Wow… What a Campground!!!

Thank goodness for Facebook!

When we first started planning this trip, I asked on one of my Facebook groups for suggestions of things we absolutely must not miss. Several folks mentioned Colorado National Monument, so I planned it into our trip.

After we left Glenwood Springs, we ventured a short distance toward Grand Junction and took in the Monument. It turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip! We loved it. It was absolutely gorgeous, and the landscape of the canyons seemed to change around every turn in the road.

From there, we headed southwest to Ridgway State Park.

I usually avoid state parks because so many don’t have the services we like—power, water, etc. But this one was highly rated, so I took a chance and made our reservation way back in January.

Now I know why you have to book it so far in advance!

Huge, open sites with views everywhere, a river flowing through the campground, power, water AND sewer at each site—and even laundry in the campground.

WAHOO!

All for about $40 a night. We have absolutely loved it here and have used it as our base camp for all kinds of exploring.

Of course, before the exploring could begin, we had to make a stop at Les Schwab in Montrose. We discovered that one of the tires on the truck was wearing very poorly.

So… Banks got new tires.

There goes the travel budget! 😂

Then we made our way to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. For us, this was nothing compared to Colorado National Monument, and we hardly stayed any time at all. The area had been badly burned in 2025, and with all the charred, black landscape, it was pretty spooky.

Our next adventure took us to Ouray, known as the “Switzerland of America.” It is a cute former mining town nestled right in the mountains. We did a little hiking at Box Cañon Falls, and it was gorgeous.

We liked Ouray just fine…but the best was yet to come.

Next up was Telluride, and we LOVED it! Of all the ski towns we have visited, this was our favorite. It is just beautiful and has such a fun atmosphere.

History has it that Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank here. Of course, Jim loved that little piece of information!

Telluride also has a FREE gondola that takes you up and over the mountain and down the other side. You know me—I love riding gondolas—and this one was my favorite yet!

The town just has a fun vibe. There was music, people shopping, people sitting around enjoying the day, and plenty to see. Ruby even made some friends on the street when we met a guy walking FOUR doodles on leashes!

We had treats and, of course…

Jim found BBQ.

We also explored part of the Million Dollar Highway. We didn’t go too far because of mudslides and roadwork, but what we did see was beautiful—and pretty scary!

After surviving that, Jim apparently needed to recover…

So he returned to the Smokehouse for more BBQ.

😂

It has also rained quite a bit this week.

And when I say rain, I mean RAIN.

It dumped.

And then it dumped some more.

So one day was spent inside Big Bertha getting caught up on things, watching a movie, reading our books, doing laundry and paying bills. Even on a grand adventure, apparently the bills still know how to find you.

Ruby had also become a shaggy mess, so we found a place to get her groomed. She smells wonderful and looks so cute again!

She has been a little frustrated, though, by the deer wandering around outside our trailer. We refuse to let her off leash, and she is absolutely DYING to chase them. Sorry, Ruby. Not happening.

So that pretty much sums up another week of fun:

Rain, BBQ, gondolas, waterfalls, more BBQ, beautiful scenery…and normal life stuff like laundry and bills.

Oh—and did I mention that the Cherry Pie Contest is still going strong?

Jim has been trying cherry pie everywhere we go, and so far the reigning champion is still…

🥧 Cowboy Café in Sheridan, Wyoming!

We’ll see if anyone can knock them out of first place before this trip is over.

Thanks for joining us on our excursions. And please keep those suggestions coming—we have found some of our very favorite places because someone told us, “Don’t miss this!”

The Official Amandus Report

🚐 Miles Traveled: Still adding them up!
🏕️ Campground: Ridgway State Park — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌧️ Weather: Rain, rain…and MORE rain!
💦 Found Water? Absolutely! Rivers, waterfalls and plenty falling from the sky. Not to mention the reservoir by our camp!
🍖 BBQ Report: Jim made sure the research continued. Thoroughly.
🥧 Cherry Pie Leader: Cowboy Café — Sheridan, Wyoming 🏆
🐾 Ruby Report: Freshly groomed, smelling good, and VERY annoyed that chasing deer is against campground rules.
❤️ Favorite Adventure: Telluride!
💸 Unexpected Expense: Four new shoes for Banks. Ouch.
😂 Quote of the Week: “Do we have time for BBQ?”

Next stop: DURANGO!

Jim • Lauri • Ruby
Amandus On The Loose
Exploring America—One Backroad, One Campground, One Adventure at a Time.