Fruita, CO, Car Show

Grills Gone Wild

Last weekend's trip to the Colorado National Monument also afforded a side trip to nearby Fruita, Colorado, for a town festival and car show.  Beautiful automobile restorations were shown off in the town square, and I snapped a few photos of my favorites.

Colorado National Monument

Airstream Camping at Colorado National Monument

It is easy to overuse adjectives when describing the Colorado National Monument: Amazing, Dramatic, Beautiful, Stunning, Serene, Soulful, Sacred.  This unique place is a treat for the eyes and nourishment to the soul.  Red rock canyons transform in color as the sun journeys overhead casting shifting shadows and shapes on the canyon walls.   You can literally dangle your legs over the edge of a cliff while surveying a panorama filled with red spires and gigantic monoliths that almost glow in the sunset - all within a few minutes walk from the Saddlehorn Campground.

Hissing faucet - De-winterizing Lesson Learned

Flushing out the anti-freeze

My kitchen faucet would only hiss and sputter after I flushed, filled, and sanitized the water system after finally de-winterizing a few days ago.   It was puzzling because the bathroom water supply was working normally.  After over an hour or so of fiddling with it - bypassing the hot water tank, connecting city water and also  trying the internal tank and pump, I called it quits for the night.

Spring Camping in Rocky Mountain National Park

View of Horseshoe Park in RMNP

This weekend trip took us to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) where we camped in the Moraine Park Campground.  The unseasonably warm Spring has afforded some nice camping opportunities in places where snow and mud are sometimes more the norm this time of year. 

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Reverend's Ridge Campground, site 30

With an unseasonably warm forecast for the next few days, we made Golden Gate Canyon State Park our weekend destination and gave winter camping a second try.   Even though this is one of the closest Colorado state parks to the Denver-Boulder metro area,  it is a great destination for peace and solitude during the Winter; the campground is quiet, and sites are easy to come by.

Our First Winter Trip in an Airstream

Camping in the shadow of Pikes Peak, Colorado

On a whim and with a nice weekend forecast, we packed the camper after work and headed out to Mueller State Park for our first real winter camping experience in an Airstream.   It was about a two and a half hour drive to our destination, so we arrived under starry skies well after dark.   The campground was completely empty.  I began to worry a little about why we were the only people in the entire Denver and Colorado Springs metro areas this weekend that thought camping in the middle of February at 9500 feet was a good idea.

Scouting out Mueller State Park, Colorado

One of the best sites, IMHO.

We checked out Mueller State Park yesterday looking for some potential summer campsites. For anyone visiting or camping in Colorado this year - this is a beautiful state park located 30 miles outside of Colorado Springs. Two thumbs up!

Sometimes Simple Jobs are the Hardest

One of the last things I needed to do to make the new vehicle "tow-ready" was to lower the hitch so that the Bambi towed level. What I thought would be a very simple task - removing 2 bolts - turned out to be very difficult and time consuming.

Summary of 7-pin tow harness installation on a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder

On the off chance that someone stumbles acrossthis blog and wants to install a 7-pin towing harness on a Nissan Pathfinder, here is a summary of what I had to do and what it cost.

New Tow Vehicle

2008 Nissan Pathfinder

My 2008 Nissan Xterra has been a great tow vehicle and more than up to the task of pulling the 16' Bambi (GVWR 3500 lbs.) through the mountains for several camping trips this season.  However, it struggled more than I liked towing over some of the higher Colorado passes.   So, I did some research and decided to replace it with a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder.