Rocky Mountain...more

We slept in, checked in to the campground, and got both hiking and food recommendations from the camp host making the office. The host and her husband are full time RVers for the past two years. They sold their home in Cape Cod after her restaurant failed during COVID. This is their first hosting gig (they get to stay for free but work 32+ hours per week). They leave here in a couple weeks and are hosting at a regional park in Florida for the winter.

We started off with a 2 mile hike right from the campground to a historic dude ranch resort that started in 1920 and operated until sometime in the 70s. Easy hike for a warmup but wanted to start off slow since we were at an altitude of around 8900 ft.

Next we hopped in the car and drove to the trailhead for Cascade falls. This was a 7 mile out and back hike without a lot of elevation change, perhaps 600 feet. Much of the trail was very rocky so spent a lot of time watching the ground. We saw deer, chipmunks, snakes and groundhogs. Much of the area was burned out from a 2020 fire but it was still beautiful. Evidently, earlier in the season it was even more beautiful as it was filled with wildflowers.

The falls was a cascading type, no steep drop, but very beautiful.

We ate and drank at the Sagebrush grill at the recommendation of the camp host and were not disappointed. The barbeque app had brisket, ribs, pulled pork and sausage. That and some loaded fries made a great dinner. Our server was a girl named Sawyer, nicknamed Sawyer Spilly Pants by her family due to her tendency to spill things. She and her mother moved to Grand Lake 4 years ago when she was 16. They recently bought a duplex, her mother one half and her the other. She was great to talk to, very friendly, day down at it table to talk.

When we drove back to our campsite, we saw a moose cow and calf about 50 - 75 yards from our site.Read more