We wanted to be in Denver by the 30th so we planned a route that would take us in that direction and headed toward Grand Lake, Colorado.

A long, but gorgeous drive brought us to our home for the next few days. The area has quite a few established campgrounds but we wanted something more secluded and hopefully free. We found the perfect place in Arapaho National Forest.

After setting up our tent, we made the drive to Grand Lake Village via the very rugged forest road. We needed water for our solar shower and some meat to grill. The village is definitely geared toward tourists with lots of hotels, cabins, shops, and restaurants. We stopped at Circle 3 World Foods to Go for the meat and the very friendly clerk not only called another store to see if they had the cut of meat Francis wanted, but she also let us use the store’s hose to fill up our solar shower. With our supplies in hand, we were ready to head back to camp and relax for a few days.

I noticed again that the weather in Colorado is very different than what I have grown used to in North Carolina. The sun is warm one minute and then it is cloudy and cool the next. Francis attributes it to the very high elevation. I was happy to have the jeep to retreat to when it got too chilly and that there was plenty of firewood around to warm things up.

Our second morning there was overcast, drizzly and cool so we hung out in the jeep until late morning. Finally, when there was a break in the rain, Francis took the opportunity to step outside for a bit. He came back to the car very quickly whispering, ” It’s a moose, it’s a moose!”

He had walked toward our tent to check out the GoPro cam he had set up to take a video of the clouds moving across the mountains. Right there were a mother moose and two calves! He backed up quickly and quietly because we knew moose, mothers with babies especially, can be dangerous. He came back to the car to get me and grab his phone.

This particular moose seemed very calm and unperturbed by us. They stayed around for a good while eating so Francis had time to get a video and we motioned a number of passersby to come see them as well. We had seen a few moose at a distance in other places but this was by far the closest we had ever been. We seem to keep ending up in the right place at the right time. You can check out the video in the gallery below.