Leaving the Sand Creek Massacre site we drove South towards Las Animas to look for a good place to camp. Nearing the town we noticed signs for the John Martin Reservoir State Park and decided it was as good a place to camp as any. That is until we saw the staggering price of $20 for staying just one night at a not so picturesque reservoir. So with that we continued driving through Las Animas and eventually passed by Bent’s Fort. Since it was already getting late the Bent’s Old Fort National Historical Site was already closed so unfortunately we missed out on seeing that piece of history.

Eventually we made it to La Junta and had a quick bite to eat at the Carl’s Jr in town. Over dinner we decided to head towards the Picketwire Canyonlands and hoped to find one of the 5 camping sites open at the trailhead. County road 26, which leads due south out of La Junta, quickly became sparsely habitated as it went for some 20 miles to the trailhead. Upon arriving we were surprised to find that not a single person was around and so could pick any of camping sites. We eventually picked the one with the best view and setup camp for the night. Knowing that we had a long day of hiking in the canyon tomorrow we decided to head to bed early.

2-day/1-night Trip Total: 11hrs 12mins of driving 594miles, 12+ miles hiking.