October 2026 – OsteoPraxis on the road

Buffalo, Wyoming …What’s not to Bud Love….!!!

We always have to stop for a couple of days when we get to Buffalo, Wyoming. It’s just a lovely small town with cool unique stores and abundant artwork, we love to spend a little time here.

Indian Campground has these lovely big old Cottonwood trees that provide great shade without dropping weird tree stuff on the trailer…!!!

The mornings were cool enough for breakfast to happen on the BBQ….

Travelling further north we were beginning to see some of the wildfire smoke from the devastation happening in Oregon and Washington States…..a smidge of that yellow haze in the sky…..

Our choice for hiking on this visit was Bud Love Conservation area. Alltrails gave it a pretty good review….so despite the air quality warnings…the sky in the morning still looked OK….and with our early start strategy it was not yet too hot to contemplate a decent hike for the day.

The last part of the drive in was a daunting dirt road ….and it felt like a forever drive before we landed at the designated parking area for the trail head…..

There was no one else around….it seemed remote and incredibly peaceful…..

Off we set…..

You have to keep an eye out for that bright pink shirt to find me in some of these pictures…..the landscape was HUGE…!!!

The first part was through meadow….an easy trail to follow….

We made our way up to the entrance to the canyon…..

…then we turned into the trees….

It’s harder to tell from the pictures on the way up….you will see better on the way back down…..but this part of the trail was steep with sharp switchbacks….

Even this early in the morning we were grateful for the shade…..it was warm…!!! But despite the air quality warnings the sky was still bright and clear….

The path was steep enough in places that we were climbing hands and feet…

With the occasional spot to watch some fluttering butterflies….

…and trying not to look down as the path continued high on the side of the canyon…..(for me anyway….!!!)

The boundary of the Bud Love area……

We then turned another corner and followed the path out into this impossibly vast landscape……breath-taking……

…and we still were not done with the climb…..

This incredibly beautiful place set against that magnificent sky…….just awe inspiring…..

I have to admit to slowing up the walk at this point….partly because it was warm, partly because it was a long climb….but it was mostly because it was hard not to stop and stare around to try and take it all in….

As ever my intrepid blogtographer is waiting behind to get the picture…running to catch up…then running on ahead to get that next shot he sees…!!!

As we approached the top of this rise…..with nothing other than rocks and trees….there were these old fenceposts……some past structure we are guessing….but who knows for what…!!!!

As we head back down…I hope we managed to demonstrate the scale of this place……here is the same picture with an arrow to help you find me…..

You might have to click on the picture and enlarge it to see how small the little me in bright pink shirt is……

It was definitely warming up as we headed back down….and you can see the sky beginning to change with that smokey haze seeping in….

It was no less magnificent on the way down…..I think this might be one of our favourite hikes

I love this picture…with a little peek of the world down below in the V…..

Back into shade for a bit…..it always seems so different on the return journey….could be cos going down is easier than the grind up….lol

…and back to the boundary fence again…

…a few more flutterbys made an appearance….

This steep part was hard to keep your feet under you….it was dry and lots of loose gravel….

…and the welcome deep shade

The last part down…as we came out of the trees this incredible (and expansive) rock formation re-appeared…..leading us back to the truck for that all important re-hydration….!!! (we always leave a flask of coffee in the truck for the end of the hike….!!!)

One of the big bonuses on this trail was the complete absence of anyone else…. made it feel so much more remote than it really was. …this is definitely one we will come back and do again……

Extra Pix

The drive north…with a few surprises along the way.

As much fun as this summer has been…there comes a point every year when we are just ready to go home. Colorado Springs was a fantastic spot…but that time had arrived….so the north road beckoned.

We generally try to keep the hours driving low…….we do, after all, have nowhere to be and all summer to get there….

I always like to use BoonDockers Welcome when I can…it’s a great way to travel and meet fantastic people…..in the summer season tho’ and booking only a few days out…..I was struggling to find spots.

I eventually realized my problem was Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a huge annual rodeo event for the area.

