Zapata Falls Hike: Get Ready to Get Wet!

I wish you could have heard how LOUD this is!

The day after our trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park, Dave and I took a trip to the nearby Zapata Falls trail for a short hike. Our neighbors told us to be sure to experience the hike, and we’re so glad we did! Like Medano Creek, Zapata Falls will be most exciting to visit when the snow is melting most aggressively: so the month of May is probably best, if you can.

The turn off to the trailhead road is about 3 miles before the main entrance to the National Park. There’s a 3 1/2 mile rocky unpaved road full of switchbacks that needs to be driven up to the trailhead itself. The views during the drive are gorgeous, but it’s also important to keep your eyes on the road — you don’t want to accidentally drive over a large rock! There are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the views of the sand dunes from up there.

Continue reading “Zapata Falls Hike: Get Ready to Get Wet!”

Great Sand Dunes National Park: What Can Be Done in One Day?

Relaxing in a camp chair on Medano Creek in Great Sand Dunes National Park.

I figured I’d peel off two of the activities from our weekend in the San Luis Valley into separate blog posts. I realized I didn’t find a ton of consolidated information about spending a day at Great Sand Dunes National Park, so I figured I’d write about our personal experiences.

The Great Sand Dunes are exactly that: this unusual feature of sand dunes sitting in the middle of Colorado. A geologic abnormality, although it is well explained why this fine sand ended up in a pile nestled up against the Sangre de Cristo mountains. You definitely experience the southwest prevailing winds — which are responsible for the piling of the sand against the mountain range —  while you’re there.

The creeks nearby and in the park also play a role in the geologic formations. Read about the park’s hydrology here. Continue reading “Great Sand Dunes National Park: What Can Be Done in One Day?”

Camping Trip Review: Base Camp Family Campground, Alamosa, CO

Bojack parked at Base Camp Family Campground with Blanca Peak, one of Colorado’s 59 Fourteeners, behind him.

Statistics

Name of Campground: Base Camp Family Campground

Location: Approximately 7 miles east of Alamosa, Colorado.

Miles Traveled: 170 each way

Dates Stayed: Friday, May 21 – Monday, May 24 (3 nights)

Cost Per Night: We paid $45/night: rates vary depending on season, holidays, etc. The rates go up to $53/night starting Memorial Day weekend.

Site #: 5, Pull-thru

Hookups: Full hookups, with 50/30/15 amps available

Amenities: Small campground, but growing // Massive 112’x40′ pull-through sites // Sites are angled strategically such that your camper door faces northeast, shielding you from the prevailing southwesterly winds // Currently only 13 sites, but the owner has plans to expand // Opportunity for overflow dry camping (boondocking) to accommodate busier times, such as if you can get a Friday and Sunday reservation, but not Saturday // New shower/laundry building: 4 large private individual shower rooms that include toilets and sinks, too

Needs Improvement: No shade: the owners have planted numerous ponderosa pine and aspen, but it will be a while before those provide useful shade // No playground for the kids (there is a basketball hoop on the premises but the wind knocked it over)

Cell Signal/WiFi: Good but not great. WiFi is transmitted from the roof of the shower building. The closer you are to the building, the stronger the signal. Signal deteriorates during high usage (such as in the evenings when everyone is back at camp). We were able to use our Roku TV and laptops well, but our cell phones struggled with the WiFi. There is a cell tower less than 1/2 mile away, but our cell signal was hit-or-miss.

Who Came on This Trip: Dave and Patricia.

Continue reading “Camping Trip Review: Base Camp Family Campground, Alamosa, CO”

Excited for Our Next Trip!

Great Sand Dunes
Image credit: NPS.gov

Hi! This is Patricia! As I’d said before, Dave and I have reserved weekend camping trips with Bojack for almost every month during the “warm season”…April through October.

Our 2nd trip of the year is coming up this weekend, and I’m getting excited for it! This will be the longest trip Bojack will have taken with us, to Base Camp Campground east of Alamosa, Colorado. Alamosa is a 2.5-3 hour drive from Colorado Springs, in the heart of Colorado’s San Luis Valley, home to many of of the state’s potato, lettuce, and (interestingly) quinoa farms.

Continue reading “Excited for Our Next Trip!”

Camping Trip Review: Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Colorado Springs, CO

Idyliic, isn’t it? Cheyenne Mountain State Park 20 miles up the road was the most perfect place in the world for Bojack’s “dewinterization campout”.

