Trip to Denver

Our son and his spouse bought a house in Denver, their first house. They are relocating to Denver from the Bay Area where they have been for the past dozen or so years. We decided to visit them and help out on some pre-move painting and fix-ups. It would be a good trial run for the trailer, which had yet to see the road, and a chance to see Rocky Mountain National Park on the way back.

For a report on the trailer project click here: http://travelswithrockythedog.blogspot.com/2019/05/bantam-trailer.html

The trailer ready for a road trip

We loaded up the trailer with lots of tools and our camping stuff. The trailer allows all the gear to be organized and out of the camper and truck. We left on a Monday and drove to the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey, Nebraska. We encountered some torrential rains along the way- couldn't see the road for the rain. Sticking mostly to back roads as we like to do, we passed through a mix of flooded and newly planted Minnesota farm fields and the prairies of South Dakota and Nebraska.

The trailer pulled like a dream- could hardly tell it was back there until we reached the national forest. The narrow entrance road went sharply up and down over some railroad tracks with a couple of hard bumps. As we cleared the tracks I heard and felt a thump and stopped the truck to investigate. The 75-year-old hitch coupler had popped off the hitch ball. The safety chains did their job keeping the trailer with the truck. Fortunately we were not going fast and no harm was done but for some metal scraped off the landing leg casting as it dragged on the pavement for a short distance. That can be repaired. The coupler is tightened using a handwheel on top of the coupler. I had tested the coupler before we left and thought it was secure. Hindsight is 20/20. I reattached the trailer, using a wrench to tighten the nut from the underside this time. Bumps in the road were a source of trepidation until the next day we spied an Ace Hardware Store along the highway. A quick stop and I replaced the handwheel with a 1/2 inch bolt, lock washer and stop nut and tightened it well with a wrench. Good to go and checked it regularly the rest of the trip. We had no further issues.

Campsite at the Nebraska National Forest

We found a nice campsite at the National Forest campground, paid our $2.50 fee (half-price thanks to our National Parks pass) and settled in for the evening.

Sunset over the Loup River at camp

Tuesday we drove the rest of the way to Denver.

Wednesday through Sunday were spent working on the house, along with trips to Home Depot, the hardware store and some neighborhood restaurants. We walked around the neighborhood and found it to our liking. Saturday evening was the annual block party for their block, which has been going on for over 20 years. Although the weather was cold and rainy, enthusiasm was high. Two bands played good music from the porch of a house. It was a great opportunity to meet many of the neighbors and enjoy some great potluck food. Barbecued chicken and pork were prepared under tents in a large smoker, and tables were filled with contributions from neighbors. It was an altogether wonderful welcome to the neighborhood.

Good music from the porch

Friendly neighbors enjoying a party

On Monday, we packed up to return home. We had originally planned to leave on Sunday but stayed an extra day in Denver. This shortened our time for the return trip home but we will likely be back soon to see some of the sights we had to skip this time. We stopped for some grocery shopping and had a nice picnic lunch alongside Sloans Lake in Denver. The setting felt a lot like sitting by the lakes at home.

Picnic at Sloans Lake

Our first stop was Rocky Mountain National Park. We had checked and all the campgrounds on the Estes Park side were full but first come first served sites were available on the west side at the Timber Creek campground. We arrived there in late afternoon. There were plenty of open campsites. We picked one and set up camp. On the way we had seen numerous elk and 4 moose in the meadows along the road. On two separate occasions we saw foxes foraging in parking lots in close proximity to people. Elk turned out to be our neighbors in camp as well. As Kathy returned from the registration kiosk, she was surprised to look up and see a large bull elk directly in front of her. She wisely took a detour on her route back to the campsite.

