Camping in North Crestone

This past weekend, Allen and I went on our second camping adventure of the season. We had so much fun that I thought I would share a few of our favorite moments with you here!

For this camping adventure of ours, we decided to travel to the North Crestone campground. The weekend prior, Allen and his friend had tried to camp there but didn’t have any luck finding a spot. It’s an unreserved campground, meaning it’s first come first served. So I’d recommend getting there early if you want to find a spot! For us, we ended up leaving around 10am on Friday morning to make it to camp by early afternoon (the drive from Boulder is ~4 hours).

Once we arrived, we were taken back by the beauty of the campground. Our own little campsite backed up to a babbling brook (straight out of the story books) and was lined with row after row of stunning yellow Aspen trees. It truly was and is one of our all time favorite spots.

Since we arrived a bit earlier than our last camping adventure and had more time to explore during daylight hours, we went ahead and set up the tent and camp area so it would be ready for us later that evening.

I’m slowly learning how to set up a campsite on my own, and I was really proud of myself for doing much of the tent myself. Allen even showed me how to stake down the tent (which we normally don’t do). One of these days I’ll be able to stake the tent and start the fire all on my own!

After freezing our tail ends off on our last camping trip, we were both sure to bring our 20 degree bags to keep warm inside. Still can’t believe it snowed on us last time!!

Silly Allen! I love all of the funny faces he makes at me when I tell him I want to take his picture. He definitely keeps life light and fun for me!

Since we had a little more time before dark than usual, we jumped at the opportunity to do some leisurely reading. Even though both of us read a lot during the week, it’s usually for school or work and isn’t something just for fun. So these moments where we can curl up with a good book (or magazine) mean so much to us!

I also brought my tripod with me this trip so that we could have pictures with both of us in them! Yay! I just love how they all turned out.

Cheesin’ hard for the camera! Haha! Love this jumping shot of us. (Don’t ask how many tries it took us. 😉 )

After reading for a bit, we decided to get up and go explore the campground and surrounding trails a little more.

The trees here were so gorgeous in all their varying shades of yellow and orange. Don’t you just love fall colors?! Not a cloud in the sky either.

Allen striking his best “fashion blogger” pose. Ha! You better be careful Allen…you’re better than you think! 😉

Loved these itty bitty flowers poking out of the fallen leaves on the trail. It amazes me sometimes how beautiful and delicate nature can be.

Those bright yellow Aspen leaves never get old.

While walking around, we found the North Crestone Trailhead which led into the Rio Grand National Forest for a 6 mile hike. We didn’t travel very far on the trail (we were just interested in seeing what was around), but the trail looked beautiful. I’d love to explore more of this area again in the future!

On our way back to our campground, we wandered into the trees a bit and found a hidden oasis of Aspen leaves. The pictures don’t do it justice, but the ground was covered (I mean covered!) in fallen yellow leaves. And the tranquil creek was running through the entire scene.

And of course, Allen loves climbing everything he can! I love how adventurous he is!

The trees in this area were simply gorgeous and you almost couldn’t help but get lost as you looked around in wonder.

Here’s a better picture of the creek. We talked about taking a dip later that evening, but it was a tad too frigid for that.

My go-to camping uniform has been comfortable jeans, a cozy knit top, and a blanket scarf, paired of course with my favorite waterproof boots (details below). I’ll be talking all about it in tomorrow’s post if you’re interested to see/hear more!

Also loved the little eye features on the Aspen trees. It’s almost as if they were watching us play in the creek.

I love thinking about nature as a being–something with thoughts and feelings and aspirations. Is that weird? I don’t know….there’s just something so humbling about knowing these plants have been here so much longer than us and will continue to be here long after we go. Just thinking about the passing of information from one generation to another, down through the history of time and beyond. It’s just so fun to think about, be it true or not.

After exploring for a bit, we had a case of the major hungries so we hoofed it back to camp to start a fire. We got back just as the mountains were glowing gold from the setting sun, and it was spectacular!

As night began to fall, we gathered supplies to start a fire for dinner and s’mores.

Allen, the fire whisperer. But seriously, that boy knows how to start a fire and get it rip-roaring! (Thank goodness for that!)

Time to put all the layers on, friends. Once the sun sets, you’ve got to bundle up to stay warm! I mentioned it in my last camping post, but I live in these base layers (top and bottoms) during the winter–for skiing, camping, and just being outside in general when it’s cold! As for Allen, he swears by his SmartWool base layer.

While Allen got the fire going, I laid out all our dinner fixin’s on the table. Hot dogs, buns, and grapes–those are a given! But we splurged on dried Apricots, wine, and hot chocolate for this trip. Yummm… We even got the fancy hot dogs to try.

And camping isn’t camping without s’mores, right?! For us, only dark chocolate will do.

After dinner and dessert we just sat by the fire for hours, listening to the rushing of the creek, the crackling of the fire, and the rustling of leaves around us. The stars were out in full force without the city lights to drown them out. It was so peaceful and beautiful and everything I imagined camping to be. As the wind picked up and the temperature dropped, we nestled in closer together to stay warm until all that was left was the darkness around us, the stars above us, and the dying light of the embers in front of us.

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The next day we woke up early to the morning light and started a fire with the remaining wood we had. (We made sure to save some in case it was cold again.) Luckily, the temperature was cool and crisp without being too frigid.

Allen used his stove to heat up some water for breakfast (hot cocoa and oatmeal) while I warmed up by the fire.

This morning was especially great because we finally got to try out the dinosaur oatmeal! (Did I mention we are 3?! :P) But I mean, seriously…how cool is it that those dinosaur eggs hatch with warm water?!

 Needless to say…our breakfast was quite delightful!

Also, love crisp fall mornings like this one was. It’s one of my favorite parts of camping….that and the food. 😛

The rest of the morning was spent finishing up breakfast and breaking down camp before heading to our next destination.  We had such a fun time camping in North Crestone and I couldn’t recommend it enough. It has quickly become one of our all time favorite spots!

What about you? What do you love about camping?

You might also like…Camping in Lost Creek Wilderness and My First Trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.

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Get the Look…

Look 1–  Top: Express (similar) | Jeans: Gap | Scarf: Nordstrom (similar) | Socks: J. Crew Factory | Boots: Sperry 

Look 2– Pull-Over: Under Armour (half-zip, full-zip) | Jacket: North Face | Base Layer: Hot Chillys (top, bottoms) | Sweatpants: Nike (similar) | Socks: J. Crew Factory | Hiking Shoes: Merrell | Hat: North Face (similar)