On a cool evening, the feeling of a moonrise over the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Looking East from near Alamosa, Colorado. Three 14,300+ foot (4359 m) peaks are visible towards the right: Ellingwood, Blanca (Sisnaajini), and Little Bear.
Apparently, Keeps Mill was a stop on an alternative route around Mt. Hood on the Oregon trail. If that’s true, how people got wagons in and out of here, I do not know. The hillsides rise quite quickly from both sides of the river. The White River flows from the White Glacier on Mt Hood. Keeps Mill is a primitive, secluded campground at the end of Forest Road 2120 (note to self: Watch for speed bump at end of pavement). The last mile is down a rocky, narrow, steep, exposed hillside. Did I mention a really tight switchback and talus fields?
