Estes Park, Colorado

Last night we stayed at McGreer Camper Park in Big Springs, Nebraska.  It’s a Passport America park about a mile off of I-80.  The cost was $12.50 for a full hook-up site with 30 amp service.  That’s it.  The office is on the right and we’re parked just to the left of it.

It appeared to be the outer boundaries of a farm field with some sites put in.  Very rustic :)  There was a small office building, but we never saw a soul.  You put your money in an envelope and slid it through a mail slot.  The building was open and they had some coin operated washer and dryers.  The bathrooms had free showers and were clean.  It was an OK place to spend a night, but other than that, it had no “it” factor at all.  We were the only ones there for a while.  Towards evening, two more RVs pulled in.

We left about 9:00 this morning.  The landscape quickly turned from fields of crops to range land; lots of cattle.  I kept searching the horizon for mountains.  It seemed like they just appeared out of nowhere.  One second there was nothing, and the next second you could see mountains.  Very cool!  We’ve been to the Rockies before, but it’s been a while.  I love mountain views.

It was a steady uphill climb all day.  Once we got past Loveland, Colorado, there was a 22 mile stretch of switchbacks right in the mountains.  Kevin did a great job driving.  Here’s where my knuckles started turning a bit white :)  This was the first time our truck pulled our new camper in mountains.  It’s heavier than our last camper was, so we weren’t sure how the truck would do.  It performed like a champ :)

We’re staying at Mary’s Lake Campground in Estes Park about two miles from the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.  It’s a county park so we have to pay $7 a day for an entrance pass plus $30 a day for the camping.  It was still less expensive than any other private campgrounds so close to the national park.   Everything is very brown here.  They have had a very dry spell and the fire danger it high. 

Here’s the view at the front of the camper.

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s the view looking towards the back.

 

 

 

 

The mountain views are beautiful.  The campground has full hook-ups with 50 amp electric.  The pull-through sites are pretty level and have a concrete pad.  There is free Wi-Fi which is good because our air card has no bars.  We can barely get a signal on the cell phones.  The satellite dish is set up with a great signal.  I called DirecTV to change our location, and believe it or not, it went very smoothly.  We now have Denver local channels so we can record our favorite shows while we explore.

The ground here is rock covered with some scrawny pines.  I’m really surprised how desert-like the landscape is.  I was envisioning more green space.  There is a Mary’s Lake, but it’s across the road from the campground so no lake views.  All in all, it’s not a bad campground, but doesn’t have a real “it” factor for me.  On this leg of the trip, it’s all about location.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!