Steamboat Springs here we come..(are)

The next part of our Colorado trip takes us to Steamboat Springs. The. drive up was really pretty with many changes in scenery. First we drove past a long reservoir.

Do you sense the change in scenery?

After driving through Steamboat Springs proper we drove.....and drove....and DROVE...until we arrived at our destination. Steamboat Lake and this is the view at our campsite from the camper door! It is sure going to be hard to wake up to this everyday!?!?

This area along with a lot of Colorado has been hit by a pine blight and it is really sad to see. In some areas as much as 3/4 ths of the pines are dead and it is more brown than green. It is a noticeable change from when we were here just 2 years ago. Here at the campground we see stump after stump where they have removed the dead trees. In fact in the loop we are in there are some trees on the lake side, but in the loop itself there is a lone pine tree left. Unfortunately it is right on the road!!! When we made our initial drive around we barely missed it with the trailer. As the day went on and more people arrived........well let's just say it wasn't pretty!!!
A group of campers and a bus came in together and the first one made it through just fine..the second one just came barreling through and up over some stumps, a awful scraping noise followed, and the tree was bent over. Instead of stopping he continued on until it had gone the length of the trailer???? Then he got out and the air turned a little blue! And after watching this, one more camper and the bus took their turn. Mind you they had witnessed the previous camper making the bend. First one through no problems....the bus(towing a car) on the other hand just forged ahead..............ssssccccrrrrrraaaaaaapppppeeeee...we are hollering watch your car, your car, your CAR!! At which point he did turn wide, and saved the car from damage!! WOW it was an interesting afternoon to say the least. The bus has a nice gouge from the middle to the back and had pine branches stuck in the slide out!!

Note since then no one else has hit that tree!!!

Our first night here we were treated to a beautiful sunset!

The skies were a beautiful shade of pinks and purples.

Standing along side the trailer and looking up at the half moon and I was able to take this shot, even without a tripod!

The next morning we decided to take the kayaks down and tour the lake. Our friends Tom and Ann were able to rent a canoe....their dog Merckx on the other hand was not too keen on the idea!! They were able to get him in and paddle for a bit but we did make a b-line to the shore and let him spend a few hours resting from his ordeal while we finished our paddle!!

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful paddle.

This is the view from the lake back to our camper...she sure looks pretty here....I think she should stay!!!

These are our DEAR FRIENDS Tom and Ann Hahn. This is the second time we have traveled together to Colorado for vacation. Dave and Tom have been friends and bike buddies for many years now, and have gone on many many adventures together. In just a few days they will embark on a new adventure when they move to Malaysia for 2 years. Ann will be commuting back and forth from the states on her breaks from school. We wish them the very best of luck, but will miss them terribly!

Thanks again for sharing your vacation with us we have had such a GREAT time!!!

Thanks for the memories, here's to many more!