I snagged the very last site at the KOA just outside Denver. At Fort Collins….(full because of the Cheyenne event)

It was just a stopover for us….the Rockies to the west gave us a sunset show…!!!

The next stop I booked…based purely on the distance on the map …was Douglas, Wyoming….which turns out to be a happening place as it’s the location of the Wyoming State Fair and home of the jackalope…

…and quite the jackalope he was too….!!!

We had a wander downtown…

Standing outside the White Wolf Saloon…..with the jackalope pawprints on the sidewalk outside….of course we had to go in for some refreshment.. (it was also 38°C ( 100°F) that day…!??) this little pub was an experience and a half….and as always the people were wonderful, friendly and curious. Where were you from, going to, where have you been and why stop here. They tend to take for granted the very genuine value of what they have and live with everyday.

I mean….alligators crawling across the tin tiled ceiling……!!! Thoroughly enjoyed the beer too (it was hotter than Hades that day…!!!)

The KOA in Douglas, where we stayed, is either new…or newly renovated…it was a lovely park..if a little exposed

..beautiful new swimming pool, new pickleball courts

Cornhole set up under shade……

new cabins…

and a row of custom built Airstreams on site as holiday cottage rentals.

Plus the absolute best staff in the front office..!! Yes we played some pickleball, swam…..and had a go at the Cornhole too….!!!

Scott found a local feature, Natural Bridge Park……sounded interesting…..so we headed up there for a peek. (Editor. You never really know what’s in an area until you get there, even the locals might not value something as they’ve grown up with it, but everywhere has something special as I’ve hope we’ve shown over our years on the road)

An absolutely amazing little park……

…and sure enough…this rather spectacular rock arch…..much like the ones in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky.

On that very hot day it was just a little cooler by the water in this fabulously lush green little slice of paradise hidden away in the middle of nowhere Wyoming

……the site was the perfect place for hydro electric….

….and campground…..although I’m not sure we could have safely taken the 30 ft Airstream down the very windy, very narrow access road.

The trails were cryptically signposted……

….and quite worryingly this one…..tho we did not see any …I am happy to report…

Natural Bridge park was one of those unexpected hidden gems that we immediately added to the list of places for return visits…

A couple of days of travel that turned into an adventure in itself….😁

Extra Pix

Colorado Springs.. Mount Muscoco

Rising before sun and heading to the trail was a great strategy for both the heat and the crowds on these wonderful trails around Colorado Springs.

Our next pick was Mount Muscoco where the trail, Daniels Pass to Mount Muscoco, was listed on Alltrails as just over 7 km. So a bit further than 7 Bridges….and a bit higher with the peak at 8,020 ft above sea level.

The drive was a convenient 20 minutes from the campground……in the same vicinity as the 7 Bridges…the drive was up the switchbacks of North Cheyenne Canyon….which is quite beautiful in itself.

We were delighted to be the only vehicle at the trailhead….

There are many, many trailheads off this road…also a popular spot for cyclists (crazy people slogging up this road….and careening back down at high speed round these blind switchbacks….totally crazy….!!!))

Back to us….heading out on the trail…early enough that the air was cool….

The trail begins as a well marked gravel path……with steady upward switchbacks……

Around one of the corners is this little lookout spot that reminded me very much of the Black Hills in South Dakota…..

Then we continue winding our way up the switchbacks…they seem to go on forever……you can see that I am warm enough now to have shed a layer.

….I have a whole collection of these neon coloured t-shirts now, in the interests of spotting me in the pictures………

It was interesting to look at this map halfway up the trail to orient ourselves to just exactly where we were….and there was a short piece of the trail that was not going up…..a pleasant…tho brief reprieve from the upward grind…

as I said….brief…..before there was some scrabbling up rocks required…

Around another corner …to another lookout point….. (the other upside of lookout points is that you get to stop for a breather…!!!)

