Wind & Fire

After a long day of scenic driving we crossed into Colorado to camp at Trinidad state park.  This was the first night of camping on the trip and we loved the location on the side of the mountain overlooking a lake.  The many forest fires in Colorado were on our radar and even more so when the camp hosts told us there was one burning just across the mountain from us.  They proceeded to say that there were warnings that I25 could be shut down by morning, the only way to our next destination. The smoke was north of us, but plainly visible.

We went to bed with a gentle breeze blowing, such a nice evening Dwight was told he didn't have to stake his tent. About 11:00, the wind picked up and our camper started swaying, the tent was being buffeted around, no one could sleep (except Devan), some serious wind was whipping us around.  It got worse, around 1:00 Darryn, Dwight, & Lyn got up and took down the tent, we contemplated taking down the camper.

From the direction of the wind, it crossed our mind that the fire could be headed our way.  Around 2, Darryn, Dwight, & Lyn hiked to the top of the hill to see what it looked like.  Thanks to the bright full moon, it was easy to navigate.  The wind was actually coming from a  different direction at the top and no fire was visible.  Our estimation was that there were 40-50 MPH gusts.

It was the strangest wind we've ever experienced, it finally died down to where we could sleep.  The next morning we found out that the fire turned a bit north and we were OK to travel.  Several miles up the road we were able to get a good view of one part of the fires.  Smoke from the many fires continued to be an issue in Colorado, blocking many majestic views.

The "Spanish Mountain Fire" from I25