06/28/2025
I’m really behind on posting my trips here. Still to come is my 10 day camping trip at the end of April and my 11 day camping trip with kayaking at the end of May but I’m still working on processing those photos. I take a lot of photos on my trips, so it takes time getting through all of them and since I’m constantly also kayaking and camping, there are new photos to be processed every week. Since I just got back from a 2 night dispersed camping trip in Vedauwoo, Wyoming this week I will post this one now since it’s a short one and I have already processed all the photos. So I used to go to Vedauwoo, Wyoming a lot when I lived in Greeley because I could jump on highway 85 and it was so easy to get there. Usually I would just go for the day but twice I did go camping. The first time I camped there was July 2019 and the second time I camped there was in May of 2021. I kind of forgot about that place until this spring when I drove up there but the camping roads were still closed, so I camped in Red Feather Lakes instead. The rock formations are just unbelievable in Vedauwoo and you are allowed to climb on them. Taking highway 287 still gets me to Vedauwoo in under 2 hours from Loveland, so I think I will try to get out there more often. It is a very popular place so it’s usually busy but there are lot of designated dispersed camp sites over there.
I had just picked up a used Kelty Backroads Shelter last week and wanted to test it out. The forecast called for high temps only in the mid to high 60's, which was great after the last few days of high 90's and one triple digit day. Monday was supposed to be very windy, but actually Monday and Tuesday ended up being very windy. The nicest day was actually Wednesday with more sun and less wind, but I was leaving that day so I was gone by 1230PM. On Tuesday I woke up to sunshine and first thing in the morning took the dogs for a walk. As we headed back from our walk this fog started to roll in. It became cold, so we actually spent several hours hanging out in the Kelty Backroads Shelter. I had to actually put on my puffy down jacket. There was also a short little rain shower later. The wind was really bad in the afternoon on Monday and Tuesday, from around 2 to 8PM. This huge rock formation was to the west of us but it didn't do me any good, the wind was blowing from the south. I had set up my little tent up on the hill and next to this huge boulder, so at least it wasn't very windy where my tent was. Camping next to this huge rock formation meant that people from the surrounding camp spots and people just exploring this area, would be stopping here to explore this rock formation. The trail to the top of the rock formation was a bit to the south of where my car was parked so they were not passing through my immediate camping area to get up there, but they were walking the trail just above where I had set up my tent. It was a week day so there really were not all that many people doing this.
When I found this awesome spot to camp in, it didn't occur to me that it would be problematic since I was parked on a rock. I couldn't stake the Kelty Backroads Shelter in, only could use the guylines, and most of them were too short to reach the dirt, so I had to improvise and added some extensions to them. I always have with me some paracord in case I need rope for something or to dry some clothes. The Kelty Backroads Shelter survived the wind and since I usually camp in the forest where I can stake it down, it should be even better in those places. The wind wasn’t actually the most annoying thing on this trip, it was Arttu going nuts for all the ground squirrels that make Vedauwoo their home. Maybe that is why I haven’t camped there since 2021.
Pictures from camping in Vedauwoo in 2019 with my Acura and my Kelty 2 person Grand Mesa 2 tent. Then in 2021 camping with my 2007 Outback and the Outdoor Products 4 person backpacking tent and now with my 2018 Outback, Mountainsmith Celestial 3 person tent and my Kelty Backroads Shelter. Vedauwoo has so far been the only place that I have camped at with my 3 cars and my 3 tents. These photos show my evolution of camping with dogs. I have definitely learned a thing or two over the years and my camping gear reflects this.
