After our amazing concert, we pulled up our jacks and made the short journey to our next RV park, Denver West / Central City KOA. We chose this park for a 10-day stay so that we would be close to Rocky Mountain National Park to knock that park off our list.
The drive from Dakota Ridge RV Park to the KOA was one of the scariest for me. If you’ve read earlier blogs, you’ll know that I’m not a fan of steep and winding roads. I also don’t think Dave is a fan of me being in the RV at all when we’re driving down those steep roads. Needless to say, there is a lot of deep breathing and “holy shit” gasps coming from my side of the rig. I try. I really do. But the steep downhill rides and sharp curves, coupled with the fact that we are rising to an elevation of almost 8500 feet (and the edge of the road / cliff / death drop is literally right there beside me …), it’s a lot.
When we finally did make the steep drive up to the park, we were pleasantly surprised with the accommodations. The sites are very well appointed, almost level, with a nice patio and a fire pit. The office / store is adorable and they have pancake breakfast every morning and homemade pizza can be delivered right to your campsite. What more do you need, people? Ok, well, there’s also a cute little dog park, a playground, hot tubs and a giant checker game. Since we knew we were going to be at this park for quite a while, the amenities were definitely a welcome change from the last place we parked.
Central City itself isn’t much to see so we just drove through. We did manage to get to Rocky Mountain National Park, but as we didn’t realize they had timed entry, we didn’t get to spend as much time there as we would have liked. The park is huge, at more than 400 miles, and it’s no wonder it is world-renowned for its gorgeous scenery. Just when we thought we couldn’t go any higher, the roads in the park took us up, up, up again. There is one peak in the park, Longs Peak, where the elevation is almost 15,000 feet!
It wasn’t long before we noticed the effects of the high elevation. Both Dave and I had slight headaches and were out of breath when we did simple things, like walking the dogs. Or even walking up the steps in the RV. When, after 5 days, we were still feeling the altitude, we bought a can of air. And it really did help to give that a puff after doing something strenuous, such as walking two feet to the fridge, for example.
I know that cannabis is legal in Colorado, but when I didn’t realize THIS was the kind of high I was going to get when I crossed that state border.
There were a couple of social highlights of our trip – both of them unplanned surprises. The first was crazy. A few days after we arrived, a new neighbor rolled in right next to us. When the guy got out of his truck, I recognized him, but could not place who he was. Then I noticed the Florida plate. And when we finally got talking we realized we really were neighbors — in Florida. We live in the same RV Resort. We met briefly in the spring at a neighborhood social gathering, but have never really gotten to know each other. Greg and Meg invited us over for a campfire and we enjoyed a really nice evening together. I love it when those things happen. We were meant to cross paths and I’m so glad we did. I look forward to being back in Florida and getting together again to hear about the rest of their journey.
When you’re traveling, away from friends and family, there are definitely times when you miss getting together with people. It can get lonely at times as there are no coffee dates or girls’ nights out to look forward to. It’s a trade-off, most definitely. So when our good friends Sabrina and Brant from our resort in Florida texted to say they were booking a stay at the KOA for a few days, we were stoked. We were able to reconnect and have some laughs. Brant made the most incredible jambalaya. My first ever. Sabrina and I played a round of checkers and we enjoyed pizza night around the fire. It was so good to be with friends again. I think it was just the break we needed.
Onward we go now to one more RV park in Colorado — and one more National Park to knock off the list. Colorado, I love you, but I am tired of being high (up.)
