June 29th - July1st Arapaho National Forest

June 29^th
We arrived at our new camp spot in the Arapaho National Forest on Granby Lake. There were several campgrounds, but we opted for Sunset Point in Rainbow Bay. The campground is approximately ½ between the town of Granby and Grand Lake. 

June 30^th
Today we Jeeped around the towns of Granby, Grand Lakes, and Arapaho National Forest.  Our thoughts were to take a ride (2hours) to Steamboat Springs but the weather turned to stormy in the afternoon.

Eagle’s nest in Willow Creek

They say that weather in the mountains can change fast, be prepared. Wow, they weren’t kidding. We saw dark clouds across the lake, but all of sudden the winds picked up and it was so strong that it knocked out about 20 Lodge Pole Pines from the root.

Not only were trees down, but one of those pines landed on top of the Jeep (better than on the RV). Luckily, there was only a little roof damage. The forest rangers that came around to check on the safety of the campers and assess the damage said that this kind of wind was rare.

For the next few hours we heard the sounds of chain saws and generators. There we canopies and tents that were headed for the dumpsters after the storm. Once the forest department workers removed the tree, we were able to repair the roof with a little duct tape (glad the roof on the Jeep is gray…it’s a good match).

July 1^st The weather was stunning, so we hung out at the camp site enjoying the sun (and charging batteries with solar panels) and the lake.

It was a lazy day of peeking through the binoculars at hawks and pelicans hunting and catching fish, people watching the boaters, and watching the clouds build up in the mountains.