Our last night was in a campground just west of Des Moines. We have stayed in this area many times before. It has been cloudy most of the day and looks like a storm. We aren't going to detach the car tonight so we found a campground with long pull-through sites. Unfortunately in this campground some of these are "side by side" sites which means that two RV's are pulled in close to a single set of electric, sewer and water connections so that with our slide out we are about 4 feet from our neighbor.
This KOA has been purchased by new owners. They are trying hard to come up with fun ideas to attract families in the area to camp for the weekend, use the swimming pool and playground, and participate in activities. Good business for the campground, but it put large groups of people on small sites. In several sites a tent trailer, a tent and two cars were crammed into a small space. One family set their tent up almost on the road. Last year two small kids were killed when their tent was hit by a car so this looked to me like an accident waiting to happen. Most campgrounds work to keep the tents very securely away from drivers. We sat outside and watched the group next to us. A couple of 8 year old girls coached a 5 year old boy into throwing rocks on top of the tent trailer and eating a chocolate bar that was laying on the ground. Little devils.
Suddenly the rain came up and everyone ran inside their tents. Fortunately for the families spending the weekend, it stopped after an hour. We opened our awning to get it to dry out before we store the camper for a couple weeks.
This was another short trip for us. I am not really ready to go home. I had a great time with Mark and Joyce in the Black Hills. It was so much fun to share the joys of RVing with them. We loved camping in the national park campground. It is just the reason that we bought this smaller RV. I am already looking at other national parks that we can go to and spend time camping in the park.
I never regret the time we spend traveling. I miss my family when we are gone and I am unhappy when we have no phone service so that I can talk to them all, but I always enjoy the time in the outdoors. I am almost always optimistic. I like to plan for the next trip as we finish the one we are on. However, I also know that circumstances can change things in an instant and so I sort of savor each trip as though it is the last one.
I am thinking about returning to the Olympic Peninsula and the Cascades or perhaps back to Yellowstone without 28 Boy Scouts. Once again I invite you to come along - in person or through the blog. We love company.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Nebraska
I had a huge problem in finding campgrounds for the trip home without a computer or any campground books. The campground in Golden is a sister campground to the one in Estes Park. We found the information on it in the office in Estes. I had a KOA book and found a KOA campground in Nebraska along the Platte River, but when I called to make a reservation I was told that the campground was closed for the season due to flooding damage. So I was back to the map looking at a large part of Nebraska that has very few campgrounds. However, it DOES have a lot of State Recreation Areas along the Platte River. We stayed at one on our way to Yosemite. I used my phone to get a number for the Johnson Lake, SRA. The park ranger told me that they never fill up on weeknights so although I was too late to get a reservation we should have no trouble getting a site.
In the heat and humidity of this summer I was determined to find us a spot where we could hook up to electricity and run the air conditioner. We can run it off the generator for a while, but probably not all night. So we took off from Golden for our 350 mile jaunt to Johnson Lake. The first part of the drive was through Denver which was surprisingly quiet, and up I76 which was also quite quiet. Then we got onto I80 which seems to carry half of the truck traffic in the Midwest. Each time a big semi passes us we are first blown to the shoulder and then sucked into the left lane. Makes for tiring driving. The camper can only go 65 when we pull our car (due to transmission issues with the car not the weight). This means that on 70 and 75mph freeways we are continuously passed. Fortunately there was no crosswind today - very calm.
Johnson Lake SRA is seven miles off the freeway which makes it very quiet. The sites were huge and far apart with big cottonwoods shading all the sites. The campground was located all along the lake shore so everyone has a view of the lake. there was a nice swimming beach, playground and boat launch just down the shore from the campground. We drove around the large lake after dinner and read a sign that told us it is a hydro-irrigation lake. A huge canal ran out of the lake towards the nearby farms. There was a variety of new, huge lake homes and tiny, old cabins surrounding the lake. It was a beautiful, quiet evening. We sat outside until after dark just enjoying one of our last nights on the road.
