Farish Rec Area ... Fall Trip

When we camped at USAFA’s Farish Rec Area in June we saw all the aspens and figured this would be a good place to return to for the fall foliage. I would have preferred next week, but the RV sites were all booked. So we reserved a three-night stay starting today instead.

Farish is just about 40 miles from our place in Colorado Springs ... and just 5 miles or so from Woodland Park. It was after noon when we left to pick up the Cruiser from the storage facility. An easy drive — with bits and pieces of fall color en route — put us at our campsite before 2:00p.

Initially, we thought to reserve the dry camping site that overlooks Lake Grace. But the possibility of nighttime temps at 9,000+ feet of altitude dipping close to freezing had us falling back on one of the three sites with a 15A electric hook-up. Luckily for us, the Grace Lake Pavilion — our preferred site — was available.

This time we parked the Cruiser parallel to the “barn” — the dormitory style group facility, which will remain unoccupied for the duration of our stay. It made leveling more difficult, but gave us a better view to enjoy from our patio. Which is exactly what we did once we settled into our site ... and after a quick loop walk around Lake Grace.

Instead of dinner, we enjoyed a glass of wine and snacks on the patio. There was just enough sun to keep us cozy for a while. We sat out and read until the temp dropped to 67F and the sun went into hiding. With the evening chill settling in around us, it was time to move indoors.

The last time we were here, we had no cell signal. None this time either ... not even with our signal booster. But we do have satellite TV, so we’ll be only partially unplugged from the rest of the world on this trip.Read more