an awesome trip.
We plan to go to Carter Lake this weekend, it's altitude is 5760' so shouldn't be too cold this weekend.  Carter Lake is southwest of Loveland, northwest of Berthoud (the towns, not the passes.)  This trip will be our test of how long, office to hitched up and ready to go, so we can plan for our summer weekend getaways.
I see much talk about Taylor Park, which is far enough out of Denver to avoid the "lightweight" city dwellers on weekends.   We actually go thru Buena Vista and over Cottonwood Pass, which cuts 1-2 hours off the drive through Almont.  If you like boondocking, there are thousands of acres of NF land upstream from the established campgrounds that gave us complete seclusion and privacy on July 4 weekend last year.  Thats what I am talking about!
As for Estes, I am not that enamored with the entire area, too commercialized, busy, and not enought "open" country to explore without worrying about gates, fences, private property and the like.  RMNP is nice, but crowded.  Maybe going there before Memorial Day or after Labor Day, but mid-summer is too touristy.  If you want to go to Kremmling, Grand Lake, or Steamboat, you are better off going up I-70.
Obvioiusly we prefer seclusion, open, fenceless and gateless country where we can explore all day long without coming across more than 5 other groups.  You might like that, so Estes might be the place for you.  I like to GET AWAY, and Colorado offers plenty of places to do that.  From Golden, you can easily get to Highway 72 between Nederland and Estes, many nice places off that Highway, Brainerd Lakes comes to mind up there.  Hwy 14 through the Poudre Canyon outside Fort Collins is pretty nice, too.
We prefer going up US 285, as the I-70 corridor can be a mess and is heavily built up.  Get to Kenosha pass on US285, and you can spend a year checking out every side road, campground, lake and trail between Kenosha and Buena Vista.  You can spend years within 50 miles of Buena Vista, as I have done.   You can easily get to 285 from Golden.

[cobalt&3]

Thanks for so much info double d...
We made plans to stay here in May, by Buena Vista, have you been?
http://www.chalkcreek-campground.com/

[cobalt&3]

THANKS to all....for info....we plan on taking lots of quick weekend trips, where would you suggest close to Denver, but yet far