Denver through Four corners loop.

[Southwest Dave]

To Manitou springs.

Our next stop in Manitou springs left us open to a few route options and first we had to decide whether to head South back towards Fort Garland or North around the top end of the Sangre de cristo mountain range at Poncha springs. We chose the latter and made our way from the park passing San Luis state park to Hooper. Now the sand dunes were big, but leaving the park we took this photo showing the Sangre de Christo's 14000 ft peaks dwarfing the Dunes.



Heading North on 17 to Hooper we passed the Colorado Gator farm where you can get to play with an Alligator, but we didn't have the time [nor the inclination to be truthful] and continued through Mineral hot springs onto the 285.

Our next stop was for some lunch and we pulled off the road at Poncha pass that connects the San Luis valley and the Valley of the Arkansas river. It is one of the lowest mountain passes in the State at just over 9000ft and although not quite the Continental divide it does mark the watershed for the Rio Grande and Arkansas rivers. To the West lies the Sawatch range and to the East the top of the Sangre de cristo range making for some lovely views.





The rest area at the top of Poncha pass appears to be in "No man's land" as the county line signs of Chaffee and Saguache County's are at either end of it.

After lunch we head down the other side of the Pass to Poncha springs that brings us to the Junction with US50, the same junction we had approached from Leadville and headed West to Gunnison earlier in our trip. This time we head East towards Canon city and for a long time follow the path of the Arkansas river through the canyons.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2g4wQCY]

On the other side of the river was a railway line and there were miles upon miles of goods carriage's that looked like they hadn't moved in a while. I am not sure whether it was a "grave yard" for them or they were stored there but there must of been millions of dollars worth of metal alone sat there.

The scenic drive took us through to Canon city where I was reminded in no uncertain terms that "Skyline drive" was no place for an RV, Lol ! We passed the State penitentiary and as much as I would liked to have visited the Royal gorge bridge [especially after seeing Lifeys train ride pics in Denver] time would not allow it so we continued along US50 without stopping. We then headed North on 115 through Penrose where we passed the [claimed to be] Worlds largest rocking chair. I caught it out of the corner of my eye which refreshed my memory that it was there, but by then we had passed it by. The place it sits is long since closed down but the chair remains behind a rusty chain link fence.

The 115 travels alongside the Fort Carson Military base, with some Armoured tanks and Helicopters on show from the road and this statue is in memory of Brigadier General Christopher "Kit" Carson of whom the base is named after.



There is also a Blue Star Memorial plaque and garden at this site honoring all the men and women who have served and are still serving in the armed forces. Since returning home I found out that at least 59 brave soldiers have lost their lives while serving in Iraq from here alone.

It isn't long before we are in Manitou Springs and heading to the Garden of the Gods campground. As we park up we are welcomed with a light snow flurry and soon after we head out for something to eat. Louise had heard of "Castaways" a fun looking Pirate themed place close by, so we headed down the road on foot. Castaways was a fun place and we had a great meal in there and a relaxing night. We then wandered back to the RV in the cold night air, put the heating on and had a nice hot drink before turning in for the night.

[Lifemagician]

Have to agree that that section of highway 50 through that gorge, was incredible. Just that you planned to drive it, and I should not have been on it. LOL One day I plan to drive the full length of it, coast to coast.

And maybe it is a gender thing, but I cannot bring myself to stop at, or admire anything military. Passed by that at least four times, but looked the other way.

[illusion]

Really great pictures, love to look at them..

Silverton is a place I will not forget, nice little place..

[Southwest Dave]

Thanks illusion glad you are enjoying them.

Manitou springs

A cold crispy start to the day as we awake in the Garden of the god's RV park and the clean and warm shower block is most welcome. It's a very clean well laid out site with old wagons, plant pots and rows of trees that make it feel most welcoming.



After breakfast we take the short drive to the entrance of the Garden of the god's and drive around the Balanced rock loop road before stopping at the Trading post to do the last of the gift shopping. This acts as a reminder that tomorrow is our last day, but we are not going to let that spoil things.



After our shop we drive around the main loop road, stopping at the main walking Trail into the gardens. The many many different rock formations are fascinating and walking through the Conifers laced in white makes you feel as though you have walked into a Christmas card setting.











This is a truly amazing place, and on this day with few visitors and so quiet and peaceful it was surreal at times. I could of spent the whole day here but we had to march on so we continued around the scenic loop on the narrow tree lined road [thank goodness it's one way] admiring the scenery and exited the park.

It was just a short drive to the other end of town where we turned off the 24 to the "Cave of the winds". At the entrance there was a sign and phone requesting you ask for an escort if your vehicle is over 30ft in length, Hmm ! Sounds interesting, but as we are 30ft and not over, we slowly made our way up the steep and very windy road needing full lock on the wheel to negotiate the hairpin bends and arrived at cave entrance.



