8/30/22 Carbondale, Yampa, Flat Irons, CO

8/30/22  Tuesday

49 degrees this morning.  We head into the town of Carbondale to get some gas and refill our propane tank.  I asked the lady at the gas station if there is a good place to get breakfast and she suggested a nearby diner called Honey Butter.

We found Honeybutter and enjoyed an excellent breakfast.  Beth had a waffle and fruit - the waffle was shaped like a honeycomb and came with a whipped honey butter.  Greg had a piece of sour dough toast covered with sliced avocado and a sunny side up egg and sprinkled with almond slices.  Plus a "Breakfast Salad" - mostly spinach with fruit and a light vinaigrette.

We go east on 70 to the Bellyache Ridge exit, and then 131N.  At a rest stop,  Greg double checks the undercarriage, which is holding well.  Passed finger rock and some other interesting rocky areas. This is known as the Ute Valley and was home to several bands of Ute Indians for almost 200 years.

The above is called "The Fingers".

 We drive to the town of Yampa, and then west on CR17- Scenic Flat Top Trail.  It is a gravel road, wide and pretty good condition, and the terrain is relatively flat. Most of the trip will be in the Routt National Forest.  Beyond this is the Mount Zirkel Wilderness area.

A mix of evergreens, shrubby bushes and aspen, with occasional streams, lakes and reservoirs.

The plan was to go a Lodge near the midpoint of the trail, and then backtrack, but after MP47 and Vaughn Lake, we opt to turn around.  The scenery is nice, but nothing spectacular. Lots of aspen, which, we read, took over after the bark beetles destroyed much of the pine forest in the 1940's and 50's.

The yellow flowers here are not the small sunflowers we've seen along the way, but they are just as plentiful!

We can see the "little flat tops", dark flat-topped mountains, as we begin and apparently there are much bigger ones further west. We are surprised to see quite a few sheep along the way, along with guard dogs. Not the kind of wildlife we were hoping for....

 

Another huge herd floods the road.

 In one spot we see a small trailer (reminds me of a gypsy wagon)and a man mounting a horse.  He is the sheep herder, probably Basque as we find out there are many in this area.  He is heading out to check on the sheep we assume. 

On the way back we stop at Chapman Reservoir and reserve nicely wooded site #10 for the night. All of $5.  This is the forest behind us. I love it!

 We talk for a while with the camp host, Nancy, who is walking her dog, Delaware.  She is a local who has been doing this for 5 years.  She is probably 30-40 and her husband is a ski instructor. She fills us in on the sheep (basically free range in vast areas) and says they've only "invaded" the campground once which caused some issues.  She recommends several cool places to see near Denver, including FairPlay, South Park, Glenville and Redstone "Castle".

We walk around the reservoir and chat with another local ("born just over that hill") whose husband is here trying to land a few trout. She tells us about a nearby road to the base of the Flat Tops, but the camp host tells us later that it is a very low clearance road for the last mile or so. We are a little shy of challenging roads right now.

Greg gets a nice fire going, we have worsts, chips and apples for dinner and enjoy a quiet evening.  The campground is less than half full, with no near neighbors. And no bugs! We have had a blessedly bug-free trip thus far!