Campa on the Yampa, Lay
Magical, golden evening light illuminates the tent trailor set up on the gentle giant Yampa River, Western Colorado.
The Yampa River has its headwaters in the White River National Forest of northeastern Garfield County, Colorado. It flows about 261 miles, starting near Stillwater with a north by northwest flow into Routt County and the Routt National Forest of northwestern Colorado to Steamboat Springs. Here the gentle giant turns west, then flows through Moffat County to its confluence with the Green River near the Utah border. The Yampa is the ONLY free-flowing river in Colorado, the rest being obstructed to some extent by dams and diversions. Most of the Yampa River flows through wide, deep canyons that tower above the riverbed. Other than for a few short miles around Steamboat Springs, the river flows through a wilderness area far removed from civilization. This is what draws me to it.