We had to wait for 40 mins or so for the next tour so it was a walk around yet another gift shop and enjoy the views of the surrounding mountains and canyon below. Apparently the entrance to the cave was discovered by 2 young local lads playing somewhere they shouldn't have been. Little did they know what such a find would mean for this place, and to this day new passages are being discovered.

Soon enough our tour was under way.




We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, although I couldn't help thinking of the Cheddar and Wookey hole caves back home, and for once 'home' came out on top ;-)

[Southwest Dave]

To Golden for our last night

After our tour of the caves we took a little time to look at the mountain views before heading back down the steep descent to the main road. Even in first gear it took some heavy braking from time to time to stop the RV becoming a "runaway" as we wound it around the hairpins, good fun though !





This pic doesn't really show how steep it is but gives you a good idea of the hairpins.



As we got to the bottom we headed West towards Woodland park where we were going to detour through Pike National forest. (We weren't going to give up on the scenic routes now and turned down the 'easy option' of I-25.) On route we took a detour onto the Pikes peak highway and although I didn't think we would have time to drive to the top, I thought we might be able to pay the toll fee and drive some way up, if the RV was permitted on the road that is. I couldn't find any restrictions prior to leaving the UK so I hoped for the best.

On the way I was a little surprised to discover Colorado had a North pole, and even more surprised to find it was Santa's North pole !



I was even more surprised when I got to the toll road kiosk to find the last entry's were at 3pm, especially as it had just gone 3.30pm.



I parked up and walked to the kiosk where a nice lady came out and asked if she could help. There wasn't a hint of a view of Pikes peak, made so famous for being the inspiration behind the song "America the beautiful". I told her where we were headed and asked if there was somewhere to get a view of the mountain. I was pleased when she told me that the drive through the forest was a wonderful choice and that we could see the North face of Pikes peak from Woodland park, so of we went. Half way down the road it dawned on me that I hadn't actually asked about RV's going up the mountain. Oh well there is always next time.

We briefly stopped at Woodland park.



....and we looked back once more as we headed up State highway 67 towards Deckers.



The lady was right, it's a wonderful drive with river, lake and forest views and the mountains making a nice back drop to the scenery. It seemed very popular with the fisherman and Deer we witnessed as we drove through. Some large areas had suffered from forest fires but nature was hard at work repairing the damage, it's a wonderful thing, nature !





Our first choice for staying the night was the town run 'Clear creek park' in a nice setting near a stream and close to the town of Golden, but after being told we should have no problem turning up and getting a site there [they don't accept advance bookings] we were disappointed to find them all booked up. The larger RV park out of town was also very busy but we managed to secure a spot for the night, it was the Dakota ridge RV park. I was surprised how busy they were for the time of year, but as we arrived in Golden after dark the temps plummeted and light snow began to fall. I wondered then if perhaps everyone had run from the mountains to get away from this early winter weather.

After pulling into our site we discovered a local bar within walking distance and headed out into the cold night air. We had a great meal there and the atmosphere was great, it was packed. It reminded me of the old traditional "Friday night out" back home, but American style !

After our evening meal and a couple of beers we made our way back to the RV for the last time. We discussed the morning plan over a hot drink before turning in for the night. Quite straight forward, fill with propane and gas, empty all water tanks, pack the bags and give the RV a clean inside before heading to the car wash to do the outside. Then a 45 min drive to the RV centre, what could be simpler ?

Famous last words.......!

[dangermouse]

How did I miss this report, top quality pics and great information.

A part of the US that I haven't been to either, plenty of ideas there for a future road trip for me.

[Southwest Dave]

Hi dangermouse, good to see you here !

It's a wonderful part of the world, and funny enough I thought of your trip in the 350Z and how much fun I could of had tackling some of the mountain roads around here with one.

Dave.

[Southwest Dave]

Homeward bound.

I am glad we had left the heating on after learning our lesson in Leadville as it was a bitterly cold morning. As I peered between the curtains all I could see was an icy mist upon the window. I turned the thermostat up to get some warmth inside, as we had kept it on a low setting overnight so it wasn't running constantly. I opened the door and realised it was Leadville all over again, with snow on the ground and bitingly cold air I stepped outside, it was very icy and slippery underfoot.



The others were up soon after and we started packing the cases and giving the RV a once over inside. After a hot shower in the Dakota ridge facilities [very nice too] we had a hot drink, packed the last few bits away and I took some fire wood and fire lighter we had left over and gave them to our neighbour. We were almost ready to roll, we just had to empty all the water tanks.

Knowing the valves had survived minus 9 temps in Leadville I wasn't expecting what happened next, everything was frozen solid including the drainage valves and they wasn't budging. Running the hot water off into the tanks and warm water over the pipes outside [didn't want to crack anything] had little affect. Having nothing to create a heat source outside [even the hair drier wouldn't reach as we had no extension lead] and the temps still well below freezing we were facing a $250 charge for returning with our tanks unemptied, something I was not going to take laying down. We were about to give up [and that was over an hour in sub zero temps] when it all fell into place. I noticed the "Beware gets hot" warning on the Furnace vent and casting my eye over the lenght of the waste pipe I thought it has got to be worth a go. I turned the heating up full blast and placed the waste pipe over the vent and Simon then held the other end to the seized valves. I had to be careful and make sure the pipe didn't start sticking to the side of the RV as it got a little soft. It wasn't long before the pipes were producing steam and water started to trickle, although it was another hour or more before the valves finally opened and we could hook the pipe back up and dump. A cold and miserable job but I would do it again for $250.

