We drove east out of Cortez, heading toward Alamosa. Our plan was to stop at the Walmart, leave the rig parked and take the car to look at a possible boondock spot.

We arrived around 3:30pm, which is earlier than we generally like to get to a Walmart, if we are staying the night. We went in and made sure it was ok leave it parked to go “run a few errands.”

We found the place easily and drove in on the dirt road. It was washboard, as described on the Allstays app. A couple of miles in we saw RV’s parked and set-up. Unfortunately, the designated sites were taken; well – there was one spot we could have fit into but we didn’t want to be “that guy” that crowds people who are clearly trying to be away from crowds. I was somewhat annoyed, as one rig could have parked just a little bit further over and it would have left enough room for us to back-in and not feel too tight. Bill says he probably did that on purpose, and maybe he’s right – we will never know.

Back at Walmart, we went inside to buy a few needed items, then went and had some dinner. A couple of hours of TV and we were ready to get some sleep.

In the morning, we considered moving, taking a chance that someone had moved, but ultimately just left the rig parked at Walmart, with permission from the manager, of course.

Thankfully, Great Sand Dunes National Park was not far. We parked at the Visitor Center and went inside to learn about the dunes that are oddly out in the middle of nowhere. What we learned is it is the shape of the nearby mountains and the way the wind blows around them is what causes the dunes to form. The sand is more like beach sand, completely unlike the sand at White Sands National Monument, which we stopped to see back in February of 2016. The sand at White Sands is made of gypsum, and doesn’t get hot as the sun beats down on it. The sand at Great Sand Dunes is made of broken down rock, etc and gets very hot, which is why we opted to not climb.

Our next stop was the trail to Zapata Falls. It was an easy hike and I love waterfalls. In order to see the falls, we had to walk across rocks in the stream to get to it. The waterfall is in a slot and the only way into it is to walk in the water or on the rocks in the water. It kind of reminded me of a place we went near Klamath CA called Fern Gully, only this was much smaller. Still amazing though!

Despite my best effort, I ended up with wet feet! I HATE wet feet! It was ok though as it was so pretty and fun! And with temps in the 80’s and low humidity, they dried pretty quickly.

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There was a campground we checked out up on the mountain road – we didn’t struggle with the CRV but the road was far from smooth. The views from some of the sites were just gorgeous! It was not big rig friendly, however.

We checked out the boondock site again and it was still full, so we decided to just stay again at Walmart.

Before going home for the evening, we stopped at the visitor center. We chatted with the gentlemen at the desk and got lots of great information about things to see and do in Colorado.

The following morning we were on our way to LaVeta. Our friends, Nancy & Paul (of Our Someday is Now and Nibble Nomad) were hanging out there, waiting for the Heartland Owners Rally to start. We had been hoping to get into the State Park near Pueblo, but they were filled up, so we were happy to learn we could join them.

There were some steep grades on our way east on Rt 160, but we took it slow and both vehicles did well. The views as we drove were amazing!

Paul & Nancy greeted us, with their Corgi, Jake, as we were setting up, it was so good to see them! We met this past February, when Bill did their solar install in Texas. Paul did a YouTube video about it – which you can watch here: Solar Install, if you’d like.

We met Ken & Linda, who were also waiting for the Heartland Owners rally. They have a beautiful kitty, named Joy, who they walk on a leash.

While at Circle the Wagons Campground, we didn’t do a whole lot. I did some cleaning – ah the joys of full-hook-ups! I got laundry done, and Bill finished “polishing” his solar presentation for the rally seminar. Our only outing was to the Walmart in Trinidad to purchase a PA system, as the rally wasn’t providing one.

In the evenings, we hung out with our fellow Heartland Owners. We took advantage of the campground’s propane fire pit, as wood fires were prohibited.

One of the best things, for me, was Nancy taught me a few great tips about using Pinterest. I’ve had a page for awhile, but just hadn’t gotten the hang of it, so she very generously showed me how to use Canva to create pins. I’m so excited to make some pins now – check it out! There’s a link below! Thanks Nancy!

Before we knew it, it was time to head to Pueblo and our first Mountain Region Heartland Owners rally. Be on the look out for that post – coming soon!

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