This morning we wound our way through roadside sage brush. The Taylor River Reservoir soon came into view, the lake bright blue, the Collegiate Peaks at the distance. We talked for a while with campers, then later on with a fisherman who informed us that we were about a mile from the Taylor Park Trading Post. In order to get there, we had to ride on a heavily trafficked road (lots of RVs), around a blind turn, and over a bridge. “Oh oh,” I says.

We all did just fine. None too soon, we came to an uphill dirt road that leads to the Trading Post. RVs and cabins were at the distance. Once there, we tied the horses to fence posts and gave them water. We then strode like the cowpokes we now are, over to the general store.

Store owner Bruce Cranors was incredibly hospitable. He offered to let us put the horses in a nearby corral, and then he drove us over to his pasture area, where he said we could camp. There was a ridge across the road, which would make for an ideal camping spot.

We put the horses in one of two Trading Post corrals (both had grass) and got them settled in. After, we took showers, and did our laundry. Next, we called Bill Schmidtkunz. He said that he hadn’t sent on our mail drops because the Sutton, AK postal clerk told him that Buena Vista doesn’t have a post office.

We ate dinner at the nearby Gold Nugget Restaurant, and told our waiter about our predicament, which now centered on our getting to-and-back from a larger grocery store in Gunnison. Mark, who lives in Gunnison, offered to give us a lift.

Taylor Park Trading Post in the distance

Taylor Park Campsite

Taylor Park lunch break

Next: Trip Dispatch #39: Gunnison