Western National Parks & More - Fall 2015

[Pmount]

Friday, September 18
Start: Guernsey, WY
End: Horsetooth Reservoir campground (Larimer CO), Fort Collins, CO

Seemed to be the only campers in this part of the park. In our camp area was a ramada built by the CCC as a roof over a water spout. It is a wonderful example of the work they did.

CCC water ramada


After breakfast we drove back to the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) Museum. This was one
of the highlights of the trip! The Guernsey State Park Junior Ranger program has you complete
a series of questions and fill-in-the blanks from displays inside the museum. The inside, including the displays, is just as it was when it was built in 1936 by the CCC. Walking into the museum was like a step back in time! The staff member on duty was very helpful while I was working on the Junior Ranger booklet and even awarded my husband the special coin for completing both the Fort Laramie NHS and the state park's Junior Ranger programs. When we told her he was not doing the dual program, she assured us that he had earned it by helping me.

CCC Museum




Special Commemorative Coin


Back to I-25, south into Colorado. Our first stop was at the Colorado Welcome Center, near Fort Collins for the Cache Le Poudre NHA passport stamp. We had thought of continuing into Rocky Mountain National Park, but soon found out that finding a camping spot on a beautiful Fall Friday afternoon could be difficult. We decided to stay around Fort Collins and go into the park on Saturday with the plan to drive across to the west side. We went up to Horsetooth Reservoir, west edge of Fort Collins to find a Full sign at 1:30 PM. Because they had another campground a few miles away we drove up to the kiosk, behind the full sign, and were pleased to find out a couple of sites had just become available. Once settled in we returned to Fort Collins for some shopping and letterboxing. One letterbox series took us to several breweries, a perfect match for us. The first 2 were very busy which made it difficult to find the boxes without being noticed. The last one, Fort Collins Brewery, was much calmer; we stayed for beer and appetizers.

Fort Collins Brewery


We returned to the camp for a delightful evening along the reservoir edge, including watching
kids out on SUPs (stand up paddleboards).

Passport Stamp
Cache La Poudre River National Heritage Area

Bonus Stamps
Guernsey State Park - date - Guernsey, WY
Lake Guernsey Museum built by CCC - Guernsey, WY

Wildlife Sightings
Cottontail Rabbit
Pronghorn
Mule Deer

Gull
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Canada Geese
Common Raven
Townsend's Solitaire
Swallows