Denver through Four corners loop.

[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.......!