There are a few childfree groups in the Denver area. None of them are quite as active or organized as we’d like. This was our second outing with this particular group. That is not for a lack of trying; we’ve tried to go on this dog-friendly camping trip several times, but we could never get on the list.
Our drive over to Dillion, CO was quite rainy. We even saw a little snow mixed in it at the top of the pass, but it was a good drive. Leaving mid-day–even on a Friday–makes a huge difference. We arrived to find two couples (of the five total) already setting up. Soon, the last couple to camp arrived, too. It was clear very early on that everyone in the group is kind, votes blue, and is nice. Dinner the first night was our responsibility, so we whipped up the planned “zippy” ham & cheese sandwiches, mashed potatoes, and tomato salad. Sitting by the fire talking and stuff, we got to see another Starlink satellite launch. However, the cold night at 9000′ sent us to bed early.
…and then the cold woke us up early, too! But then, we learned that running the propane heater (which needs a little electricity for the fan) can not outpace our solar input! We ran the heater to warm up and then napped after our interrupted sleep. The group hung out together for the day: we all walked to the lake and then some took a longer hike. One couple hiked to the top of a bluff and saw a wedding taking place. Another couple showed up for the fireside dinner and brought pulled pork sandwiches and potato salad.
Sunday morning, we said farewell to the other campers as they headed back to Denver. We love retirement and getting to skip weekend traffic. After they all left, we headed into Frisco to have lunch, do a little shopping, and have some ice cream.
On the way back into the campground, we toured the rest of it (107 sites!) and saw another wedding being set up. It was going to be very pretty with that backdrop.
Monday was chaotic. I managed to set off both the smoke alarm and the CO2 alarm. The drive was easy, but after we got the rig back to the storage lot, we went for lunch, where we saw a car driving with the hatch open and stuff falling out of it. Several people honked to get them to to stop, but they were oblivious. Later, we saw a pickup truck slip out of the towing straps in the middle of an intersection. Of course, some asshole behind us laid on his horn the entire time it took them to reconnect it and move out of the way…as if anyone did that on purpose. I hope someone got a pic of him and named/shamed his car/plate/face. But all was well with the world when, just a few blocks later, we stopped for some geese crossing the road. Two went across and two more were waiting with GOSLINGS! We have a ton of Canadian geese in Denver, but that was our first sighting of fuzzy babies.