SAN ISABEL NATIONAL FOREST - WHITESTAR (July 28, 2007)

Our 5th camping trip of 2007 sent us to WhiteStar. It is located between Leadville and Buena Vista on the shores of Twin Lakes Reservoir. This campground should be kept a secret from the general camping population. We were in site 16, which is the second best site in the campground. The two best sites are 6 and 16, with site 7 coming in third since it borders the vault toilets.

 

Site 16 is only 25 feet long, but is a triple-wide site. We parked the Yukon and the Porta-bote on the back side and put the awning out on the other. If we stay in 16 again, we'll treat it as a pull-through and put the camper lengthwise along the back wall. That will provide a good view of the campsite's backyard.

 

The roads to WhiteStar are all paved, and we recommend taking US 24 west through Colorado Springs instead of I-70 through Leadville or US 285 to Buena Vista. We avoid I-70 traffic backups whenever possible. Going through Colorado Springs is only 10 miles farther according to Mapquest.

 

Twin Lakes Reservoir is spectacular. No bugs, two lakes to explore that are connected via waterway, and no speedboats. We saw only canoes and fishing boats, and never more than 4 or 5 other boaters on both lakes at a time. Early mornings were especially beautiful since we had the lake to ourselves.

 

On the shores of Twin Lakes are some old structures that served as a hotel and resort to the wealthy locals during the late 1800's. The Forest Service is restoring the buildings with the help of many volunteers.

 

This was the Broadmoor of Leadville in its day.

 

Back in the Outback, Courtney enjoys some blueberry pancakes. Kendal chose the entire menu for this trip.

 

Cameron plays "car football" on his bunk bed. The boy loves his car collection.

 

Here are the kids standing on the tent pad on site 16. Pretty nice view if you are a tent camper.

 

We played Hearts and Spades after a great day boating and exploring Twin Lakes. Cameron shows Dad his shark-like skills.

 

Lea and the kids played Monopoly. Lea won this time despite Cameron's negotiation tactics.

 

Dessert on Friday evening was in-camper-baked chocolate chip cookies. Yes, that is Cameron's tongue hanging out of his mouth.

 

All three kids saved some allowance money and purchased individual inflatable boats. They were so excited to get on the lake.

 

Mom and Dad stood guard in the Porta-bote ready to rescue anyone that fell overboard. Amazingly, no one tipped over. Although Cameron and Courtney did drop their oars once.

 

If our camping destination takes us home through Colorado Springs, we always stop at Fargo's Pizza. We chose the family favorite "Sophia Special" on the left and "Farmer John" on the right.

WhiteStar ranks as one of our top 5 camping destinations. We'll be back every camping season.

 

BACK HOME