May in Colorado

We last left you as we were camping near Northern New Mexico. After a great week there, we made our way into Southern Colorado. We spent one night in Alamosa to dump the tanks and do some laundry (and get a hot shower). We then headed North East for another few days of dry camping at Zapata Falls Campground.

The good news: the campground was in good shape, had beautiful views of the valley to the East, and set us up perfectly to explore Great Sand Dunes National Park. The bad news: the road up the hill was washboard and was hard on the trailer. Oh, and it was a 2,000ft elevation gain. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but camping at 9,454 ft meant cold nighttime temps. And being in the shadow of a mountain range, it also meant limited ability to harness a lot of solar power during the day.  But we mad the most of it and really enjoyed our time. The highlight for me was hiking up to Zapata Falls, which was still partially frozen over. I also managed 2 other hikes up into the mountains that were peaceful and life-giving.

After spending a day at Great Sand Dunes National Park, we headed East to La Veta, CO. This place was heavenly. Spring had sprung in La Veta and the weather was delightful. The tiny town of La Veta was friendly and the RV park we stayed at (Circle the Wagons) was great. We had a nice spot next to a rushing creek and the kids loved playing in the play room they had on-site.

But all good things must come to an end. Enter: Colorado Springs. While it was nice to spend some time with other Heroku employees that work from there, the weather was nasty. It rained all week, which meant few options for the kids during the day. We spent our last night with my fellow employees (Ryan and Phil) and their families. This was definitely the highlight of our visit.

We left CO Springs and drove up to Golden, CO. Erin and I had visited Golden before and were excited to stay a little up in the mountains, but still close to Denver where Erin has an old nursing school friend. Unfortunately, we drove to Golden in pouring rain only to find the RV park there full. We called an audible and found a city park at Standley Lake in Westminster, CO.  It had been raining for days in the Denver area and the ground was saturated. This led to me getting the truck and trailer stuck in some mud on the side of a hill while we tried to back into a camping site at Standley Lake. We ended up leaving some deep ruts in the ground that the park ranger was not happy about. I offered to help fill in the ruts, which calmed the situation. But more rain (and even another night of snow) made for a few more rough days cooped up inside. Again, though, we had friends nearby and it was great to see them and their kids.

To Estes Park! I’ve dreamed about rock climbing in Rocky Mountain National Park for years, but it seems we’re still a few weeks ahead of good weather. Most of the rock climbing in RMNP is still under heavy snow. So we adjusted. (this is becoming a pattern, it seems) I managed to find some decent climbing in and around Estes Park. The girls loved the playground at the KOA we stayed at, and the town of Estes Park is pretty cool. We saw TONS of animals: elk, moose, big horn sheep, marmot, and lots more. I even had a bald eagle fly overhead while I was working from a picnic table our last day. Such a beautiful place.

After a few days in Estes Park, it was time to make our way up to Wyoming where we’ll be staying in Yellowstone National Park the first week of June. We stayed one night near Fort Collins and were able to grab dinner with some ex-LifeChurch friends, Stephy and Brennan Wilkins. But once again, rain. Lots of it. And cold rain, too. To top it all off, all the kids began to get sick too.

We drove from Fort Collins to Rawlins, WY yesterday. It was our longest drive yet (3 hours) and was on slick roads with tons of fog. I’m writing this from an RV park in Rawlins, WY. Out the window is dense fog and cold air. Inside are 3 kids watching Disney Jr, each of which taking turns hacking and sneezing.

Colorado (and the month of May) have been about learning to roll with the punches. Our dreams of 70F temps and warm breezes seem to be stuck somewhere in July in lower elevations – not May in Colorado. We desperately want to come back to Colorado and redeem this part of our trip. The mountains were absolutely beautiful and we want to come back to truly enjoy all that they have to offer. Until then, on to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone!

(for pictures from this post, check out this Facebook album)