Vallecito

It's a rainy Sunday afternoon here in Vallecito, Colorado. We are wrapping up a two week stay in the Vallecito campground in the San Juan National Forest by spending the night in a private RV park. This gives us to opportunity to dump our tanks, refill the fresh water tank, do our laundry and get a good internet connection to catch up on the Wanderings.

Vallecito campground is 3 miles north of Vallecito Reservoir, which is 22 miles northeast of Durango, Colorado. This is the first time we have stayed in a Forest Service campground and we enjoyed it immensely. The campground is bordered by Vallecito Creek and the Weminuche Wilderness Area. 

Vallecito Creek by the campground

The Creek looked like it would be great fishing once the spring runoff subsides. But I was told by the park host that he has never seen anyone catch anything larger than fingerlings. Most of the fishing interest in the area is in the Vallecito Reservoir.

Staying in a Forest Service campground has been a new and significantly different experience for the Leos. Since it doesn't offer the amenities of an RV park, such as water, sewer and electrical hook-ups, the stay requires attention to basics. Water conservation is a key and we did pretty well until the middle of our second week. I have learned that while traveling up and down the mountain highways and back roads, we loose some of the full tank of fresh water we started with. We left the Cottonwood State Park with our 70 gallon tank full, but by the time we pulled into Vallecito it was down to 2/3. After about 10 days, we were running low. Of course we could have stretched it further by not taking a Navy shower every other day or not giving the Trusty Companion a bath on day ten, but some things are just worth hauling water for. Leo's coat has gotten long and is now working like a Swiffer Duster, picking up campground dirt by the pound. By day ten he was beginning to look a darker shade of grey than the squirrels. So, I broke out the Jerry cans and hauled water to get us back to 1/3 full.

There are trade offs for the extra effort required to stay in Forest Service campgrounds. Instead of paying $30 per night which is typical in an RV park, we were paying $8.50 per night with my Senior pass. But more important than the cost saving was the quiet solitude the campground offered.

View from our "front porch" in Vallecito campground

 While there were other camping parties in the campground, campsites are scattered and the forest is pretty dense, so the most often heard sounds were sounds of nature.The roar of the water in the creek was most prevalent and provided a constant backdrop for the barking of squirrels and chipmunks in the daytime and frogs and crickets at night.

When it came time to fish, we headed off to Vallecito Reservoir. Due to the drought in this part of the country, I was surprised to find that Vallecito Reservoir is almost full. I was told that this occurred unexpectedly from three days of heavy rains in early May. This is the first major lake I have seen in three years that is filled near capacity.

Vallecito Reservoir with burn scar in the background

North end of Vallecito Reservoir.

 This is a large lake, with 4.3 square miles of surface area. It's also deep and full of large trout and pike. While this is not my preferred type of fishing (sitting on the bank waiting for my rod tip to twitch) it was productive and the trout tasted good.

Vallecito Reservoir trout

In 2002, the area around Vallecito was hit hard by the Missionary Ridge Forest Fire, which burned over 70,000 acres between June 9 and July 28. 58 homes were lost, 28 of which were in the Vallecito valley. In a mission to pay tribute to the 4,000 firefighters who fought the blaze, a local wood carver, using actual photos taken during the fire, was commissioned to carve images of fire fighting personnel, animals and equipment. These carvings are now displayed at various locations around the valley and comprise the Tour of Carvings. Taking the tour was worth the drive. To see a slideshow of all 15 carvings, click here.

 

Tomorrow we will hook out of here and wander on. We will head through Pegosa Springs, then drop down through Chama, New Mexico to catch highway 17 north into the Conejos Valley of Colorado. We plan to hang there for a few days then head on north toward Pikes Peak.