Continental Divide

Highest elevation for the truck and trailer until Trail Ridge Road

Moose

Timber Creek Campground- small trees, big views

Trailer in camp

This was my second trip to RMNP. On a previous trip by myself, I had planned to drive the Trail Ridge Road through the mountains. Unfortunately, the road was closed by snow the day I arrived (report here: http://travelswithrockythedog.blogspot.com/2016/10/north-rim-and-southern-utah-part-3.html )

This time I hoped to make the trip. Checking in at the visitor center, we were informed that the road was closed by snow over the weekend. Bummer!

We decided to stay in camp an extra day in hopes the road would open. It poured rain at night, likely meaning more snow in the mountains. In the morning we woke to 38°F in the camper. I turned on the furnace and discovered I hadn't turned on the propane the night before. It turned out that I had evidently cooked an entire dinner the night before from propane left in the stove hose.

Adams Falls

Adams Falls

Stream view

Mountain meadow

Mountain view- Grand Lake in the distance

Tuesday morning with the road still closed and our hopes dimmed for its opening, we explored the west side of the park, hiked to Adams Falls and returned to camp. We stopped at the visitor center again and learned to our surprise and delight, that the road had just reopened. We decided to drive it right then and return to camp that afternoon rather than risk having it close again that evening. Snow was threatening. We drove the road past some good-sized snow drifts and enjoyed the high tundra scenery quite a lot. We passed 12,000 feet in elevation- the highest altitude we have been in the truck. We did a short driving tour of the east side of the park and then drove Trail Ridge Road again back to our camp through some light snow showers.

Fresh snow on Trail Ridge Road

Trail Ridge Road- mountain view

Trail Ridge Road- disorienting mountainside view

Trail Ridge Road rocks

The next morning we packed up and headed for home. We will have to return to the RMNP again to explore more of its sights and trails. We drove the back roads of Colorado from RMNP to the Nebraska National Forest near Chadron NE. We saw a cow moose along the way with a very young calf who made a very cute scramble into the woods while the mom watched us carefully. On another occasion we nearly struck a deer that jumped out into the roadway requiring a full-on panic stop. The brakes performed well and stopped the truck and trailer in time to avoid a collision. We both got a good shot of adrenalin though.

Curious elk in the road

More elk along the road

The drive along the Poudre River (Highway 14) in Colorado was very scenic. We ate lunch on a boulder at a rest stop along side the river. We watched river rafts go by- two collided, sending the occupants of one into the river- a bit of excitement as a rescue was made with a spot-on rope toss by one of the rafting crew.

Wild and scenic Poudre River

Along the Poudre River

Along the Poudre River

 A long driving day ended with a nice campsite at the rustic USFS Red Cloud Campground. Temps for the day ranged from the 30s at RMNP to the mid-90s in Nebraska. What a change! A  cool front with threat of rain brought some fresh air to our camp and made a good ending to the day.

Camp at Red Cloud campground

On Thursday we drove from the Red Cloud campground to Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota. It was a very scenic drive through the rolling prairie landscape and sand hills blooming with beautiful colors. We saw antelope and lots of cattle. We had a nice lunch at a state park overlooking the Missouri River. We bothered some nesting swallows with our presence in the picnic shelter there.

Views of blooming prairie hills

Missouri River Valley

After a long driving day, we found a nice campsite at Blue Mounds close to showers. The weather was very warm and humid. We were feeling sticky and hot and the showers were very much appreciated. We sat outside on the picnic table and enjoyed an amazing night time display by the abundant fireflies before retiring for a good night's sleep.

Camp at Blue Mounds State Park

Camp at Blue Mounds State Park

Friday we stopped for breakfast at Lange's Cafe in Pipestone, site of the National Monument of the same name. We had been there before. http://travelswithrockythedog.blogspot.com/2013/06/ancient-sites-and-symbols.html We drove home through the rich farm land of southern Minnesota, bedeviled by detours for washed out bridges and flooded roads and summertime road construction. It was notable how delayed the crops were due to the wet spring- hard times for many farmers.

At last we finished our trip in early afternoon, glad to be home again.