Day 8 - Drive to Colorado Springs

Friday was a drive day as we were done in Estes Park and heading down to Colorado Springs. The drive to Colorado Springs from Estes Park is only supposed to be 1.5-2 hours depending on traffic. However, we had to return our minivan to the Enterprise in Longmont, and then pick up another rental car in Colorado Springs. Picking up and returning a rental car is always a pain, but it's really our only option for site seeing. Towing a vehicle isn't practical because we'd have to tow either a minivan or large SUV, and the added length would complicate maneuvering. So we're left with renting vans, which often times becomes a mini adventure.

Before we even left the campground I got a phone call from the Enterprise in Colorado Springs telling me they wouldn't have a minivan for us. Apparently on Thursday Chrysler issued a recall that impacted many models of SUV's and minivans, so the Enterprise we were originally going to had neither because all of theirs were impacted by the recall and they wouldn't take on the liability of renting a car with an active recall. While we understood all of that, it presented a major problem for us. We were supposed to drive up to Pikes Peak on Saturday and we needed a car to do that. Plus there are about a half dozen other things we wanted to see around the area and we needed a van or SUV to get around to them. Luckily, about an hour later Enterprise called to say we could rent a large SUV at another location around Colorado Springs. It is not a convenient location, but it addressed our problem. So to Ryan from the Enterprise on Nevada Ave. in Colorado Springs, I say a big Thank You!

We returned our minivan and then made a stop downtown at a place called Sculpture Park. When we were driving into downtown it was about 11am, on a Friday, and there was a ton of traffic! It was very surprising. The whole area from Fort Collins, down to Colorado Springs is very congested. There is just a lot in that area. You have Denver right in the middle, and then multiple major universities and military bases. We finally made it downtown but now had to park. Fortunately we were able to find three open parking spots near the park, so I pulled in and then paid each meter. We walked to the park, played some catch, raced each other, and then headed back to eat lunch and move on to Colorado Springs.

After battling more traffic, we got into Colorado Springs. Just as we pulled off the highway I realized that I had driven us just about all the way to the original Enterprise, which would not have a vehicle for us. So now we had to turn around and backtrack 10 miles (15-20 minutes in the traffic) back to the Enterprise our rental was transferred to. As I type that it doesn't seem like such a big deal, but it felt like a crushing blow at the moment, and I was super upset. We were on the verge of Nolan getting upset at any moment and the thought of adding 30 more minutes felt awful. Thankfully Allyson was a good sport about it. We made it back to the correct Enterprise and got our vehicle which was a very new Chevy Suburban. Now, Allyson and I aren't particular to Chevy's but I think we both immediately thought to ourselves "this thing is pretty sweet!" It was massive. It could sit 8 adults comfortably and has plenty of trunk room. It drove really well too. Later when we were hanging out by ourselves we talked about how maybe we could get one when the kids are older and can get up into a higher vehicle easier. However we later learned that the MSRP on a base model is $60,000....ouch.

We eventually made it to our campground - Gardens of the Gods RV Resort. We both like this campground, but it is a tad peculiar. I definitely think the term "resort" is a stretch. The campground is basically right in a residential area. The first picture below shows our campsite, which was just fine other than some broken and uneven concrete. The second picture below shows our proximity to residential housing. In the second picture you can see our campsite on the left (with the black SUV in front of the motorhome) and someone's house on the right, outside the property.

Once we had things setup at the campsite rain started to move in and it was scheduled to last for several hours. Allyson and I didn't want to keep the kids couped up in the motorhome all evening after a day of driving, so we rolled the dice and went to Chipotle for dinner. Any attempt to eat a meal in public with these maniacs is a gamble, but they were actually excellent. It turned out to be a really nice meal, and then on the way back we got the chance to drive through the downtown area and check it out.

On the way back we stopped at Starbucks so that Natalie could get a Pink Drink. I had never heard of this before and was very surprised that the name was actually Pink Drink. Getting one was a special occasion for her. Allyson and I (more so Allyson....maybe way more so Allyson) get Starbucks often, but it's usually just coffee, and we don't let the girls get anything other than maybe a cake pop. Although today I learned that cake pops cost more than $3 a piece, so we may be passing on those in the future. Natalie has been talking about this Pink Drink for days and she was ecstatic to get it. I believe it is strawberry juice mixed with coconut milk. Everyone had some and was able to conclude as a group that it is overrated.

After all that, we went back and got ready for bed. On Saturday we were heading up to Pikes Peak so we wanted everyone to get rest so they weren't cranky for the drive up and back.

Miscellaneous notes and thoughts:

• While packing up the motorhome in Estes Park I was suddenly hit with a touch of homesickness. It was unexpected because I typically don't get emotional, and we have all seven of us together. I mentioned it to Allyson and she agreed. We have a good routine, good friends, and our extended family at home. This is the longest we've been away from home in a while, so I guess it makes sense we would miss it. By the time we were in Colorado Springs the feeling was gone and replaced by excitement for what we were doing here. However, I would imagine that by next Saturday we will be very excited to get home.

• When we were in Estes Park we could see some haze when we looked at mountains off in the distance. I learned that it was actually smoke from the wildfires in Canada and on the west coast. It didn't impact us much at all in RMNP, but I was concerned that it could obscure some of the views when we are up on Pikes Peak.

That's all for now. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!