Camping at Guanella Pass

It feels weird to say we were up in the mountains enjoying our beautiful state of Colorado when half of it is on fire. But, we did. We headed up to Guanella Pass, just outside Georgetown. We camped here a couple of years ago and loved it, so it was our first choice for camping this year. Unfortunately, no campfires were allowed, but we were willing to give up a few hours of fun if it would help keep Colorado safe. There was some sort of snafu with our reservation, and even though I had reserved a site by the creek months ago, they put us in the wrong site. Since the creek sites were occupied, there wasn’t a whole lot we could do, so after some initial grumpiness, we decided to make the best of it.

Our campsite was surrounded by tall pine trees and lots of places to explore. We were very close to the creek, so the boys were having a good time. After we set everything up, we took a walk around the campground hoping to spot some wildlife, but we were out of luck. Unfortunately, the campsite was swarming with mosquitos! They were everywhere and they were awful. Maybe it was a good thing we weren’t by the creek! When we stayed at this campsite before, we didn’t see a single mosquito. (Of course it was a lot colder when we were there before.) Without a campfire to smoke them out, they were incredibly annoying! We covered everyone with bug spray, put on long sleeves and long pants and set the citronella candle in the fire pit. We sat around our “campfire” and read The World According to Humphrey. (One of those rare chapter books that adults like as much as kids!) Since the night was clear, we actually got to see Mars and Saturn in the night sky. Then it was off to bed for an evening of freezing and not sleeping. (I’m getting too old to sleep on the ground! I’ve gone from looking at campers in RVs with scorn to being insanely jealous of them.)

Tuesday morning I was up at 6:00 (did I ever really go to sleep?) and took Cosmo for a walk. Once everyone was awake, Chris and I debated if we were going to stay a second night. No sleep and 8 billion mosquitos will do that to you! We decided to hold off on making a decision until the afternoon. We went for a hike on Square Top Lakes Trail (you can read more about the hike HERE.) It was raining when we returned, so the boys played in the tent and Chris and I sat at the bench under the sun shade we just bought. (I can’t believe we’ve gone for so long without one!) We decided that we don’t get to go camping much, so we were going to stay for one more night. We have one more camping trip planned this summer, but considering it’s proximity to the Waldo Canyon Fire, we may have to cancel it. Might as well enjoy the one we are on! Since it rained, the mosquitos were even worse, so we hung out in the tent playing card games. Turns out the boys love Uno! We braved the mosquitos long enough to have dinner and read a few more chapters of Humphrey, then we went to bed around 8:00 p.m.

Everyone got a much better night’s sleep than the first night! The boys got to explore the woods and creek once more while Chris and I packed up the car. That’s got to be the worst part of camping, right? On our drive back down Guanella Pass we finally saw some wildlife, an American Marten and a mule deer (at which Cosmo barked her head off!) Overall, we had a great time. It is such a beautiful area on Guanella Pass, and it’s great to get all of us away from electronics for a few days. They boys get to explore nature and use their imaginations, and Chris and I get to just sit and relax without thinking about what chores need to be done next. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful state!