Vail, CO

July 16, 2022

Well, I’ve passed through Silverthorne now a few times were things are starting to look very familiar. I wasn’t very far from Vail, only about 30 minutes. I felt like I was going downhill and at one point I saw a black bear about 20 feet from the highway, at 10:30 in the morning. He was a big boy, and I thought man, DO NOT come out on this highway!

I followed the signs to Vail Village and had to carefully negotiate a lot of bicyclists. I could not find decent parking at Vail Village and was directed into a residential neighborhood. So like déjà vu at Breckenridge, I got to check out the neighborhood housing. It seems like a very coordinated track housing with bicycle and walking paths. I found parking at Longhead Village, and decided to check that out instead, as the shuttle bus does not accept pets, and it was going to otherwise be an over 20 minute walk, just to get to Vail Village. My first impressions were that everything here was incredibly upscale. I was hoping for some more local shops, but instead found designer clothing stores, restaurants and bars, tied in with some hotel and apartment accommodations. It all seemed like a very specific planned community. It had charming architecture. I got to observe the gondola rides and the many people in line with their bicycles. Apparently they can take it up the ski slope and ride down up to the edge of town. I had to really watch the traffic of these bicyclists as they were everywhere! After enough urban hiking, I decided to find my place in the forest.

I spent the night in the White River National Forest. I traveled about 5 miles, gradually uphill, on an OK dirt road, but with plenty of rocks and potholes to dodge. I managed to find one spot with a fairly easy downhill back up and was nestled between the poplar trees. Other than street traffic, no one else is around. It’s not like I’m lonely because I have JoJo. And now I also have a chipmunk. He snuck in under the screen door, and has been with me now throughout the night. I set the mouse trap, and he went for the bait, but it wasn’t enough to put them away. I’m hoping in the next day he will starve for food or water and decide to leave. Of course Jo Jo is curious but completely useless in trying to capture this chipmunk. I should have brought one of my cats!























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