Pete had said that the only way to get to our next destination, Blue Lakes campground, was to travel for two miles along a portion of Rte 12, which is referred to as the Highway of Legends.

This, one of three of Colorado’s scenic Highways, runs from Trinidad to La Veta. We’d traveled it by car when we were checking out our route. It was winding, downhill, and there wasn’t much of a shoulder.

I took solace in the thought that since we’d be traveling on Sunday morning, that there’d be minimal traffic. It was a quick and scenic ride to the turnoff to Blue Lakes Campground. I was really proud of Raudi, who stopped when Rainbow went around the far side of a signpost, and when I asked, backed nicely, allowing the dog to return to my right side.

The Blue Lakes Campground turnoff was on our left. We saw a number of beaver dams on the uphill stretch. The campground site has picnic tables, an outhouse, and trees for highlining the horses. Pete put the packsaddle on Raudi, and went to fill our water bags. We surmised that the altitude was affecting us both since we both felt tired and light-headed.

Next: Dispatch #5: Snow a No-Go

We nearly always hung our food