Camping in Grand Lake

SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2012

Last weekend our friend Krista surprised her husband Chris for his 40th birthday by secretly inviting everyone to join them on their a camping trip. Todd packed up our tent, grill, and fishing poles and we headed out. Best way to enhance the trip is to extend it to hunting and buy 223 ammo and other gears for the activity.

As we headed over Berthoud Pass we enjoyed the weather and the spectacular views of the mountains.

When we finally arrived in Grand Lake we took the famous wrong turn to Winding River Resort instead of the turn to Winding River Campground and ended up spending a little time with a local family.

One couple with a few babies got a cabin. At 36 degrees, we were all very thankful for that cabin.

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Not thankful enough, I guess. The snow and rain let up for just a moment and 7 of us decided to go fishing.

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We fished at a private lake that had just been stocked. The moment the poles hit the water…it started hailing

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In one boat, Chris and Abby-the-expert-fly-fisher didn’t mind the weather at all. They lost count of their fish.

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Eric and Abby’s man were in the other boat… when asked how it went they never answered.

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Todd and I fished on the dam with Krista’s dad. Todd caught our only fish. It was a pretty one though.

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We saw a river otter doing laps right next to us. He didn’t seem to mind the cold and rain at all. On the way back to camp we ran into a few others that didn’t seem to mind the cold and rain.

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Back to the cabin for a barbecue.

After fishing all day long…. we ate hamburgers for dinner. Heh.

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We sang Happy Birthday and ate DELICIOUS cupcakes.

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And since the rain finally let up…we spent the rest of the evening screwing around in the campground…

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…trying to stay warm by the fire.

We roasted marshmallows ‘for the kids’. And when it got dark enough Eric took out balloons with LED lights in them, filled them with helium, and sent them into the clear night sky like shooting stars.

Finally Todd and I retired to the tent we set up earlier in the freezing rain…

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SUNDAY, MAY 25, 2012
Our view of Grand Lake first thing in the morning…

First order of business was to make a hot breakfast over the campfire…

When the fog lifted we got a little bit better view of the lake from the dock behind our “tent”…

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When we arrived back at the campground everyone was already up.

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Well, not everybody.

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Todd took a walk on the wild side to get that photo

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I took a walk on the wild side too. We both went on a short hike and experienced the beauty of the wilderness. If you want to learn more about hiking trails, click here.

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You could hear this woodpecker banging on this metal sign from a mile away….

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The weather at the lake was a little different than the day before.

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I didn’t catch this fish but I had fun reeling it in and pretending like I did…

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Eric had a little bit better luck catching stuff today. Just not fish…

This guy thought it was funny…

Todd did it again!

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When we got it back home to Lafayette we introduced his catch to Buddy…

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And then Todd made dinner. Sooo good. Thanks Todd! Yum!!!!

And thanks to Krista and Chris and family and friends for a really fun weekend!