Campin' on the Piñon Mesa

Behind and above the Colorado National Monument

And then my Jeep died.

So I hooked its tow bar up to the motorhome and took it down to my mechanic in Grand Junction. I was going to be without it for a couple of weeks.

I stocked up the motorhome with groceries, gasoline for the generator, fresh water etc. and headed up to a campground I had discovered in my travels that no one ever goes to.

It’s called “Mud Springs” and it’s on BLM¹ land high up on the Piñon Mesa, south of and above the burg of Glade Park, Colorado, which itself is south of and above the Colorado National Monument. I first took you to the Piñon Mesa almost a year and a half ago:

And took you back for a return trip in this post:

Return to the Piñon Mesa

The road is paved as far as Glade Park. Beyond that, it is gravel road and not all that smooth. The terrain is dry and barren, covered in scrub that isn’t very scenic.

But at Mud Springs, there are pretty aspens, and potable water, and picnic tables, and a camp host. And good, strong cell signal so I had Internet. Plus, BLM campgrounds are far cheaper than US Forest Service campgrounds. Here’s my camp, and it looks like I took this shot before I got fully leveled.

It’s a pretty enough place, with not much of anything to do within walking distance. So, without my Jeep, I had a couple of weeks of just sitting around camp, enjoying the air.

Since there’s a spring there, there are trees (mostly aspen) and there was wildlife. Two does were raising their young there, and came through camp all the time.

Mule deer doe that came into camp every day

Here is one of the little ones:

One of the fawns that lived in the campground

Here is one of the other camp sites.

A campsite at Mud Springs

Finally, I have a funny story to tell. Pookie knew all about deer; they were always lying around our yard back in Indian Hills and the cats would walk around and between them all the time. So these does were no big deal to her.

But these deer had never seen a cat. And one doe was really curious: she kept trying to get close to Pookie and sniff her. Pookie wasn’t having any of it.

Pookie went under the motorhome. The doe approached from one side, sticking her nose under the house, and Pookie moved to the other side. Then the deer came around that side for a sniff, and Pookie would move again.

I tried to get a shot of all this, but wasn’t quick enough with the camera. However, this squirrel sat on this stump the whole time and watched the whole thing. I presume the squirrel was amused.

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel on stump, watching the show

The Jeep was ready a couple of days before my eye doctor appointment in town. He treated my eye, and I took off for southern Oregon to rendezvous with my sons at Lake Of The Woods.

Next: Oregon, again

1. The US Bureau of Land Management, the largest land holder in the United States.