Late in the afternoon we arrived at Hayden Creek Campground. It is a small, quiet campground which apparently does not see heavy use – our favorite kind! There was a slight threat of rain, so we prepared the tent accordingly. We took extra measures to protect the bottom since we were situated near the base of a steep hill and likely in the path of runoff. As dusk approached, two deer appeared in the campground. They took their time wandering through, munching along the way before looping around behind our tent and disappearing into the woods.
In the morning, we packed a lunch and set out for the Poncha Creek Jeep trail. This peaceful trail wove us through the forest, emerging to views of the valleys below and a lake with a campground nestled beside it.
Eventually, we encountered a colony of ground squirrels, which I absolutely adore! They were obviously quite busy with their digging and foraging, and wore the dirt proudly on their “hands”, feet and faces!
We were treated to lush green landscapes all around, accented by sagebrush and boulders. Several deer appeared along the drive as well.
The trail took about two and a half hours, and before we knew it we reached the end point and it was time to head back to camp.
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| We did not ride this thing. Ken wanted no part of it! |
Our two deer friends from the night before re-appeared around dusk again, and we speculated that the campground might be part of their daily route.
The next morning we were visited by a group of hummingbirds, who were very busy checking out the red jerry cans on the Jeep to see if they contained nectar. It seemed like they were a family; some would sit on a branch while others would buzz around and then return to perch by the ones already sitting. They repeated this several times for a few minutes before taking off. Naturally, my camera was in the Jeep. I was lucky to get a few blurry shots of a straggler after all the others had left.
The Fourmile Area Jeep trail was our selection for this day; it was about 25 miles long and took a little over three hours to complete. Again, the scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect.
There were a couple of rougher sections on this trail, which was exciting, although it is rated in our guide book as easy. Perhaps things had changed a bit since the last publication, but it did not pose any problems.
We came across some pronghorn sheep in an open field, which was a nice surprise. There was a small group of females, quickly followed by a male.
Just after that, we passed another surprise – a group of cows hanging around a livestock gate, apparently belonging to a ranch in the area.
The scenery continued to unfold before us, captivating at every turn, until we reached the end of the trail. There is nothing quite like exploring, whether in a vehicle or on foot! The beauty and solitude has such a calming yet invigorating effect, and we could spend the majority of our time doing only this and be perfectly happy!
On the road back to the campground, I finally got a picture of this unusual windmill we’d already passed several times. There was a lady standing on the front porch of the house it belonged to, smiling knowingly. Many other admirers had likely passed through before we did.
After dinner, we drove back down the road to check out a couple of things on our last night there. I spotted several sphinx moths swarming on a patch of flowers. They were very busy feeding, and seemed undaunted by my presence.
It was nearly time to settle in for the evening, so we meandered back toward camp, enjoying the sunset on our way.
It's hard to believe there are more pictures! They are divided into separate albums for each day – take a look!
Drive to Hayden Creek Campground, Colorado
Poncha Creek Jeep Trail
Fourmile Area Jeep Trail, Colorado
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