There’s a lot in Colorado!

Heading off to Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park, again, it was a windy drive. Something I see often on my way to a new spot (HH, RV Park or Campground) is a sign for ‘correctional facilities’, hmmm. Anyway, I arrived at the HH, Shelter Distilling, in Montrose, CO. It is a very cute area, looks like an up and coming location for outdoor adventurers. Lots of paved paths running along the Uncompahgre River, locally known as the Unc, their local slogan is “Stay here. Play everywhere”. Lambert and I went into the restaurant, dogs on patio only and it was cold, so I ordered some sweet potato tacos to go and we headed back to the van. The park is only 20 minutes away so we went to check it out. It was amazing. I know I mentioned this before but many of the lesser known parks are gorgeous!

Back at the Distillery I bundled up and we headed to the patio to enjoy a cocktail and snack. We also enjoyed a long stroll by the river, then off to bed. Hoping to make it to Denver tomorrow, it’s a five hour drive. The drive was beautiful, it’s astonishing how much open land is in Colorado. We meandered along the Gunnison River and then up and up and up again, starting around 5000 ft and got up to over 11,000.

I researched dog friendly hotels a couple days ago and planned to stay in the city for two nights. Since this would be my first time in Denver, I thought, why not? One final stop on my way in, at a brewery, Craft Mountain Brewing in Bailey. The customers were so nice, I ordered my food and one of the ladies there went and got it for me (it was around the corner, outside) so I didn’t have to take Lambert. Another customer gave me a whole list of places to visit in Albuquerque, it was a great stop!

Denver – ouchie!!

As I get closer to Denver I start thinking about parking. The hotel may be pet friendly but what if I can’t park the van nearby? So I make a couple of phone calls and the first two do not offer onsite parking for a 9′ tall vehicle. I decide to take the exit and find a place to pull over and find a place that takes dogs AND a van! I don’t want to get into the details. The picture says enough….

short version – I got into too tight of a parking spot and SHOULD have either waited or tried to back out, but impatience took over….. Needless to say, I am NOT staying in Denver. Get me outta here! I made a quick reservation at a LaQuinta out of the city and after exchanging info with the ‘other car’ (pic below), I left!

Soooooo, Denver is not my favorite place. The hotel was disgusting!!! I am NOT staying here (still trying to get that money back)! There is a Marriott down the road; I call and they accept dogs, have a big parking lot, restaurant and a bar. Let’s do this! After the stress of the day we decided to relax! Lambert was able to join me in the restaurant and again I ordered a salad with the meat ‘on the side’ (for the dog)! I considered getting the van repaired but family encouraged me to just keep going and deal with it when I return, so that’s the plan and I feel much better now!

Two More Parks to explore!

Tomorrow we are going to Red Rocks Amphitheater. I was trying to arrange being here so I could see a show, but nothing was working out so I settled for a visit. It was not at all what I expected. Having been to the Gorge in George many times I anticipated an all natural venue. It is set in a natural amphitheater (the rocks create the walls, mostly) but the seats are man-made. It was a beautiful setting and there are hiking and biking trails everywhere. I noticed a group of people looking over one area and taking pictures, so I went to see what the hype was… and it was deer. I guess not everyone has deer in their front yard!!

After Red Rocks I meandered south to The Garden of the Gods. All I can say is, OVERWHELMING! There was a high school art show somewhere nearby, so lots of traffic! I see the park to my right and to the left is the visitor center, as I am pulling in to find parking I notice a trolley, full of people. Hard Pass. The area is beautiful, but there are so many people!! I think I’ll have to visit another time, maybe without the pup. Colorado Springs KOA here we come. (I have laundry to do anyway!) The park is nice; there’s a dog area, laundry, clean, they even a ‘hayride’ (a truck pulling a trailer with fun lights and speakers), the kids load up and the truck drives around the park, cute for sure, but when I first heard the noise, it scared the crap out of me!!

One more in Eastern Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Park is next on my list, two and a half hours away, so it should be an easy drive. BUT…. it’s not! These little highways through the mountains are SUPER windy and windy. (So weird, same spelling, different meanings and both are appropriate for many of the roads I have traveled so far.) The speed limit is 75 MPH and people are flying by me. I always try to pull over so they can pass safely, or put my right blinker on so they know I will go on the ‘non-existent” shoulder when possible; half the time they just stay on my ASS. Get away from me!!!

Anyway, we made it to the Great Sand Dunes, which I had never even heard of before. How it came to be is really cool. It was also cool that Lambert could go on the dunes, so leash in hand, let’s go! There were people on sleds, ‘sand’ boards and makeshift items too, trekking up the dunes to slide back down. I asked a kid walking up how far he planned to go, his reply was when I get tired! Lambert and I started on our walk up the dunes, but he was CRAZY! Running, leaping, jumping, 100% out of control. I checked to make sure the sand wasn’t hot on his feet (there were many dogs) and it was fine, so that was an epic fail. Video for proof! We drove through some more of the park and stopped for a quick picnic, then on to Sand Dunes Recreation.

Sand Dunes Recreation

There are many hot (geothermal) springs in Colorado, and one is very close to the Great Sand Dunes, so I decided to check it out. They have RV spots and food; the only caveat is Lambert can only go into the ‘family’ area, not the 21 plus. (It didn’t say that on the web site!) We checked in and got settled, then went to see the pools, the family pool is huge and loud! We walked to the over 21 club and they wouldn’t let us in, but I got to see the vibe. After a walk I took Lambert back to the van and went to the adult pools, ahhhh, so nice!

The next day we just walked the property and chilled, but that evening, this is what we saw….

insert donkey pic

What the heck. Wild donkey just chillin ‘? It is NOT hooked up! Then the next morning we are packing to leave and took one last walk. Now here’s the donkey!

*One other little issue, the TV/DVD player does not work if I am dry camping (not plugged in). This is the first time I tried it since the inverter went ZAP in the night!!

Time to see more of this HUGE state; it is the 8th largest state in the US. I had no idea!!