Wild Whiskey Willow: Spanish Creek & Sheep Creek.... Or Lack Thereof (April 28th-29th, 2012)

One of the most amazing things about Colorado is the unlimited amount of open and public space available for anyone to go explore. On our way home from Penitente Canyon last weekend, we passed signs on 114 for turnoffs to Sheep Creek and Spanish Creek. We thought it might be a good spot to check out for our next camping adventure the following weekend.

So once again, stocked with alcohol, coffee, Powerstop sandwiches & a couple Monster Energy Drinks, we headed out of Gunnison on a Saturday morning & toward the signs for Sheep & Spanish Creek on 114.

Surprisingly soon after turning down the 2 track dirt road toward our destination, we rounded a corner and came upon a beautiful backdrop of rock cliffs. We turned down another road to get a closer look and check out the scene. There was a campsite & fire pit ready and waiting for us with not a soul in sight. We couldn't believe how quickly we happened upon such a beautiful and quiet spot, but that's how it seems to go in Colorado.

We didn't want to commit so easily to a campsite so we decided to venture further in to see what other spots we could find. The roads were lined with beautiful campsites, all vacant. We also wanted to drive along and find Spanish Creek or Sheep Creek- but after following some misleading signs and going down a few roads, we sadly found neither.

We started driving a rocky dirt road up a mountain. Along the way we saw more campsites tucked away in the trees but decided the weather was getting a bit too chilly to stay too high up in elevation and we'd be happier down at the first site we came to. However we decided to keep driving up a little more to see what we could find. We saw a bunch of deer and some really cool beaver construction sites. I really wanted to see a beaver- these guys had done quite the job out here- but none were to be found. We climbed further and further up until we came upon a sign for Lujan Trailhead. It said it was a 4.1 mile hike to Baldy Lake. We decided we'd come back and hike it the next day. Much to our disappointment however, the next day when we returned to the trail in search of this lake we never found that either... bummer!!

Some diligent beaver work

As evening was closing in we went back to our original campsite, set up camp, started a fire, and then got Shamus' "new" 1942 shotgun out. This gun was an heirloom passed down from Shamus' great uncle, to Shamus' dad and finally now to Shamus. We fired off some rounds with the shotgun and my beautiful Springfield Armory 9mm. After that it was back to the fire for some food, drinks, and appreciation for another beautiful night.

No cell phone service, no electricity, no bathrooms, no people.... no problem ;)