We're traveling again.

We're traveling again.
When we got home to Longmont, Carol saw her doctor. Essentially he said "why did you come home just to see me? If you felt your condition was really serious, you should have gone to the nearest ER. If something lesser, give me a call."  He explained that he routinely does phone and  e-mail consulting. Now we know.
The '08 Lazy Daze sold quickly. We enjoyed it, but it was also ready for a new home.
After a few months at home, we began missing traveling plus we need a way for Carol to travel to see our Virginia family now and then. Car and motel travel simply doesn't work for us.   We went to an RV show in Denver with the idea of looking at the smaller B Vans like Roadtrek, LTV, and such. Something small, but sufficient for mostly  local travel. Since our move to CO, we no longer have the very long drive from South FL to the Western states we enjoy so much.  The B Vans  are really, really tight; especially with Carols special needs. Plus the Lazy Daze quality has just spoiled us. I was also surprised at the prices. A high quality B Van on the Mercedes chassis would easily cost $135,000.
So, on March 4th, 2014,  we ordered a 2015 24' Twin King. This will be our third LD. First a used 2000 Mid-Bath, then a new 2008 Mid-Bath and now a 2015 Twin King. The first two were blue. This one is red. Originally, LD was shooting for a December delivery. December became January which became February, on and on. It was finally delivered to us in Longmont on May 13th. A year and two months.
After a week, or so, of installing the stuff we needed, like roof vent covers, an inverter to charge Carols scooter battery, making it sparkle with polish, and such, we headed out for our  first trip on Saturday, May 30, right after our grandson, Oliver's, baseball game. Actually we were anxious to get started so left after the third inning. We can't imagine he much cared if we snuck out early.

Saturday, May 30.
We headed south to Georgetown then took the Guanella Pass road south. The plan was to find someplace to spend the night on the pass but the snow was so deep we found nothing. At the top of the pass, people were still snowshoeing. Just before Guanella Pass Road  joins up with US 285 in Grant, is a roadside bar-b-que stand calłed Pits. Excellent. Carol had a pulled pork sandwich and I had  brisket. Both were good, but the pork was better. Next time we both get the pork.
The original plan was to take the Boreas Pass  Road into Breckinridge but with all the snow at the higher elevations the road was still closed so we decided to head to the Alma State Wildlife Area(SWA) which is a few miles north of Alma. The SWA is an area with smaller lakes and marsh areas. Free camping. Turned out to be a nice choice for the first night. We parked right on the waters edge and watched the fishermen catch nothing.
Everything in the new camper worked just fine. Not even a small problem. That's why we stuck with Lazy Daze for a third time; we're spoiled by the quality.

 Sunday, May 31.
Drove to Frisco. We've been here several times. A really nice mountain town. Touristy, but not like Estes with all the T-Shirt shops. Stopped, once again, at the Buttercup Bakery. I had a cinnamon bun and got Carol a chocolate croissant. It's been a very long time since Carol had a chocolate croissant. There was a bakery at the Fort  Pierce, FL farmers market that had wonderful croissant's. On most Saturday's we went for the baked goods.
We're at the Heaton Bay USFS campground for the next three days. One of our favorite campgrounds. Camping in site 71. This might be the best site in here; on the water plus a great view of the mountains plus it's a pull-thru site and very level.

Happy campers

The 2015 Twin King.

The view from our site #71

A few  months ago, we went to a  presentation by John Fielder. He's probably the preeminent nature photographer in CO. We bought his book entitled Best of Colorado, 3rd Edition. We're using the book as our travel guide for this trip.
After we leave here, the plan is to drive the Colorado River Road from Dotsero north to State Bridge. It's 46 miles of paved and graded dirt road  following the river. Then take it from there.

Monday. June 1
We were going to drive Loveland Pass today but there was a big avalanche
 a day, or so ,ago and the summit was still closed. We were able to drive to the Arapaho Basin ski resort. People were still skiing. On the way, we came across a small beaver pond. Gopher went swimming then we took a short hike into the woods. There were several fire pits so it must be popular with campers. We also found a nice disbursed camping for future use. 39.61687. -105.92915.

A swim in the beaver pond

I stopped by the local Forest Service office and bought detailed maps of all the National Forests in this area. The maps show the roads where we should be able to drive the camper with a minimal chance of getting stuck.  They also had a list of roads still closed with snow. We're going to have to stay below about 10,000 feet on his trip and do the high passes on the next trip.

Tuesday, June 2.
A beautiful, sunny day. We walked around the campground making notes of the best sites in case we want to make reservations in the future. Based on site size, level, water access and view, our favorites are, in this order, 71,21,19,18.
The refrigerator has been shutting off now and then. According to the manual and on-line research, that commonly happens above about 5,000' elevation. We're at just over 9,000' here.
We just have to be attentive to the "check" light and restart it as required. Last night we tried to grill with the propane grill. It would not stay lighted. Wonder if the elevation was the cause?

Learning how to use Blogger from the iPad. I use the laptop less and less, so I'm no longer taking with us on trips. This is my first effort.