Statistics

Name of Campground: Swift Puma Campground, Cheyenne Mountain State Park

Location: Colorado Springs, CO, just west of the Fort Carson Army Installation.

Dates Stayed: Friday, April 23 – Sunday, April 25 (2 nights)

Miles Traveled: 23 each way

Site #: 22, Back-in

Hookups: Full hookups!

Amenities: Full hookup at all 51 of their RV sites // Numerous walk-in tent sites // All the of park’s RV and tent campgrounds surround a very new, very nice camper services building with showers, laundry, and activities // Each of the campgrounds also has their own flush toilet building // Hiking trails are woven throughout the campsites, making it easy to access the more challenging hiking, bike, and equestrian trails // The best marked, best mapped hiking trail map of any Colorado State Park I’ve visited.

Cell Signal/WiFi: Virtually non-existent. There was no WiFi, and most of the time Dave and I had 1-bar with our Verizon cell service. It was enough to upload the occasional photo, and send texts to the kids and friends, but little more than that.

Who Came on This Trip: Dave and Patricia. The boys and Ranger stayed home but were right up the road.

Continue reading “Camping Trip Review: Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Colorado Springs, CO”

Mid-Winter Thoughts

A view of Mt. Crested Butte from the Silver Queen list at Crested Butte Ski Resort. Photo taken March 2017.

Happy Mid-Winter! It’s Patricia here! I figured I will give a brief update since our blog has been quiet since late October.

Since we are not full-time RVers, Bojack needed a “winterization“. We had no plans to use him in the winter. Last November Dave and his friend winterized Bojack at the USAF Academy RV lot, and Bojack has just been sitting there, enduring the downslope windstorms that are common to this part the country, waiting for spring. Continue reading “Mid-Winter Thoughts”

Camping Trip Review: Chatfield State Park near Denver, CO

Saturday morning. Bojack made himself right at home on the pull-thru pad.

Statistics

Name of Campground: Chatfield State Park, C Loop

Location: Littleton, Colorado (southwest of Denver)

Dates Stayed: Friday, October 16 – Sunday, October 18 (2 nights)

Miles Traveled: 50 each way

Site #: C Loop #132 (pull-thru)

Hookups at the Site: 20/30/50 amp electrical only (no water or sewer)

Amenities: Minimal water availability mid-April through mid-April // Numerous toilets nearby // Full bath facilities w/ coin-operated showers // coin-operated laundry // playgrounds, volleyball, horseshoes, and multi-use trails in walking distance // boat ramp if you want to bring your boat // large dog park in driving distance (for additional fee)

Cell Service/WiFi: Our Verizon cell service worked well, and we had strong WiFi at our site, with enough signal to stream television.

Who Came on This Trip?: Dave, Patricia, and Ranger (our dog) Continue reading “Camping Trip Review: Chatfield State Park near Denver, CO”

How Are We Going to Remember All of This? The Art of the Checklist

We’re working out ways to remember all of the things required to take Bojack out for a trip.

Next weekend we’re taking Bojack out on his maiden (Wait…is there another adjective I should be using instead if Bojack is a “boy” camper? Does it matter?) camping trip!

Our plan is to head somewhere local, and we primarily plan to spend the time figuring out systems. We got a campsite at Chatfield State Park, which is about an hour northwest of us, near Littleton, Colorado. You can see it on the map to the right. We lucked out, too, when we learned that the water would be turned off in the park right after the weekend we’ll be there.

So one of the things we want to figure out is a “to do list” of tasks and things to be checked before you hit the road. This will be a pretty long list, right? Continue reading “How Are We Going to Remember All of This? The Art of the Checklist”

Did I Mention We’re New to This? Fun With the Electrical Panel

Not my picture — I just sought out a Creative Commons image relating to something RV-electrical. And ended up with this….an image of 50 amp, 30 amp, and 15/20 amp outlets.

While my last post had summed up our adventure in getting Bojack to his new home at the Air Force Academy RV storage lot, in the midst of all of that, Dave was fighting with the electrical system.

On Sunday, we brought Bojack over to our house for the afternoon. I gave it a good cleaning inside and out, and Dave worked on some small projects, including replacing the battery and installing a disconnect switch. Continue reading “Did I Mention We’re New to This? Fun With the Electrical Panel”