Sunday 8-24-25 Matchless Campground & Buena Vista

 

Turquoise Lake

 

We had a wonderful day. 

We woke up to a cool temperature of 50 degrees. It was perfect weather to sleep in. We even had to use a quilt. We weren't going too far so we took our time getting ready. Once everything was put away and secured we were on the road by 7:30 am. 

Before leaving Salida we stopped by Crossroads Visitor Center to top off our fresh water tank. Larry had read the visitor center had a dump station with non-potable water and on the side of a build had a fresh water spicket. We're going to Matchless Campground in Pike-San Isabel National Forest in Leadville and they don't have any water or power. We really didn't need any water but it was better to fill the tank than wish we had. Crossroads Visitor Center is a very nice facility.

After getting water we were on the road going to Buena Vista to take showers at their city park. It's about 25 miles from Salida and it's on the way to Leadville. Buena Vista is a beautiful town with shops and restaurants. The park has a lot of sport activities to do. It has small bicycle course, skate board park, dog park, hiking trail along the river and nice restrooms with showers ($1.00 for two minutes quarters only). We arrived at Buena Vista a little after 8:00 and the restrooms were open and clean. Last year we had to wait. We parked in a big parking lot and walked across the street to the bathhouse. We took turns taking showers and they were excellent showers. The only problem is when your two minutes are up to have to get out of the shower and put another dollar in the machine. I had to do this but Larry was able to shower and wash his hair in two minutes.

 

The mountain range that surround Buena Vista

 

Playground

 

Bathhouse

 

After taking showers we had breakfast. Then we decided to get back on the road. On the way to Matchless Campground we were going to go to Leadville National Fish Hatchery and do a short hike, this would allow us to arrive at the campground a bit later. However, the road was closed due to a bridge being out so we had to turn around and go to the campground. We got to Matchless a little after 10:00, we parked the Minnie and waited until some people left. They have until 12:00 and check-in isn't until 2:00. While we were waiting I made pancakes for lunch. A car was in the site we like and left around 11:00 so we moved over there. The site is #7 and it's by the hiking trails. The site is a bit unlevel so we had to block passenger side of the Minnie.

Once we set up for our stay we tried to turn on the refrigerator. Larry had turned it off in Buena Vista because we weren't level. It wouldn't turn on. Larry had a project to do. It took him a bit but he found the temperature limit switch had gone bad. This switch is required to be put in from the manufacture because there were cases where the refrigerator would over heat and the RV caught fire. He bypassed the switch and now the refrigerator works. 

After the project he went on the web and found the part has been discontinued. While doing research on the switch he learned a lot about the refrigerator. He enjoys learning about different stuff.

We were going to pay for our site online but decided to pay by check because it was cheaper. Online they charge you $28 per night plus a $10 reservation fee and taxes. If we pay with cash or check it's $27 per night and there is no reservation fee nor taxes. Because we have the Senor Pass camping is half price. We paid for four nights, the cost was $54 dollars.  

About 2:30 a front came through. We got a little rain but not much. The weather forecast predicted the rain would be here by then. It sprinkled on and off until 6:00. Larry read and I played games.    

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Tri Peaks). It took me 2 hours, 44 minutes and 40 seconds, which put me in 23rd place in my group.

For dinner I made Campbell's chili with Fritos in it. After dinner we went for a walk Larry walked with me for 45 minutes for 2 miles. We walked to the other campground to get some steps. I continued walking for another 40 minutes. By the time I finished I had walked 3.25 miles total of 8,500 steps. The total of steps I for the day was 14,000 steps. While walking I met a couple with two dogs in the overflow lot. I said hi to the dogs and every time I walk by they would watch me. I talked to our neighbors they also have a couple of dogs. We had a great walk.

 

My new friends