The problem now was we still had a 45min drive [and that's without the snow and ice] and still had to fill the propane and gas tanks and wash the outside of the RV and only 30 mins to do it all in, and we still had a 20 [plus] hour journey home to look forward to !

We filled the tanks and made our way to the car wash while Lezli was on the phone to Cruise America to say we were delayed by the weather.

We arrived "Gladiator chariot style" with spikes on the wheel !



We started with the power wash, cutting through the slabs of ice that had formed behind the cab and the back wheels. As we foam washed things didn't go quite to plan, and we ended up with a psychedelic ice cube !



It became even more fun as we tried to wash the freezing foam off as the floor beneath us froze, it was like a comedy sketch. Talk about "Bambi on ice" ! Finally we rinsed the mirrors and front windows and wiped them immediately [10 secs and they were frozen again] and we were on our way, albeit with some rather large ice spikes hanging from the overhead cab Lol!

Cruise America were great, they didn't charge us for the late arrival and the driver they had arranged to take us to the airport was very understanding. Luckily our flight wasn't untill early evening so we still had plenty of time to get to the airport where we had a meal before boarding our flight to Chicago and then back to London. Our flight went smoothly although we were on the runway for ages and then we found out why as the plane was blasted with liquid from either side. We had been queuing to get de-iced before we could take off. Our day had started at 6.45am on Saturday US time and ended in Sussex at 2pm Sunday UK time and some 25 hours later.

On returning home I discovered that it was another record breaking low temp for that time of year in Denver, minus 9 overnight, minus 7 when we were trying to release the tanks and minus 5 as we left Denver later in the day.

Did we care? Not one little bit, nothing could take the shine of our little adventure !

[Mark Sedenquist]

Kudos all around -- great field report.

I've had my share of frozen waste valves too over the years. One memorable trip I was in Indiana and the local RV park owner (the park was closed for the season) loaned me a propane gas heater (flame-thrower) to loosed the stuck valves and tank -- on the Phoenix One all of those lines were exposed because of high off-road clearance) so... I'm laying on my back making great progress when I noticed a rather disturbing side effect of my efforts....

The ground temps were minus 10 F and the melting snow and ice was dripping off of the undercarriage of the truck at a remarkable rate and forming a nice pool of water around my parka -- no worries -- this jacket has kept me warm in truly dreadful winter conditions, so on I go, and then I go to shuffle over to the next section and.... Krikey! I am frozen in place. I am still on my back, completely stuck, with a roaring flame thrower and no one can hear me. I am unable to wiggle more than an inch or two in any direction and I made the mistake of laying down my left sleeve to gain some traction and now it's frozen to the ground too....So... making things really interesting -- my neck is starting to cramp from the odd position so I lay back to rest a moment and catch my breath... And yep, now my head is frozen in place. Since it was so darn cold, I had carefully zipped the hood tight and fastened the protective mouth piece and since my left arm is now encased in ice and right shoulder is un-moveable, I have to yell through the cloth over my mouth -- which muffles my words and makes me sound even more like an idiot...

After a few challenging moments, I get the burner turned off and manage to attract the attention of a passing motorist -- who must have wondered what the heck I was doing lying under a RV in the snow on a side road with no one around. After having a good laugh at my predicament she drives off in pursuit of the owner of the closed RV park. It starts snowing again and I've noticed that I am even more stuck than I was before -- now I can't move either of my legs...

Eventually my friend, (the RV campground owner) and this now nearly hysterically-laughing woman get back and crawl under the truck to laugh at me some more. I'm finding this not even remotely funny -- albeit I would admit that it's a tad embarrassing.

After making a series of what I thought were rather bad-taste-in-jokes about idiots in the snow and etc., my buddy fires up the flame thrower and proceeds to melt me out of the ice cocoon I've created around myself. Since his angle of vision is not entirely perfect, he can't seem to see that he's also splashing hot flames on the underside of the propane tank mounted to the chassis directly above my head. After calmly suggesting that he pay a little more attention -- he manages to chip me out of the ice block and then helps me wiggle out of the frozen parka and pants. By that time, I was getting a little chilly since the melting ice has managed to run down inside my pants and is soaking my clothes. Hyporthermia isn't all that far away, (for me), and these guys are still laughing so hard they have to take a break every now and then to catch their breath.... Megan wasn't with me that day and so she missed this particular adventure....

All-in-all another great winter RV-ing adventure!

Mark

[UKCraig]

Two great stories - thanks for letting us ride along with you on your trip, Dave, and thanks for the smiles, Mark :)