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Old 10-04-2004, 12:14 PM   #5
RockyMtnRay
TrailManor Master
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 816
Default Yes, it's the Pawnee Campground

Quote:
Originally Posted by BobWilson
Is this really a campground? Looks like you just backed into some trees in the middle of nowhere.
Yes, it most certainly is a developed National Forest Service campground...the here's its listing on ReserveUSA. The campground has 55 sites, most reserveable. The reason it looks like I was in the middle of nowhere is most of the campsites are spaced quite nicely...around 100 to 150 feet apart with a thick forest between sites.

I avoid as much as possible any campground where the site spacing is so small that I can even see another campsite. IOW, if I have to close any of my TM's side curtains to obtain privacy, I feel the campground is way too jammed together. The good news is I usually can find campgrounds with enough spacing between sites that not only do I not have to see any other campers but I don't even have to hear any voices from adjacent campsites. I came close to that in this campground...no voices but I could faintly hear a generator somewhere a few campsites over.

There was another TM in the campground and ours were by far the largest trailers there...the sites are quite narrow and small...and that really challenging climb up the access roads apparently keeps out the bigger rigs. (I did tell the other TM's owners about our website but they've never shown up here).


Quote:
Doesn't look like you have a picnic table or fire ring.
Yes, I believe my campsite did have a fire ring and a picnic table...IIRC, both were in a small clearing directly behind the trailer. The high altitude climate is usually not conducive to outdoor eating...summer evenings are usually quite cold and often fairly windy...even in mid July the windchill usually drops into the 40s at sunset. Hence I don't recall ever using a campsite picnic table. And after the massive wildfires of 2002, I stopped having a campfire. Since I never use the picnic table nor the fire ring, I never even think to include them in a picture. Sorry.

To be honest, the only folks I typically see using a campsite's picnic table are the tenters...basically everyone who has some form of RV (even a popup) eats inside where it's warm! Accordingly, the tables seem to be usually placed next to the campsite tent pad (which most sites have) and seldomly anywhere near the site's parking area. And it's my observation that not very many folks have campfires either...probably only around a quarter to a third of the campers do so. Again, too cold plus a lot of concern about wildfire...and at $6 for a small bundle of firewood, a campfire's not cheap either.

Quote:
Do you have any pictures of other campers or campsites, or restroom facilities?
No, sorry, didn't take any other pictures of the campground but recall that most of the other sites were even more forested and even smaller than my site. The ReserveUSA link above does have a "Photos" link with some additional campground pictures.

Quote:
If there are flush toilets then you can carry your gray water to a toilet. It's not too much work just takes time to make a few trips. It does make you be conservative on water.
The toilets were mostly the very old style, rather stinky pit toilets; one was a new style "no stink" vault toilet. None were of the flush variety...given the subarctic climate with bedrock just under the surface, my guess is a sewage/septic system is totally infeasible. So, no, there's definitely no option of draining the sewage/waste water into a tote and dumping it down a flush toilet. And simply dumping the grey water on the ground is absolutely prohibited due to the extremely fragile ecosystem of the campground area...anyone who would do this would be shortly paying a large fine to the Federal Magistrate in Denver. The ONLY way to get rid of waste water/sewage is to haul it 25 miles and 5000 feet down to a public dump station in the Town of Lyons. The round trip would be in the 1 to 1.5 hour range due to the extremely curvy, low speed limit roads.

Very, very few of the Forest Service campgrounds in Colorado have flush toilets and most of those that do also have dump stations since they have to have sewage systems anyway.

Quote:
By the way. This thread should have been placed under "Recommended Campgrounds and Places to Visit". That category I like to scan for new places to go.
Good suggestion. Perhaps we can get Chris to move it...or once Chris finishes with the "Mod" features, I can move it there myself.
__________________
Ray

I use my TM as a base camp for hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, and climbing Colorado's 14ers


The Trailer: 2002 TM Model 2720SL ( Mods: Solar Panels (170 Watts), Dual T-105 Batteries, Electric Tongue Jack, Side AC, Programmable Thermostat, Doran TP Monitor System)

The Tow Vehicle: 2003 Toyota Tundra V8 SR5 4X4 w/Tow Package (Towing & Performance Mods: JBA Headers, Gibson Muffler, 4.30 gears, Michelin LTX M/S Tires, Prodigy Brake Controller, Transmission Temperature Gauge)


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