Stop 17: Steamboat Springs, CO

We had a lot of ups and downs on the way to Steamboat Springs but the road was straight as an arrow. We didn't know what to expect when we got here (this was one of those locations that was chosen because it was midway between point A and point B).

Steamboat Springs is very nice. It apparently got it's name because one of the local hot springs sounded like a steamboat to one of the early explores. They claim that when the railroad came through, they changed the acoustics so the sound can no longer be heard (yeah sure).

Once we were set up, we made a run across town to Walmart. One of the chairs that we bought in the Blue Ridge Mountains last summer fell apart last night so we needed new chairs. Also, the car charger for our new GPS had decided to stop working so we needed to replace that.

Once we were back at our trailer, we took a walk.

The Yampa River near our campsite, full to the brim. This region has apparently had more than 200% of normal snowfall this year (a little different from SoCal.)

The tent camping sites on an island in the Yampa River. A bridge near our campsite accesses the island. The Steamboat Springs ski runs are in the background.

Once on the island, we noticed that the other piece of the Yampa has been blocked by a beaver dam. We looked for the lodge but beaver dams have a tendency to make the surrounding areas very marshy.

We took several pictures of the Yampa River and this was the only one that came close to showing how fast the water was flowing. 

Our truck and trailer across the Yampa from the island

We experienced a thunderstorm during our first evening in Steamboat Springs. In the morning, we repeated our walk from the previous evening and the river was even fuller if that's possible.

We didn't have big plans for our day. We drove downtown, parked and looked at many of the shops and galleries. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant that the Flaming Gorge Dam tour guide had recommended (it was very good). Then it was back to Walmart (Kristen's hair dryer had died). After doing some grocery shopping, we returned to the trailer and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We've battened down now since another thunderstorm is due shortly.

From this shot of the ski runs (taken from a spot that is across the road from Walmart), it's pretty clear why the slopes are closed for the season. Looks like there are a lot of dirt patches.

Tomorrow, we're off to Estes Park, CO and Rocky Mountain National Park.

-JC-