We had decided to try and save enough of our tax money to make a
trip to Colorado, after fixing the trucks of course. Our method was pretty much
throwing a dart at the map and trying to keep the rig on the Eastern side of
the Rockies. After enduring long and slow inclines in SD Ol’ Blue had taught us
that she doesn’t like the high altitudes with that much of a load on her.
Walsenburg ended up being the only one with a campground that was open; the
catch was that the water wouldn’t be cut on for a few more weeks due to the
steady below freezing temps. This was close enough to a direct pass into the
valley to suit our tourist needs, a whopping 7000’ above sea level; the highest
I had been in my lifetime. We were looking at land and what it would take to relocate to
the San Luis Valley. It quickly became somewhere I personally wouldn’t want to
live full time; it was way too cold and windy for my tastes.
The RV Park ended up
being like most of the ones in the area; attached to a motel, in a one horse
town with only the essentials needed to survive. April 20th was the
day we landed in Walsenburg, National Smoker’s Day in a state it was legal to
smoke in; I’m sure a lot envied us. What I didn’t envy was the snow and sleet
we awoke to the following morning. Our storage tanks for the gray/black waters
had frozen solid, the only fresh water we had was a 5 gallon refillable water
jug. This was definitely not my idea of fun times in Colorado.
 |
| the desert in the middle of the mountains |
On one of our
journeys into the valley we visited the National Sand Dunes Park. After renting
a board and spending $20 that we truly didn’t have, we were ready to conquer
the dunes. There just so happened to be a storm brewing in the northwest and
moving in on us. We quickly realized how the sand dunes were formed upon
stepping out of the truck; we were sandblasted! This was how the dunes changed every
day and climbed to a towering height of 700 feet. The lil one was singing a
happy song on the ride into the park; after digging sand that was forced into
every crevice (including our noses), the tune quickly turned hateful.
The owners of the
hotel let us shower in an empty room. I’m thankful they did, we would’ve been
really stinky after a week there with frozen tanks. Only an hour away was some
old neighbors we had met in Florida; a trip to their sticks and bricks made for
an easy afternoon. The lil one got to feed a few alpacas while visiting her old
friends we had come to call ‘The Colorado Kids’.
After a week of
roughing it and gathering the info needed to relocate, it was time for us to
head south so our tanks could thaw out. Naively we planned on taking a
different route out than we did to get in. with our route planned it was time
to pack and move again, this time through New Mexico for a brief moment and
back across the plains. We were trying to get a little closer to home for a bit
and enjoy some family time and relaxation, not to mention a babysitter; we only
have those very few times a year.
Until next time….
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain
and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can
ever learn from books. ~John Lubbock
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