My 72nd birthday… celebrated driving to Colorado to return to work… to earn money for car repairs and backpacking gear. Yippy, hooray.
Worked at Meadow Lake Campgrounds in the White River National Forest in the summer of 2012 (you can look at photos for Summer 2012 listed in right column here). I was just rehired for the Summer Season 2016 with better employment conditions. I will not be isolated at 10,000ft with not communications with the world.
North Fork Campground is set in a towering aspen grove on the western slope of the Colorado Rockies at an elevation of 7,800 feet. This is an ideal setting for guests seeking recreation and relaxation.
This is where I will be for the summer. Come visit.
Good news, bad news. I am safe at basecamp. I go on payroll tomorrow (5/18). Yippy. Bad news... no Verizon signal here, now what do I do with 17 Gb of internet per month???? All the chatting and texting I was doing on the phone has stopped. SPOT notices can still go out by satellite. I will have no signal unless I go to town... but for sure will never be able to use 17GB or even 10 or even 4.
Good news, after arriving at base camp last night, my boss gave me hot chicken soup and told me to take the day off today. I will set up my solar to charge my house batteries, and settle in.
I am using the company Wi-Fi, I will be limited most likely in how much time I will be online. Please, if you visit my Facebook page, remember to comment as you please, but refrain from hitting the LIKE button on posts and photos as that eats up too much of my limited time. I will be blocking people who do not respect my repeated requests. Thank you.
This employment will allow me to save fund to repair my van (last month had to replace an 02 sensor and cat. converter on Bank 2, and now I think Bank 1 is going) and to also obtain gear needed for the Arizona Trail hike, which I may postpone til Spring 2017. I appreciate your continued support and the advances I got for gas to get to CO will be repaid very soon.
Below are photos of my trip. I hope they will all load.
Had a COPD episode from visiting homes with pets on the way, lost a crown from my tooth and had to find a dentist, an hour later, I broke a piece off another tooth. Geez, what a birthday my 72nd was. It can only get better in the future.
Lots and lots of water in the Colorado River. Look out downstream.
This is the North Fork of the White River… I’ll be camped up that way another 30 miles.
There is snow on the distant peaks. We can not yet get to Meadow Lake Complex… the road is still closed.
I had forgotten how very beautiful it was up here in the Rockies. My lungs are loving it. I am happy to be back working with Judith Cottrell, who was my supervisor in 2012. She is a jewel (and makes very good chicken soup).