First Trip in the Rock

Weekend in Buena Vista, Colorado

Date of Trip:	9/29/2017 to 10/1/2017
Duration:	2 Nights
Round Trip Mileage:	282 miles
Rock Odometer:	302 miles
Weather:	Low 28°F - High 61°F, Mostly Sunny
Campground:	Arkansas River Rim Campground & RV Park

Packing up and hitting the road

Being that this was our first trip out in our new rig we had a lot to load. Not only did we need the essentials like food and beer but we also needed sleeping and cooking wears. Many of the items we had from the old pop-up camper but now we also had room to expand. After leaving work early around noon and spending 4 or so hours packing we were finally ready to hit the road. We had nearly everything we could think of.

Up the hill, we go!

Leaving late always causes me to stress, this is inherent in all of our travels. I know its unnecessary and just causes everyone else in the truck to stress but it happens. I'm working on tackling this but it's really hard. Needless to say, I wanted to be on the road much earlier but it's now 4:30pm. After getting on the highway we make it about 2 miles and it's tail lights as far as the eye can see. Ugh! We're racing the clock because Arkansas River Rim Campground & RV Park's office closes at 7pm. On a good day, without towing, it takes 2 and a half hours to get there.

Finally, traffic breaks loose and up we go. All is well until I realize I left my prescription glasses on the counter at home. I've got my prescription sunglasses but it'll be getting dark soon. Well, we ain't turning back!

I have never pulled a trailer this big so it's taking a little getting used to. It's a little stressful at first but you kind of find your groove. Our F-150 with the 3.5L Twin Turbo Ecoboost is doing great, plenty of power as we fly up I-70 towards the Eisenhower tunnel. The suspension is a little soft and squishy but overall it's doing great and we're passing diesels which makes me feel like we must have enough truck for what we are pulling. I have yet to put the trailer on a scale but I'm guessing she weighs a little over 8k as loaded.

Once we made it over the hill and through the tunnel we felt the extra weight behind us. Between the tunnel and Silverthorne, the westbound descent is 7% for 7 miles. The grade is steady for approximately 6.4 miles, where it lessens to a 5% to 6% grade for the next 2.2 miles. Our little V6 doesn't hold much back in the way of engine braking. Best I could do was about 55 MPH in second gear at about 6000 rpm.

The sun faded and I was really wishing I had my glasses. I continued to wear my sunglasses as my uncorrected vision was worse than a slightly too dark image. Just to add some additional challenge it started to rain just after Leadville. But before we knew it we were there! We were a little late as it was now 7:30pm but not bad considering.

 Arkansas River Rim Campground & RV Park

We rolled right up to the office and went inside. There was a nice note that read something to the effect of "I heard the bell but it takes a couple minutes to get from the back so be patient" so we waited and waited about 5 minutes went by and we're starting to wonder when in walks a gentleman. He was out helping another RV get to their spot. Jeff was his name and this was his place. He got us all set up and lent us a movie to watch. He had quite the collection right there in the office. He offered to take us to our spot but it was raining pretty hard and I didn't foresee any need for help. It was a pull-through site and it looked easy to find.

We pulled into the site and ran through the necessary steps as we understood them. We jumped out and leveled the trailer from side to side and got it dropped. Within a minute or two more we have, it leveled all four ways and the stabilizers down. Plugged her in, got water connected and zipped out the slides. Wow, that was quick! We unloaded the kids and everyone was inside. Not too bad I thought to myself.

We made a quick dinner and popped in the movie we borrowed from Jeff, UP!. I was pretty well wiped and crashed early. I think all of us slept like babies. We woke to a stunning view of the aspens changing and were ready to start our day. We tossed some flapjacks on the Camp Chef griddle and made a day plan.

Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy

First on the list of things to do was visit the Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy. We'd been here before and enjoyed sampling cheeses and other artisan items in the little country store but today they were having a Fall Farm Festival. There were many local vendors and plenty of goats. Our favorite, Donald Trump, the goat.

Deerhammer Distilling Company

A trip to Buena Vista wouldn't be complete without a stop into Deerhammer. This little artisan distillery is nestled right in the heart of town and offers some of the areas finest spirits and cocktails. They also have a semi-permanent food truck nearby that makes some great burgers. We were lucky enough to catch our good buddy Lenny before he headed out to host a whiskey tasting in town. It's always nice to visit with Len and see what's next on his horizon. Buena Vista was hosting the 14er Fest that day so the town was hopping.
After an amazing old fashioned we found a quick bite to eat and headed on.

St. Elmo

Our next stop was the little ghost town of St. Elmo. This is always a stop when were are in the area due to the long family history on Nikki's side of the family. Her great-grandparents owned a filling station for many years in the town before it was abandoned. Her Grandmother, mother and herself spent lots of time in the area hiking, fishing, and camping. There are many trails that start out of this area and the ghost town has a ton of history. We spent some time feeding the chipmunks then headed out for a scenic drive down county road 292.  We also found a neat trail that once was the Denver South Park & Pacific Railroad.

Mount Princeton Hotsprings & Resort

Our last stop was for a calming soak in the hot springs at Mount Princeton. This is always a great stop as they have a very nice facility with pools for everyone. During the summer months, they have a water park with an alpine type water slide. This time of year that is shut down but they still have several "resort patrons only" pools,  two public bathhouse pools and access to the river. Hot water comes up naturally into the icy river. You can move large rocks to create your own experience from freezing cold to boiling hot. We spent several hours soaking in the river and enjoyed every minute of it.

That night...

While sitting around we decided that we needed a name for our camper. Many were suggested, so good and some well, not so good. In the end, we settled on the Rock. This ties to our last name as well as the physical characteristics of the camper.

We made one hell of a delicious dinner that night with ingredients that we picked up from the farm festival that day.

In the morning we threw down a hearty breakfast, Nikki got some homework knocked out and we packed up.

Final Thoughts

We are probably going to need airbags to stiffen up the rear end of the pickup. The F-150 has plenty of power but it feels a little sloppy.

DON'T FORGET GLASSES!

This was a great weekend adventure, we learned a lot about our new rig, made quite a list of items to pick up for next time and came up with lots of ideas for future trips.

Photos from the trip can be found here.