August 13-17 2016, Maroon Bells, Colorado

Chillin’ and hosting at the Maroon Bells campgrounds.

Check it out-they are having a BBQ to welcome us!! Should be fun. Sunset from Silver Bell Campground.

Here I am in my host uniform. Pretty offical looking! One of the guests were on their honeymoon.These were a couple of their gifts. Beer called eat-drink and be Married and some premade s’mores!

We have two days off. Today was kind of cloudy so we headed to town. Here is downtown Aspen. It is a very beautifully restored  historic town.Immaculatly landscaped. The are  lots of huge, beautiful mansions that people only live in a few days a year. It is the playground of the rich and famous. It is set in an awesome high mountain area. There are 4 ski areas, three really huge and well known. I went to the thrift shop and John went to the grocery store.  Then John took us out to lunch at the Woody Creek Tavern. Here he is waiting to be seated.

Then back to the wilderness. I did a short hike down river from the East Maroon trail head. John gets up early and walks a short hike in the morning. There is this huge fishing hole in the river with lots of flowers.

The other side of the big hole. I need to get a fishing licence and fish here. Field of knappweed.  It is an invasive species that crowds out the native plants, but has pretty blooms.

A small wild flower studded stream. Eyeball grafitti on an aspen tree,  seed head, butterflies, currant berry, and a bee buried in a knapweed blossom.

Goose berries, monkey flower, wild geranium and a polymonium. On the way back I passed a horse back ride dinner. There was a cook grilling steaks and huge baked potatoes. He said this is the fifth year in a row that this family has gone on this ride.

I picked a big bag of wild raspberries on my hike and made raspberry-peach cobbler. Yum, yum.  They thought it was going to rain up valley so the BBQ got moved to the Forest Service bunk house in Aspen. Lots of food and good company. The Maroon crew are a group of really nice people.

Tarren, Peggy Jo and Clay. These two young men are the two the good bye party was for. Peggy Jo in the middle is a small woman, but these guys are really tall.