Sunday 8/25/24 Matchless Campground

 

Matchless Lake

Today we didn't have far to drive, about 65 miles so I slept in until 6:30. I slept very well and the temperature was very mild. We woke up to temperatures in the low 50s felt great just had to put a lite jacket on. 

We had a lite breakfast and were on the road by 7:30. The drive was a two lane highway with gorgeous views of the mountains. 

On the way to Matchless, which is near Leadville we stopped in Buena Vista to take a shower at their town park. According to the website the showers are 7am to 10pm but the hours had changed, the sign on the door said they close at 5:00pm. When we got there a bit before 8:00 the bathrooms were closed. A gentleman showed up at 8:00 and cleaned them. We waited until he was done and then took our showers. The showers were very nice and clean. It cost $2.00 for four minutes but the water turns on after putting $1.00 in. The water temperature was perfect for me. They had a sign, that said the water could be hot so be careful. You can't adjust the temperature. The park is very well used by the locals. It has a playground, paved walking trail around the park, bicycle skill course and kayaking launch area. Buena Vista is a quaint town with shops, cafes, coffee shops and restaurants. 

We arrived at Leadville before 11:00, we decided to check out another hiking area. There's a trailhead by the Mountain College so we drove there. We couldn't check out the area because there was a mountain bike event going on. It was a huge event. The parking was full and a lot of people walking around and riding their bikes. The area where the trail was was closed off. The guys directing traffic were very friendly and helped up get out of the area.

Leadville has a dispersed area for camping down a dirt road. Last year it was very dusty and looked rough. But when we drove by it today it looked like they had smoothed the road and put oil on it. There were a lot of people using the area.

When we got to Matchless we were surprised to see a lot of campers were still there, but it was 11:00 and check out wasn't until noon. Check in was at 2:00. We found a site and parked the Minnie. We had lunch and waited hoping the site we liked the best came available. It came available a little after noon. As the couple was pulling out Larry asked if they were leaving and the lady said they were and it was a terrific site. We moved over to site #7 and set up for our stay. Then we went over to pay for three nights, we will probably be here longer. You can now pay via an app on your phone but since these are first come first serve sites you can only pay for one night at a time. They also charge you an extra 10%. We paid for the three nights with a check.

 

View of the lake through the trees on our site

 

When we got back to the Minnie we set up our chairs. Then we walked around. Last year there was a water spicket for drinking water but this year the spicket was turned off. We asked the guy manning the ramp and he said they had a water leak and didn't fix it. If we need water we will have to go to town. This was disappointing because the website said they had water.

Larry started another book. I asked him to choose another book for me. He chose The Story of Arthur Truluv (Mason) by Elizabeth Berg. I started reading it and so far it's a good book. It very well written and it makes you laugh.

 

  

Reading is fun

We walked around a little. After dinner I walked around for 45 minutes to get some steps. While walking I talked to a couple and their dog I met last year. I had a great walk but stopped because a front came in. There was a little rain and a strong wind but it didn't last long. When it stopped raining I walked around the campground for another half hour. The rain came back and stayed around for the rest of the night. I ended up doing 15,000 steps. This got me the 100,000 steps challenge I was working for for the week. This put me in 9th place in my group.