Two years ago in an obscure part of the Western Slope, Kathy Haas came to 7½ acres for sale on the banks of the Colorado River and saw potential through the overgrowth.

“My husband thought I was crazy,” Haas recalls. “He just looked at me and goes, ‘This is a lot of work.’ And I said, ‘Yep, it is. Let’s get moving.'”

Russian olive and other invasive vegetation now cleared, Haas’ vision for Kampa Lampa is almost complete.

Later this summer, she expects to open a small, unusual, boat-in campground near the home she and her husband also found two years ago here in the countryside of De Beque. This is the little town off Interstate 70 often passed by drivers heading west toward the Grand Mesa and Palisade.

Campers won’t be able to drive to Kampa Lampa, surrounded by ranches and private property. Instead, they’ll drop into the river from the ramp in the town of Parachute and row about 13 miles to the primitive campground.

Fountain Creek Nature Center closed due to flooding

Emphasis on primitive, Haas says. Along with their own boats, tents, food, water and anything else needed for overnight stays, campers will need to bring their own fire pans and groovers, or portable toilets.

“Just like if you were going on your own river trip,” Haas says.

This one she describes as “primarily a float trip” with “a few Class 1s and 2s involved.” Boaters will view De Beque Canyon amid the rolling, desert scenery, along with the chance for bald and golden eagles, Haas says.

Eventually, she says, Kampa Lampa’s 10 campsites will have established fire rings and other amenities. She says she’d like to partner with area outfitters to offer gear rentals and guided trips to the camp.

“It has lots of great possibilities,” she says. “But for now, very simple, private boats, pack it in, pack it out.”

The potential she sees is explained by the message on Kampa Lampa’s still under-construction website, which is expected to take bookings later this summer.

“Overnight rafting without the hassle,” the site reads, adding: “Looking for a river experience for you and your family without the multi-day hassles, huge crowds or unexpected problems? We have found your answer!”

Haas has seen hassles increase across the Colorado River running scene.

She sees permits as hard to come by on the popular Ruby-Horsethief stretch farther west. She foresees permits being required elsewhere along the Colorado one day, judging from what she’s seen at another popular launch point.

“You go up to Pumphouse to put in, and it’s like I-70,” Haas says. “You’re like six boats deep just to get in.”

She sees families as either lacking the time or necessary experience for multi-day river trips. That’s where Kampa Lampa comes in, she says.

“This just makes it accessible for people that normally wouldn’t have access,” Haas says.

And she likes to think it could represent a new economic possibility for sleepy De Beque — an introduction to seizing the kind of outdoor tourism benefiting Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs in either direction.

Long based in Rifle, Haas grew up in Denver with a love for rafting and all things outdoors; she went on to be a ski bum in Winter Park before a career as a school teacher. She’s now a real estate agent.

However “crazy” her husband thought of the Kampa Lampa idea, “I’m just a very determined human being, and I just saw the potential in it,” Haas says. “For one time in our lives, we might actually get ahead of something, rather than being behind something.”

Long cycling trail in Colorado mountains now closer to reality