A brief Poudre River excursion

[usmcshepherd]

We made a quick trip up to the Poudre River west of Fort Collins today to check out the available campgrounds as well as give the camper a mid-winter shake out. The weather was in the 20s, but by the time we arrived alongside the river for lunch the camper had warmed up from its frozen state in storage to a comfy 63 degrees.















In addition to making some minor repairs in the camper I was able to test out my new coffee pot I'd received for Chirstmas, and let me tell you as someone who probably has coffee flowing through my veins, this new camping drip coffee pot is incredible! It's the perfect answer for the boondocking crowd who doesn't want to fire up their generator early in the morning to make a pot of coffee and disturb their surroundings! The coffee was just as good as my coffee I'd made this morning in my kitchen. Anyway....highly recommend getting one of these if you drink a lot of coffee and are often times off grid!

[NVR2L82AV8]

Master Gunny, Great stuff...thanks for sharing. I'm not ready to for that coffee pot yet...I'm still in love with the old style enamel percolator.

Enjoy retired life--you've earned it. I spent 25 yrs in the AF and it's really been nice to see it all in the rear view mirror. I wouldn't have traded it for anything however! Marines always have a special place in my heart after my staff gig at Camp Smith, HI...Oorah!!

[Alabama_Jim]

Thank you for sharing photos. The area is beautiful.

[sharkman]

Good report, thanks for sharing pics.

[Ramblin__Ralph]

Poudre Canyon is just beautiful! Been there twice in my 10 years of ramblin'. Was there last summer and stayed at Ansel Watrous (lower section) and Big Bend. A bit warmer when I was there. 🙂

[billyray50]

Nice truck,camper, and trip report! Also thank you for your service.

[c_traveler2]

looks like a nice area to explore,please post more photos if you have them.

[usmcshepherd]

12thgenusa....that's good to know...you're the first that has said that but certainly worth considering...I guess if that's the worse thing that happens I can replace the grate every 2-3 years or if not cooking anything else just pop the grate off and use it without the grate on there.

BTW...the weather channel is calling for warmer temps this coming weekend...come on out!! We are heading to Moraine Park I think on Friday.

[12thgenusa]

A word of caution. If that is the Coleman, it can cause a problem for the stove grate. We bought one to use in our camper after seeing the one our kids used on their camp stove. We used it for several seasons until we installed the solar and converted to an electric coffee pot.

Apparently the Coleman concentrates the heat underneath and damages the porcelain finish on the grate. After several seasons there was a circular spot of bare steel above the burner that we always used for the coffee pot. It made great coffee though.

I would love to do some winter camping. My camper is shivering in the storage lot. Great pictures.

[usmcshepherd]

We found that the Ansel Watrous Campground was open...there is a camp host there with firewood. No one else was there today when we arrived...the river is immediately behind the camping spots which is 90% frozen over.

[VTR]

Thanks, Rather fire up the Genny in the late afternoon to top of the battery. That looks perfect.

[pconroy328]

I love that drive up 14. There are a dozen ways to head up into the Front Range, but that drive has to be up in the top 3.

I think I read that the CG at Red Feather stay open year round.

[rexlion]

Interesting contraption!

[usmcshepherd]

VTR...no that's exactly right....it sets on top of the burner and as the heat warms the water it somehow pushed the water up into the basket holding the coffee grounds.

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Camping-Coffee-Maker/dp/B012CRZUXU

[VTR]

Go guys, love the pics. Never seen one of these that sit on a burner, or am I missing something?