MEEKER I We are among the folks anxious to travel the highways and byways this summer. After over a year of being isolated, 2021 brings us new opportunities to get outdoors and appreciate new or old places.
Thankfully, our little travel trailer keeps us warm and dry, saves money from dining out, and keeps us socially distanced from others. It has been through a few tests … or was that us learning how all the components work?
We’re not traveling in a mega RV, nothing fancy. But I sure do love the shower and furnace for cold nights. A three-burner stove beats all those two pan Coleman stove meals. The mini frig even has a small freezer – as in ice cubes and ice cream, all while camping! Total luxury to me.
I was an avid tent camper even as a child. Then as a single gal, I camped in my panel van with a day bed. Once married, I had to convince Jay to get a down sleeping bag so he could endure chilly Colorado summer nights and embrace the camping spirit.
Once the kids came along, we kept camping and adjusted our plans to their abilities. As our family got busy with sports activities, Colorado’s short summers never seemed to provide enough camping time for me. We took our sons all over Colorado and beyond including many memorable trips to the Tetons in Wyoming.
If we did one parenting thing right, it was camping and traveling. Our children became committed outdoorsmen, respecters of the environment, and sought jobs/recreation when they could camp. I am so thrilled to see the next generation continuing to get “out there.”
Fast forward and after a snowy, freezing camping trip at Deep Lake on Labor Day four years ago, I gave up. It was cold, miserable, and not fun. After much discussion and realignment with our senior limitations, we transitioned to a small travel trailer along with apologies to our sons for going soft!
We’ll be visiting a combination of BLM parks, seaside spots, national parks, and several boring travel day in/out spots. Even the KOA’s have many perks now. These days, you can’t hope to get a camp site unless you make reservations, so I have been a vigilant shopper.
Google maps and I have spent many cozy hours together searching our trips and potential camping sites. I am pleased that the Grand Tetons National Park finally has a campground reservation system, so we don’t have to hope and pray for a site.
You should feel proud of Colorado State Parks who instituted an online camping reservation system years ago. It’s easy to use and provides in-depth information about the parks and site conditions.
The KOA folks are pretty slick too and have stored my data – two adults, no kids, no pets, 20-foot trailer so I don’t have to keep re-entering the basics all the time.
Best of all, we will finally get to visit with our two grandsons, son, and daughter-in-law in Oregon. This is a trip we cancelled last year due to COVID and wildfires. It’s been about 1.5 years since we’ve seen these loved ones and I can’t wait.
So dear readers, if you don’t hear from me constantly this summer, I will be traveling and I choose not to write when new places beckon. All the better for fresh stories when we return. Stand by.
By KAYE SULLIVAN – Special to the Herald Times
