Enjoying Colorado Sun

Well, here we are at our first major stop, which I’ll get to later. It’s a true learning experience on where to stay and where NOT to stay. We have Good Sam’s, and Passport America. Both have information that can be useful when determining where to park for a night or two. However, when you are new to the game, and trying to figure out where in a city (you are completely unfamiliar with) the RV park is…well, that becomes a challenge.

Our first night was at a Walmart in Penelton, Oregon, and though we would have been warmer if we had started the generator we opted not to since it was one night. Oops, wrong decision…it was very…and I mean very cold. But we survived, and once we were dressed we headed down the road to the closest place that served warm coffee. Thank you, Flying J, your coffee rocks.

Our second night was great. We got into Mountain Home, Idaho. We took the business exit looking for Walmart to pick up supplies when suddenly I spotted “with my little eye something that” said Mountain Home RV Resort. We were both ready to shut down for the night, so after our Walmart stop, we decided to check it out. It was fairly empty, so no problem getting a spot. The people were wonderful. They had pull-throughs (an added benefit for our length) and the place was really clean. It was a chilly night so we hooked up to power and set the furnace for a comfortable night and slept great. We woke up to beautiful sunshine…a great bonus. After coffee, I was off to the showers. They provided private rooms with showers and toilets, and a nice size counter. All-in-all it was awesome. I’m serious when I say these people and this RV Resort have set the bar pretty darn high in our eyes. Before leaving, when I inquired where to find more parks of this caliber, they gave us some great advice for future places…a website called RV Reviews…but not all parks are on it.

Which leads me to our next night. We found our way to Utah, and were headed to St. George when we received a call from Dan’s daughter asking if we could come earlier than planned (which was March 20th)…of course, when children ask for help, we are there for them as much as possible. We hadn’t gotten so far on our current highway that we couldn’t redirect our path, so we finished our steak dinner at the Texas Roadhouse, and after looking at our Passport America book of parks, found one that only required a ten-mile backtrack. So, off we went. When we found the place, it was a wake-up moment. First off the office was closed. It was clearly a trailer park, (which is fine…under most circumstances), but had spots for RVs too. There was no one around to help, however, there was a sign posted on the door. I stayed in the truck while Dan went to see what was up. He came back and said there was no info to help. We drove through the park, since there was no turn around spot, and took in the sights. It was very seedy. After our prior nights stay, this was well below our experience, and our standards. Dan said later he pictured us waking up with all four tires taken off our truck…not a vision I care to share. So, we didn’t stick around or inquire with the locals how to set up for the night.

We found our way to the nearest rest stop and tested out if our generator would possibly keep going through the night to keep us warm. It lasted until 3am, but Dan willingly got up and put more fuel in without my even stirring, and I woke to a warm and cozy home. We made our way to our destination of Northglenn, Colorado. We will be here helping the family out, and visiting friends as schedules allow for the next few weeks. Then the adventure will continue. I will post a few photos on Facebook soon.

So far, I have learned to trust my husband’s instincts. My husband is a mountain man and a survivor under any condition, but our safety is his utmost priority. I would trust him with my life in the mountains, and in the city as well. Especially when he told me there was a number to call at that trailer/RV park, but there was no way he was going to risk our staying there, so he simply didn’t tell me there was contact information. And for that, and him, I am thankful.