Boondocking on the Dolores River

Saturday, July 21

After leaving Navajo National Monument we stopped for 2 nights at the Dolores River RV Park in Dolores, Colorado. We needed to dump, take on fresh water, and do some laundry.

This morning, after a wonderful breakfast of berry waffles and bacon, we hooked everything up and headed up the river. From previous trips, we knew about a couple of places south of Rico where we could park the trailer next to the river and camp for free. Yesterday, Don had come fishing up this way so he could check the spots out, and reported that one area was full and the other was impassable due to giant holes in the dirt road.

So, we were prepared to strike out and continue north to the Cayton Campground this side of Lizard Head Pass. However, when we arrived at the first spot, we saw that one of the sites had been vacated. Hooray!




We backed in to the site easily, and I think it's perfect! We have gravel on our "porch" instead of dirt, we can hear the river since it's only 10 yards away, and there are tall pines on 3 sides to keep us shaded from the sun. I put out my solar lights (the kind that have hummingbirds and dragonflies on them) and noticed a few hummingbirds darting around. Within seconds of hanging up the hummingbird feeder, there were two thirsty little birds drinking from it.




These are our neighbors to the north, but I took this photo just before the closest one left. Now we only have the two units that are the farthest away as neighbors. In this photo, the highway is to the right, and the mountains in the distance are the Rico Mountains. Not a bad place for free!




Right behind the river is a shaded alcove next to the river. I sat here and read for several hours this morning while Don went fishing. This afternoon the clouds rolled in, bringing thunder, lightning, and lots of rain.

Dinner was oven-fried halibut and some red potatoes. Right now we're sitting inside--Don's reading--while the generator recharges the batteries. We can hear more thunder as it continues to rain. It's so nice to not be hot!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad