Two Low-Key Days

Colorado River near Kremmling

Friday/Saturday, Aug. 24-25, 2018

When we woke up yesterday morning and looked at the lake, and Joe said, "OMG, just LOOK at how beautiful this is!", I decided that there was really no rush to go anyplace, and our lakeside view was too good to give up. Unfortunately, we did have to move, because our site was reserved for Friday night. But the next site on the road, about 25 feet along, was a "first come" site. So we rolled forward and claimed it before anyone else could come along.

We spent the rest of the day just relaxing! I put our chairs up, and I fell asleep for about an hour or so in the sun (I put my sweatshirt over my face to protect me from sunburn.) Joe napped inside. Cassie spent most of the day outside, tethered to our picnic table, which provided ample shade. The temperature reached perhaps the high 60s, although the sun made it feel warmer. I chatted with one of the camp hosts for a while, and she told me that it hadn't gotten above 80 degrees there all summer! The altitude was about 8,000 feet, which made it quite nippy at night, down into the 40s. So we just loved it.

Selfie of me, sunbathing

This morning we packed up, though, because we had plans to meet up with our friend Noah sometime around dinner. He texted us that he had to go in to work, however, so it was unclear when he might be free. Nevertheless, we needed to head east. And although the least mileage was to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park, we just weren't up for it. Joe has been feeling the altitude, and I did not want to be freaked out by the 12,000 foot road through the park. The closer alternative was US 40, but that went over a 12,000 foot pass also! So we retraced our steps past Sulphur Hot Springs and Kemmling, down to I-70, and took the Interstate through the Eisenhower Tunnel, which went through the mountain instead of over it (at 11,000 feet, still!) We did a lot of gasping for breath.

Soon we stopped at a Walmart, where we picked up some groceries and some other household necessities. Then we tried to figure out where we could possibly meet Noah, although we hadn't heard from him yet. But it was after 4pm. So we decided to drive to the Cabela's which was not terribly far (we thought) from where he lived, and hang out there. We were getting worried about camping, because due to city ordinances, the Walmarts and the Cabela's did not allow overnight parking. Our only choice seemed to be the Cracker Barrel, not too far from Cabela's.

Anyway we got to Cabela's, and I went in to browse while Joe rested. I actually found a vest just like I'd been wanting, at the price I had wanted to spend ($15!), and I splurged on a pair of earrings. By 6pm, we still hadn't heard from Noah, and he didn't answer his phone. So we assumed he got tied up at work, let him a message that we'd see him sometime soon, and tried to find a place for the night. I thought it was kind of early to stop at the Cracker Barrel, and was thinking we should just start heading east on the interstate (tomorrow's route) and see if anything turned up.

Joe, meanwhile, was also searching on his phone app for any possible campgrounds, and found Standley Lake. It was only 16 miles away, and he convinced me we should just try it, even though I was convinced that this late on a Saturday night, it would be full. I drove and he navigated, and when we got to the park, the ranger station was still open, and the girl inside told us that she thought there were still spaces in the "walk in" section. There were only 12 to start with! But we got the very last one!! Ironically, we are only about 6 miles from where Noah lives (much closer than we were before), but he sent a message that he got tied up at work with his team and had no idea when he might be free.

Standley Lake Campground in the evening

In any case, we feel lucky to have found this site, given the lack of other options. I feel that Denver is, overall, a very RV-unfriendly city. Besides the traffic (as with any large city), the western suburbs are very "steep" whenever you leave the highway, which makes it hard to get around. And with the no overnight parking laws, it means there's really no place to stop and rest! So I will add Denver to the list of places I will drive around rather than through, from now on. It's too bad we have friends here!

Tomorrow we will head for Nebraska. I have some stops planned out, and it should not be too arduous to get to East Lansing in time for the football game next Friday night!

View of Standley Lake on Sunday morning