We have moved twice since the last blog post. We left Moab and traveled to Rabbit Valley Camping Area (BLM - Free Camping) near Grand Junction, Colorado. The reason for stopping here was to get some service done on the truck at the Dodge dealer in Grand Junction (we haven't been near any Dodge dealers for a while and the truck was due for maintenance). We were at Rabbit Valley for 5 days and left this morning for Elk Creek Campground near Gunnison, Colorado. Elk Creek Campground is in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. This is an interim stop on the way to Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Our route to Rabbit Valley and then on to Elk Creek Campground
Our site at Elk Creek Campground on Blue Mesa Reservoir - Blue Mesa Reservoir is the largest lake in Colorado with 96 miles of shoreline and an area of 14.3 Square Miles. It is located at 7500+ ft. so we expect some chilly nights while we are here.
View through back window of camper
Meanwhile, back at Rabbit Valley, we had a cattle drive go by our campsite one evening, complete with cowboys on horses. In addition to camping, most BLM land can be used for open range grazing land for cattle - cattle roaming about the campsites is pretty common on BLM land but this is the first cattle drive we have seen.
Also at Rabbit Valley, right near the camping area was a hiking trail called the "Trail Through Time" that is an active dinosaur fossil study area where excavations are still going on. The trail has a number of partial dinosaur skeleton fossils that were left in place as it was impractical to remove them. The sign below shows what you are looking at in the next picture.
This one is easier to make out
This one is pretty clear in person but is so long that it doesn't photograph well
Near the campsite we found a couple of geocaches - this one was named "Bone Hunter's Tomb" - note the coffin shaped box that held the geocache
It rained much of the time we were at Rabbit Valley which caused a lot of desert wildflowers to bloom
Close-up of above