In the heat and humidity of this summer I was determined to find us a spot where we could hook up to electricity and run the air conditioner. We can run it off the generator for a while, but probably not all night. So we took off from Golden for our 350 mile jaunt to Johnson Lake. The first part of the drive was through Denver which was surprisingly quiet, and up I76 which was also quite quiet. Then we got onto I80 which seems to carry half of the truck traffic in the Midwest. Each time a big semi passes us we are first blown to the shoulder and then sucked into the left lane. Makes for tiring driving. The camper can only go 65 when we pull our car (due to transmission issues with the car not the weight). This means that on 70 and 75mph freeways we are continuously passed. Fortunately there was no crosswind today - very calm.Johnson Lake SRA is seven miles off the freeway which makes it very quiet. The sites were huge and far apart with big cottonwoods shading all the sites. The campground was located all along the lake shore so everyone has a view of the lake. there was a nice swimming beach, playground and boat launch just down the shore from the campground. We drove around the large lake after dinner and read a sign that told us it is a hydro-irrigation lake. A huge canal ran out of the lake towards the nearby farms. There was a variety of new, huge lake homes and tiny, old cabins surrounding the lake. It was a beautiful, quiet evening. We sat outside until after dark just enjoying one of our last nights on the road.
Colorado Railroad Museum
We have come to Golden to visit two places: The Colorado Railroad Museum and the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. We started with the quilts which are located in an old building in downtown Golden. Downtown is actually fairly small - dwarfed by the huge Miller-Coors complex on the edge of town. (The only two days a week that they don't give tours is when we were in town). The rest of the downtown is nicely restored old buildings with lots of antique shops, cafes and businesses. Clear Creek (actually more of a river) runs through the edge of downtown and has a beautiful river walk and parks all along it. It is a pretty area to walk and shop. The quilt museum is in one of the old buildings. The information that I found online says that they have over 400 historic quilts and a new exhibit every two months. The current display is of about 40 quilts by two quilters. The largest quilts used some very traditional applique patterns - all hand done and hand quilted. Tiny, tiny stitches with some intricate designs. I must admit, though, that I was looking forward to seeing some really old quilts - perhaps made by the gold miners or pioneers in Colorado. After getting a taste of some beautiful quilting we walked further downtown to a quilt shop which had a lot of beautiful new quilts, fabric and quilt kits. I managed to only buy one pattern.
We left downtown and drove along the railroad tracks to the Colorado Railroad Museum. A small indoor display gave us a lot of history about the development of railroads in Colorado. Downstairs there was a large HO gauge train setup by the local model train club. The large portion of the museum was outdoors where there were dozens of restored historic rail cars and engines. There was also a large "garden" gauge layout which had working steam engines, bridges, tunnels, waterfalls, and mountains of Colorado. I really enjoyed watching all the kids walk around this exhibit and talk with the volunteers who were running the trains. There was some great detail in the buildings and houses that were part of the display. It was a great museum.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Golden, Colorado
The drive from Estes Park to Golden followed another narrow canyon, but this time we were going down, down, down about 2400 feet. As we approached Boulder, Colorado, we saw many cyclists on the road. So many that we thought there was a race, but then noticed that they were biking in both directions and on the cross roads as well. The area has bike routes marked on most major roads. It appears to be a town with a very active population. There were many beautiful homes perched high on the surrounding hills as well as pretty gardens and parks. Beautiful in the summertime. Not so sure about driving those steep driveways when there is ice and snow.Our new campground - Dakota Ridge - is very high end with lots of green grass, cement parking pads, and lots of trees. It is really well kept which is a nice change after the weeds and dirt roads of the last campground. We are at the edge of town, away from most street noise, with a great view of the foothills. A walkway at the back of the campground leads to the top of a rocky mound where you can look out over Denver. It has been quite hot but today it is rainy and much cooler. The downside is that it's hard to take pictures of the view.
We settled in and then drove to Lookout Mountain where Buffalo Bill Cody is buried. Although he is well known for the town in Wyoming that is named for him, he wanted to be buried outside Denver. He was a man who love publicity so perhaps he felt that he would get more notice if he were buried on this high point.The Buffalo Bill Museum is a fun place to visit. There are many items from the Wild West Show including some film of the actual show and recordings of Buffalo Bill's voice. It was a fun thing to do on a rainy day. The view from Lookout Mountain was pretty foggy, but the drive around the area took us past lots of huge new homes.
As we drove back we saw high fences along the freeway with crosswalks and underpasses for wild life. This allows the elk, deer, fox etc. to safely move across the freeway from one area to another. Nice for the wildlife, but also for drivers. I would hate to hit an elk - those guys are BIG!
Old Fall River Road
Old Fall River Road was opened in 1920 and was the first auto route into the high regions of the park. We thought that we would miss the opportunity to drive it because late spring snows had prevented the annual work that needs to be done to open the road. It is closed during the winter. The road is a one-way, 11 mile gravel road which takes you up the Fall River valley to the visitor center at Fall River Pass, 11,796 feet above sea level. When we arrived in the park the predicted opening of the road was not until later in August. However, when we were at the Alpine Visitor Center after driving the Trail Ridge Road we saw cars driving on a gravel road behind the center. The Ranger told us that the road had just opened, so today we decided to drive it.
There were a surprising number of cars on the road - it was Monday and had only been opened for two days. We also saw a fair number of Park Rangers on the road - keeping an eye on road conditions and offering help to anyone with car problems. There is no phone service in the park so no calling AAA if you are stranded. We saw one Jeep pulled over getting some Ranger aid.
As we drove above the tree line we could see dark clouds forming above the Visitor Center. We had read warnings in all the park publications about staying in your car when there are lightening storms. With all rocks and no trees you are a real target for lightening at 12,000 feet. I wasn't thrilled about being on the dirt road when the storm hit. There were quite a few areas where the road was rebuilt after being washed out. We were lucky and the rain held off until we got to the top. Then the wind came and really got chilly. I felt sorry for the folks who were only in T-shirts and shorts.
We drove back down to Heavenly Valley for a picnic. The rain stopped and it was warmer so we enjoyed watching families with small kids climbing on the rocks around the picnic area. One especially adventurous boy climbed to the top of the rock pile. I kept hearing, be careful, Matthew, come on down. Seemed like just yesterday we kept saying the same thing to our rock climber.
It was raining again by the time we got to the campground, so it was a good time to plan the next leg of our trip to Golden, Colorado. I was really frustrated in trying to find a campground there, I forgot to pack the Western half of my Woodall's Campground Guide, and I don't have a working computer. Luckily we noticed in the brochure for our current campground that they have a sister campground in Golden. The folks at the office made reservations for us and we are good to go for the next two nights. Whew!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Estes Park, Colorado
We left the national park campground to stay in a commercial campground in Estes Park, which was only an 8 mile drive. The town backs right up onto national park land. When we got to our new campground home - Spruce Lake RV park, we were too early to check in - the previous tenants had not checked out yet. So we parked the RV and had coffee and donuts while we read the paper and caught back up on what was happening in the world. Sometimes no news is good news, but now we are current. After we had waited about and hour and a half I was getting pretty impatient since there were a number of open sites - apparently we had been somewhat forgotten as other folks checked in. At last however, we got to our site with a nice view of the mountains on one side and a huge motorcycle trailer on the other. As we were setting up two elk walked into the campground and decided to eat some grass. Wildlife really up close and personal.
After many days of picnic lunches we decided to go into town for lunch. Yikes! Sunday traffic in Estes Park is pretty overwhelming. The main street in Estes Park is also the one of the main roads to the entrance to the park. Most of the RV's, trucks, campers and cars going to Rocky Mountain drive through Estes. On top of this are the thousands of folks staying in motels and condos in and around town. There was no place to park. We drove around a bit and found ourselves up on the hills above town in the Stanley Historic District. F.O. Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer car came to Estes Park and built the Stanley hotel. It is a beautiful white resort hotel overlooking downtown Estes Park. He developed the resort area as a destination for the tourists who were now arriving by car. He built the Fall River Hydro plant in 1909 to power the hotel and resort buildings.
We always like to have a meal at the historic hotels in or near the national parks that we visit so we stopped for a delicious lunch at the Cascade Restaurant in the Stanley Hotel. Rick had a great clam chowder and I tried an elk burger - mmmm. The view from the veranda was wonderful so we sat and relaxed for a while after lunch. Then back downtown where we found parking. The Fall River goes through town. A river walk has been developed along it with benches, playgrounds, gardens, and cafes. A beautiful addition to the town and a place that was less hectic where we could enjoy the beauty of the setting.
We relaxed at the camper the rest of the afternoon as a sudden shower sent everyone indoors. I am frustrated that there is almost no phone service still at this campground. We had to drive a couple miles higher into the hills around town to answer a phone message. Now my computer has mostly died. I guess I will resort to the written word.
After many days of picnic lunches we decided to go into town for lunch. Yikes! Sunday traffic in Estes Park is pretty overwhelming. The main street in Estes Park is also the one of the main roads to the entrance to the park. Most of the RV's, trucks, campers and cars going to Rocky Mountain drive through Estes. On top of this are the thousands of folks staying in motels and condos in and around town. There was no place to park. We drove around a bit and found ourselves up on the hills above town in the Stanley Historic District. F.O. Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer car came to Estes Park and built the Stanley hotel. It is a beautiful white resort hotel overlooking downtown Estes Park. He developed the resort area as a destination for the tourists who were now arriving by car. He built the Fall River Hydro plant in 1909 to power the hotel and resort buildings. We always like to have a meal at the historic hotels in or near the national parks that we visit so we stopped for a delicious lunch at the Cascade Restaurant in the Stanley Hotel. Rick had a great clam chowder and I tried an elk burger - mmmm. The view from the veranda was wonderful so we sat and relaxed for a while after lunch. Then back downtown where we found parking. The Fall River goes through town. A river walk has been developed along it with benches, playgrounds, gardens, and cafes. A beautiful addition to the town and a place that was less hectic where we could enjoy the beauty of the setting.
