Seedhouse Road
We had to check out the Blowdown Area on our way home, and luckily we had time after running Hahns Peak. The sun was out, and we were treated to a beautiful drive on the trail.
The paved part was even nice, following the Elk River. We noticed all of the burned trees first on the hills next to the trail.
We followed forest service road 400 to its end first, expecting to see some of the toppled trees. We saw a few here and there, but it was nothing like we expected. We thought we'd see miles of the trees, but there was a lot of new growth (which was great).
The pit toilet at the end was closed for the season. There were a few cars there, but we didn't see any people. We figured it was time to change out of our snow boots and ski pants and put on jeans and shoes for the drive home, so we took the time to do that.
We went back so we could drive the 443 section of the road too. It was pretty, weaving in around the trees. We continued on as the road suddenly went from smooth and wide to narrow and bumpy. Of course that's when we needed to pass another car. We got by just fine, though.
At the end, we explored the camping area and parked at the North Lake trailhead. We walked about 600 feet down the muddy trail and were treated to some big trees that had blown down. We took some pictures, then headed back. It was too muddy to walk on the actual trail, so it was too difficult to continue in what we were wearing.
On the way back, we checked out the Seedhouse campground. It was really nice, and Walt thinks they'd like to camp there in the RV at some point. It had pit toilets and it was very organized.
We aired up for the trip home at the pull out where the great views of the Elk River area. We took lots of pictures there, too.
The trip home was absolutely beautiful, with the sun shining on the yellow aspens near the highway. It ended up being a great end to a weekend filled with crazy weather. We had a great time!
