As a testament to the inexorable march of time, June 2021 marks the 10 year anniversary of the start of our family’s epic travels, the first two years of which we lived full time in an RV. What better way to mark this occasion than with another RV trip!
Before leaving town 10 years ago, we enjoyed a going-away celebration at Amy’s parents’ house:
It felt fitting to recreate that weekend with them, as well as this family photo:
We sold our RV back in 2015 to fund our trip to Hawaii, so renting was the quick and easy option for this trip. Picking it up on Tuesday was the first time I had driven an RV in several years; I was relieved to find parking in our cramped downtown neighborhood for us to load up.
I had forgotten what a process loading up is. Beyond everyone’s personal effects, there’s bedding, kitchen supplies, bathroom stuff, all the food, basic tools, etc. It’s more accurate to think of loading up as “moving in.” (Thus the “home” in motorhome.)
My mom was there to see us off…
…and then we were finally on the road!
It felt so great to have all of us in an RV again. I missed this.
I did not miss this:
Within the first couple hours of our travels, I was reminded of the dubious craftsmanship that seems to plague many RVs. First this seat panel fell off:
…and then a rubber seal unraveled in the wind as we drove:
Fortunately neither impeded our progress, and we arrived at our first destination Tuesday evening: a Walmart parking lot just east of Kansas City.
What this RV lacks in craftsmanship it makes up for in sleeping accommodations. Em and Nat were thrilled to finally have their own bunk beds:
Carrie seemed happy to reclaim her spot above the cab:
Driving through Kansas would normally be unremarkable (it’s quite flat and desolate) but seeing farmland change to prairies was very exciting.
Our first actual camping spot was at Black Mesa State Park in Felt, Oklahoma, just over 1,000 miles from home.
We didn’t have full hookups here (so we had to use our water very conservatively), but we at least had electricity to run the AC. It was oppressively hot.
Fortunately it cooled off quickly after the sun went down, enough for us to take in an impromptu game of volleyball. While there were no rules or scoring, it was ultimately the mosquitos who won and drove us back inside for the night.
Fixing stuff is part of the RVing experience, so I was happy to take care of that broken seat panel later that evening:
Black Mesa State Park claims to be one of the best spots for stargazing. I’ve not confirmed this with a light pollution map, but this claim appears to have merit:
We took a short walk around the desert-like park grounds on Friday morning before moving on (and before it got too hot).
SIDE NOTE: During our previous RV travels, we never actually spent a night in Oklahoma. Amy and the girls took a day trip there, and Em and I passed through during a road trip years later, but it was not until this trip that we all finally stayed overnight in Oklahoma. With this loose end tied up, we can now say we’ve slept in all 50 states.
Our next spot was in a couple’s driveway just outside of Colorado Springs, CO. Amy found this location through a website that connects RV travelers with property owners who have space for RVs (think Airbnb, but for driveways).
It was a super cheap stay ($5/night) in a lovely neighborhood.
…and their neighbor had a horse:
The weather predicted a rainy Saturday afternoon, so we got up early that morning while the weather was nice and visited the nearby Paint Mines Interpretive Park. Amy ran the trails while the girls and I walked through these beautiful clay and sandstone hoodoos.
This place reminded us of a miniature Badlands or Bryce Canyon.
We thought it would be fun to stop at a local donut shop while we were out. “Arnold’s Coffee and Donuts” (which Em found via a Google search) was the obvious choice.
While we were there, Carrie recognized her former high school math teacher! What a small, bizarre world.
The rain came as promised Saturday afternoon, so we pretty much hung out in the RV for the rest of the day and evening.
We got up early Sunday morning to start the drive toward Estes Park, CO, stopping in Denver for some coffee. This particular coffee shop became Natalie’s favorite when she came here in 2019 for summer ballet classes.
We were well ahead of schedule, so we killed some time thrift store shopping in Boulder.
We got to Estes Park 25 minutes before our campground check-in time, so we passed more time with a picnic in a YMCA parking lot:
Finally feeling a long way from Indiana:
Our campsite is in a dusty RV park, but we’re surrounded by gorgeous mountains. We also have full hookups here, so the hot showers are flowing freely.
After settling in to our campsite, we needed to plan how we were going to spend the next 48 hours here.
The Rocky Mountain National Park visitor’s center was just a short walk from our campsite, so we got additional info from the always-helpful park rangers.
This tiny elk was the trip’s first brush with wildlife as we walked back to our campsite:
We ended the day with a rare, staged family photo:
We’ll break camp early tomorrow morning and go for our first real hike of the trip in Rocky Mountain National Park!