We relaxed at the camper the rest of the afternoon as a sudden shower sent everyone indoors. I am frustrated that there is almost no phone service still at this campground. We had to drive a couple miles higher into the hills around town to answer a phone message. Now my computer has mostly died. I guess I will resort to the written word.
Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain NP
First let me say that my computer died while on our trip so my blog is delayed. we had a wonderful time and after a visit to the computer Dr. I may be back in business.
Rocky Mountain is not a very large park compared to many of the western parks. It is about 415 square miles. A Ranger giving a talk to some Jr. Rangers commented that some animals like wolves can’t be introduced into the park because there is so much commercial and residential land development close to the park. All of this development creates heavy use of the park’s trails, roads, and campgrounds. The campgrounds have been completely full every night.
One of our first stops of the day was at Hidden Valley which was a ski resort until 1992. Now the Park Service has reforested many of the runs and planted wildflowers in the lower meadows. A stream which had been routed underground has also been directed back to its original course through the valley. Other areas of the park still have underground canals. In the early 1900’s “The Grand Ditch” was built to transfer water from the western slopes to the eastern plains. There are still extensive underground pipes which supply water to Park buildings and Estes Park.
We saw elk today – 4 huge males resting in a snow field and then just around the bend was a group of females and young browsing on the slopes. There are so many elk in the park that some areas had to be fenced off so that the new trees could grow instead of being chomped on by elk. We also saw a few deer right up by the road and a fat marmot begging for food at one of the turnouts. Then, as we drove into Estes Park – almost in town – we saw a coyote crossing the very busy street. I wouldn’t leave my little dogs out in the back yard in Estes Park!
Rocky Mountain is not a very large park compared to many of the western parks. It is about 415 square miles. A Ranger giving a talk to some Jr. Rangers commented that some animals like wolves can’t be introduced into the park because there is so much commercial and residential land development close to the park. All of this development creates heavy use of the park’s trails, roads, and campgrounds. The campgrounds have been completely full every night.
Today we drove the main road through the park. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States. It is 12,183 in elevation at its highest point. We were gasping for air as we walked around the visitor center at the top of the road. This amazing road followed the path created by Enos Mills who came to the area in 1884. He led nature trips into the mountains. The original road was completed in 1922 for the early visitors to the new park. I can’t imagine driving the long up and down hills with a car built in 1922.
One of our first stops of the day was at Hidden Valley which was a ski resort until 1992. Now the Park Service has reforested many of the runs and planted wildflowers in the lower meadows. A stream which had been routed underground has also been directed back to its original course through the valley. Other areas of the park still have underground canals. In the early 1900’s “The Grand Ditch” was built to transfer water from the western slopes to the eastern plains. There are still extensive underground pipes which supply water to Park buildings and Estes Park. Although the upper elevations were pretty cool, it was much warmer today. Our late afternoon relaxing under the awning was hot until the evening breeze began. If the temperature trend continues, it will be good to get to the commercial campground in Estes Park where we can run our air conditioner.
We saw elk today – 4 huge males resting in a snow field and then just around the bend was a group of females and young browsing on the slopes. There are so many elk in the park that some areas had to be fenced off so that the new trees could grow instead of being chomped on by elk. We also saw a few deer right up by the road and a fat marmot begging for food at one of the turnouts. Then, as we drove into Estes Park – almost in town – we saw a coyote crossing the very busy street. I wouldn’t leave my little dogs out in the back yard in Estes Park! The wildflowers were blooming beautifully at the high elevations. We took a walk out into the glacial tundra and saw so many varieties of tundra flowers. I wanted to get a picture of the gorgeous Indian Paintbrush along the road, but they seem to grow only where there is no safe place to stop. I love the huge variety of birds we are seeing as well, including an amazing blue something that sat right next to me in the campground.
I have loved the views, the quiet, and huge spaces in the national park campground, but I will be happy to have my phone and internet back tomorrow. Yeah!
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