Coney Flats
We had a great time on Middle St. Vrain but it was time to head up to the Coney Flats lake for our annual 4th of July BBQ. It's not really a lake -- it's just a wide and deep spot across the creek -- but it's a blast. We don't have a lot of water in Colorado, so it's a big favorite with everyone.
The trip from Middle St. Vrain to the lake is the best part. It's a hill climb, and it's really rocky in spots. The month had been a soggy one, making some spots muddy with slippery rocks. It made the climb even more fun. Bob wasn't paying attention and he drove straight into a tree, messing up his driver-side fender even more than it already was. He pulled it back out and he was on his way, but the fender wasn't looking very good.
We didn't get out for action photos this time. Maybe we've done the trail too many times. Either way, we had a great time climbing to the top. When we got there, we found a couple vehicles but it was pretty wide open. We grabbed the flat, big spot and started to set up.
We had canopies, chairs, tables, and lots of food. Normally, most people are grilling. This time, only Austin cooked his lunch. That gave the rest of us lots of time to hang out and chat, so that worked out well.
As we sat there, the areas on both sides of the lake filled up with vehicles. There was a lot of traffic going in both directions, and we watched the parade. There were a lot of nice vehicles, and even more nice people. We were lucky to meet a bunch of them, and everyone was in a fantastic mood.
The traffic made it a bit more challenging to drive back and forth a few times, so we decided to just go through once and head out. We ended up behind a lot of vehicles, and there were many behind us, too. It was a long and slow parade out, and we felt bad for anyone trying to go the other direction.
There were some breakages along the trail here and there, but luckily none of them were in our group. It was a fun trip in a huge group of people, and everyone was in good spirits even with the delays. It was a great way to meet people.
It started to sprinkle a little, so we put our tops up. Then it started to pour rain for a while, sometimes mixed with hail. It was chilly, and everyone got soaked.
When we got almost to the end we didn't find anyone in our usual air-up spot so we stopped. Then we watched as so many vehicles came out behind us. Someone said there were about 40 vehicles in front of us, and there had to be 20 behind us or so. Wow! The mosquitoes were thick, so we aired up quickly and left, passing a ton of people on the way back out to the pavement.
A few of us stopped for BBQ in Nederland on the way out, wrapping up the day nicely. We ate outside on a picnic table as it rained on us, and we didn't care. What's a little more rain? It was a great day!
Reports from Other Days: 13
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