Day 38: Telluride, CO to Buena Vista, CO

I have to admit...I left Telluride with tears in my eyes. We had such an amazing time! It was so hard to leave. When we woke up on day 38, we thought about staying at a campground just on the outside of town--Sunshine Campground--but after driving through and seeing that the sites were full we decided to get back on the road. 

We dropped by to say goodbye to our friends who were staying nearby before setting out to see where the road would take us.

We drove through Salida, CO and through the Upper Arkansas River Watershed. The area is one of the most popular for white-water rafting. We found some awesome looking campsites right on the water, but they were all full! This wasn't too surprising since it is such a gorgeous area and it was a Friday night. 

We met a Park Ranger in one of the campsites who pointed us in the direction of some more isolated spots to try. With the sun getting closer and closer to the horizon, we pulled off the main road on to a dusty and bumpy road with our fingers crossed that we would find a site. 

Just as we were beginning to question the decision to pull off the main road, a man and his son on a dirt bike pulled up and asked if we wanted them to ride ahead and see it any sites were open. We jumped at the offer, and before long we were pulling into a spacious spot with a breathtaking view of the town in the valley known appropriately as "Buena Vista."

After setting up camp, we ate dinner and relaxed for a bit. Kevin hiked up to the top of a rock for an even better view while I enjoyed some solitude. It's fire season in the west, so we did NOT make a campfire. We just let the dark settle in around us before heading to bed in the Scamp...happy to be back on the road again after so long!