….and then a bit more scrambling…..the trail was hard to see at this point….so it was more about navigating as safely as possible up this slope…

Further up the trail became clearer again……it’s one of the advantages of Alltrails…it helps to keep you close to the trail and/or tells you when you are headed off in the wrong direction…

At the top…there is actually a double peak……

…so you get this……

Then traverse the shoulder across to the second peak…

…where you get this….

…that’s Colorado Springs down there through the morning mist…. a truly breathtaking view

and the panorama of the mountains behind too…

That blogtographer guy is always trying to get me out on the edge of these precarious mountain tops/cliff edges…..

It was not so much a rest at the top…as a collection of moments to breathe in that totally awe inspiring vista before and around us….

…and then begin the journey back down..

The path to the peak that had been so difficult to see on the way up was astonishingly clear from the top down….

…and as the morning progressed we could feel the heat building….and, as ever, we met a bunch of people on their way up as we headed down….

Those switchbacks are way easier on the way down too……lol

As I wade through the pictures to make the blog happen it allows me to relive that whole beautiful hike…..what I really love about the pictures in this one is that I think they let you see how steep the path is…

Arriving back at the truck…with other cars around us and more arriving the sun was now up and blazing……as we headed home for breakfast and a hot shower..

This was our last hike in this area….for this trip….I am quite sure we will be back to this area…we just loved it.

Time to hitch up and pull the rolling house to the next stop. This time under our own steam….leaving in a more dignified manner than we arrived…

Extra Pix

Colorado Springs..Seven Bridges Trail.

Colorado Springs is a gorgeous city, hard not to be when the whole city is balanced on the edge of the Colorado Rockies. I was a bit worried about hiking some of the trails around here as the elevation we were starting at is over a mile above sea level…..and then the hiking trails go up from there.

Garden of the Gods was a bit of a test run…a beautiful but relatively short hike.

The next hike I picked out, 7 Bridges, was a bit longer. Another early start (it is still July and starting on the trailhead at dawn was the best way to avoid combining the altitude with uncomfortable heat)

The drive up to the parking area was stunning…..and a bit scary….narrow road…lots of steep and tight switchbacks……

It was a lovely morning as we set out on the trail….

As we headed out there was another lone hiker starting at the same time as us…Hi Courtney…..so we joined forces and hiked together.

Turns out the 7 Bridges trail only has 6 bridges……the first was washed out in a storm, now the beginning of the trail starts with a detour….

The bridges criss-crossed with the switchbacks as the trail wound its way up the side of the canyon……

I do enjoy having someone to chat to on a hike……my blogtographer (energizer bunny style is always running ahead or waiting behind to get ‘the shot’…lol….so chatting and hiking doesn’t happen too often….!!!)

This trail was a moderate according to Alltrails….. a well marked steady climb…..not easy but not overly challenging.

Bridge no 2…well actually no.3 if you count the missing one…

We were chatting pretty hard LOL…well I think I was….Courtney was a great sport at listening ….and making me stop to hydrate…

Bridge no.4

There’s a bit of rock scrambling in some spots…..nothing crazy…but enough to keep it interesting

Bridge no.5

All in all a very pretty trail…

Bridge no.6

….after that last bridge the trail became a lot more vertical…

….and at the last part for us….. was climbing up over the rocks

…but totally worth it….the view from up there was quite something….

This was the end of the 7 Bridges trail and time to say farewell to Courtney as she headed on up to the peak…..us old guys headed back down after this. I was almost persuaded to go out to the edge of the rock for the picture….but I made it to the tree as long as I did not look down…LOL…

In the exposed spots we could feel the sun getting stronger….we were very pleased with ourselves for being savvy enough to start out early as the heat began to build.

We found this little chap lurking by the side of the trail…

I think the pictures on the way down demonstrate just how steep the path was…..it was much easier going down…!!

I’m not sure how we missed the last bridge on the way up….but apparently we got it on the way down.. (just the picture….we did cross it both ways)

We passed quite a few hiking couples and groups on the way down too…..I’m imagining that it got busier through the morning….we were grateful to be out early in the quieter, cooler time…