© 2011 Richard Broadwell – Molas Lake

We started our Colorado adventure in Mesa Verde National Park.  I loved hanging outside and watching the deer, they would come really close.  Then all of a sudden one of my humans came running out of the silver bubble and chased the poor deer off.  I was shocked, but it turns out she saved me from being stomped.  Those mule deer were actually stalking me!  For a minute there I thought I was back in Hollywood.

© 2011 Richard Broadwell – Silverton, CO

Next stop was Durango where I met my first real cowboy and then up into the mountains to Silverton with an elevation of 9300 ft.

What a great little town.  We had a wonderful time at Handlebars Restaurant and Saloon though I didn’t quite understand why they have all those dead animals hanging around.

I hope that’s not how I’m going to end up, stuffed and nailed to the wall.

We loved the incredible town of Ouray, the inspiration for the utopian secret hideaway  in Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”.

© 2011 Richard Broadwell – Ouray, CO

And also nearby Telluride, which figures prominently in Thomas Pychon’s “Against The Day”.   I love Pynchon, my favorite is “The Crying of Lot 49”, probably because it’s his shortest.

© 2011 Richard Broadwell – Telluride, CO

The highlight of the trip was renting a jeep at the Silver Summit RV Park and driving the Alpine Loop through the San Juan Mountains.  If you ever get a chance this is an experience not to be missed.  There are many great jeep trails in the area but we did the 80 mile loop from Silverton past the ghost towns of Eureka and Animas Forks and through Engineer Pass which sits at 12,800.

© 2011 Richard Broadwell

At the top there were 10 ft snow banks on either side of the road which were welcomed after the terrifying sheer cliffs we’d been inching our way along.  I had to pry my paws off the steering wheel after that part.

But hey, I did get to play in the snow!

© 2011 Richard Broadwell

Then we wound our way down to Lake City, which is a very cool town that I had never heard of.   Then back up and over Cinnamon Pass at 12,600 ft on what I swore was nothing but a goat path!  Now they called it a jeep road but it was more like a trail of boulders.  I felt lucky to have come through it alive.  So much so that we had to celebrate that night with our neighbors Boo and Gracie, the most gorgeous chocolate labs you’ve ever seen, and their humans from Denver.  Chewy was there too with his humans from Oklahoma City.  They were all very camera shy and made me promise not to post anything on facebook (I have my own page you know) so there are no pictures to show you.  But let me tell you… a good time was had by all!

© 2011 Richard Broadwell

“WTF!  Where’s my sunglasses?! I’m feeling a little fuzzy this morning!”

After we recovered from that night and at my insistence we were off to Molas Lake, the highest campground in the United States at 10,300 ft.  You know me, I couldn’t resist a little swim in the freezing cold lake, it’s good for sore muscles you know.

© 2011 Richard Broadwell

But my titanium knees must have thrown me over the edge.  Having been at high altitude for over a week I thought I was all good, but soon the signs were there… and they weren’t pretty.  Luckily my humans had some altitude sickness pills with them and after a quick Google search they knew just how much to give me.  I was back to my old self in a half hour and able to enjoy the wonderful filet mignon we had by the campfire that night.  Yum yum.  That’s our spot below!

© 2011 Richard Broadwell – Molas Lake, CO

But our CO adventure was not to end there.  We very sadly left the Durango area and stopped along the way at The Great Sand Dunes National Monument where I just about had a cow over how hot it was.  I thought we’d left the desert finally, remember?

Thankfully, the next day we were off to Denver to get that pesky awning fixed.  We had not been able to use it since Lake Powell and the high altitude sun was taking its toll.  But alas the news was bad, very bad.   It would take $9500 and a couple of weeks in dry dock to properly repair the damage done to the aluminum skin.   Luckily for us we have Progressive as our insurance company because they jumped right on the case and cut a check immediately for an emergency repair.   A big shout out to Dave in the service department at Windish RV in Lakewood, CO for getting us in and out right before the big holiday weekend.   They did a fabulous job on the patch and our awning works again!  Yay!!

While the Airstream was in the shop we drove up to my grandparents house in Beaver Creek, CO.

They have a new baby boy, Tobey who we hadn’t met before.  And of course I was so glad to see my ole pal Jake again. I love both my uncles!

Unfortunately for me, I thought Tobey needed some discipline, he is a puppy after all.  But my humans didn’t agree and I spent a lot of time downstairs away from the boys while they all went to one fabulous dinner after another.

© 2011 Richard Broadwell – Beaver Creek Golf Course

My humans even went out and chased a little white ball around a bunch of hills without me, the nerve!  But I did discover Antler dog chews, they are 100% natural and organic AND they are a great source of Calcium, minerals and other nutrients.  Every one should get some.  Thanks Papa Stew and Linda!

Coming up Next:  Good Times in the Bad Lands