The drive from Strasburg to Estes Park, Colorado was only about 2 hours, which made for a great travel day. That is, until we had to climb a mountain with little opportunity to pick up speed beforehand.
We have a Western U.S. mountain map that alerts you to steep grades on interstates and other roads, and there were no alerts for our drive. But awhile after we exited Longmont, we could see that we were beginning to head up a mountain. There were early curves and traffic lights, so there wasn’t much opportunity for Jeff to accelerate enough to make the climb easy on the RV. The engine got hotter than normal, so part way there, we pulled off to give it a break. Estes Park is a busy place, with Rocky Mountain National Park there, so there was lots of traffic on the two lane road.
We got back on the road after the engine was cooler, and our campground snuck up on us faster than expected. There was not enough time to stop, so we had to go up the road and find a place to turn around. The best option, which was on the other side of the road, still required us to unhook the Jeep so Jeff would be able to turn around and pull out. As I was sitting in the Jeep, I watched Jeff back up, right into a barbed wire fence along the pullout. He only bumped it a little bit.
I made it just fine back to the Jellystone campground, but as Jeff was about to make the left into the campground, a car actually passed him on the left. He was able to stop in time to avoid hitting the car. Unbelievable, but true. According to the children, there was much yelling and finger pointing, and some peaches on the kitchen counter flew off during the maneuvering.
It’s a nice campground, with Yogi Bear theming. The kids like the Jellystone campgrounds because they have activities, in addition to a pool and miniature golf. Tonight, they have a dance in an outdoor pavilion.
We have a view of the mountains and a spacious site to set up our chairs and roll out the awning. One night, we’ll have a campfire and roast marshmallows.
No comments:
Post a Comment