Estes Park, Colorado Trip 2017

Hi everyone!

Sorry we have not been reporting our adventures since the big Alaska Trip of last year.  Since we have been volunteering and has been more of a "working adventure" than all pleasure, we didn't have the opportunity to blog about it.

So, as you all know we spent the 2016 - 2017 winter in south, south Texas.  We volunteered for U.S. Fish and Wildlife department in Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge.  A great experience in every aspect.  We enjoyed it so much, so much so, that we decided that work/volunteer camping is for us!.

Christine - Volunteer Coordinator

Jim - IT Mgr

Altamira Oriole

Bobcat

 

Green Jay

As usual, Mother Nature continues to show that she is a force to be reckoned with.  We left home and drove to Wilson Lake, Kansas.  An Army Corp of Engineer (ACE) campground on the north edge of said lake.  A beautiful, quiet park but it had some hidden features that showed themselves later that night.  The lake is in a deep valley, on the edge of a dam, in the eastern middle section of the state, just 9 miles north of I-70.  One of the many characteristics of Kansas is that the wind never stops blowing.  As a result, it should be known as the tornado capital of the mid-west.  That evening was no different.  After daytime temperatures rose to 90 and winds were already howling, we knew we were in for a "treat".  Like clockwork, the dark clouds formed and heavy rains and storms built on western KS and were to our west and north.  But the winds were right on us all night long, gusting to 50mph. The RV shook all night preventing us from sleeping.  It became so scary that in an attempt to minimize the impact and improve the aerodynamics of the trailer near this body of water, we retracted the slides at 2 am.

 

Notice "white caps" on the lake

Our rig and all our "friends"

By 9:30 am with no signs of these winds stopping we decided it was best to leave the area since thunder storms and tornadoes had been forecasted for later that day.  No sense in pressing our luck.  We drove west into Colorado that day.  Most of the trip battling the winds.  If you have no idea the impact of hauling an RV against the wind has, let me tell you that our mileage was halved for most of the day.  The other motivating factor was what awaited us in Colorado.  Heavy snows was forecast for the mountains which was our final destination.

We reached eastern Colorado soon after lunch.  Due to our sleepless night, it was time to stop.  We spent the night in Seibert, CO.  Of course the storms followed us there too.  Heavy rains, hail, and thunder hit the area into early evening.  By bedtime, it had quieted down allowing us to have a great night sleep.  Left the following morning by 8 am.  With a short driving day left and the continued forecast for snow in the mountains, we were glad to make the ascent and reach Estes Park before the storms.  We wanted to be parked at the campground before that occurred. Woke up the next day to find over a foot of snow already on the ground and up to 4 feet expected.  Again, that is feet not inches.