Denver to Salida

After three months in Denver preceded by six months in Tucson, I am looking forward to travel once again. Perhaps I needed the break from travel. I'm ready for nomadic exploring. This initial 150 mile day is the first leg of my journey to San Diego. Vague planning will get me to San Diego late November. Maybe December.

At 8:30 this morning, I hitched up Silver Slug to Wandrin Wagon and started the climb to higher elevations from Colorado's mile high Front Range. Traveled US Hwy 285 through the mountain towns of Aspen Park, Conifer, Pine Junction, Bailey and eventually arrived at 10000 feet at Kenosha Pass. As I drove, I recalled many hiking adventures that required the drive on 285 and beyond Kenosha Pass.

Stopped at the Kenosha Pass summit for a rest break. Leaving the summit and on the turn heading south on 285, South Park from Kenosha Pass comes into view. It is natural beauty. That scene is a wide open space ending at distant mountains on the horizon.

Across South Park at 9000 feet, it is miles of ranch grassland and several passes. The last pass was shortly after Antero Junction to see the Collegiate Peaks ahead. Continuing to lose elevation following the Arkansas River drainage, I arrived at free camping on the Arkansas River south of Salida on US Hwy 50.

After living wall to wall at the claustrophobic spaces at the Elks for almost three months, these camp sites on BLM are unmarked. Just pick a place to park. Arriving in the middle of the Labor Day weekend limited my choices. Since everything was level where I parked, I stayed hooked up in the event a primo space opened up on Labor Day after the weekenders headed back home.

Arrived shortly before noon. Since the freezer was off since early this morning, it was a good time to defrost. More appropriately, it was deicing. Whole lot more space in the freezer after the defrosting/deiceing.

It's great to be away from the fast pace, too many wide roads and too many people. Time for a quiet recharge for this loner.

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Note: Three bars of Verizon 3G access using Millenicom WiFi.