One of the best things about our life on the road is the people we meet. My Mom has said to me on more than one occasion that it seems we are more social now than when we lived in one place, and I have to agree. Now that Bill is doing solar installs, it is just one more way to meet people, people who hopefully become friends. This is exactly the case with Brian & Sue.
You may recall that Bill did an install for Brian & Sue back in March, in Quartzsite, at the RV Dreams Boondock Rally. They, and their kitty, Ruby, have been full-timers for about 4 years. They like workamping, but when they aren’t workamping, they like to be off-grid, so solar was a perfect fit for them!
When Sue realized we were in Colorado, she reached out and invited us to come to where they are currently managing three separate Forest Service campgrounds, all on the shore of the Cache La Poudre River in Poudre Canyon. We had other areas we were considering after Colorado Springs, but we decided to go and see them, and we were so glad we did!
We got a late start leaving Colorado Springs. Bill went to fill up with diesel and the one front brake was making a lot of noise, so at the last minute he replaced the brake pads on that side. (more on that in a separate post)
Due to leaving late, we arrived later than we like to at Ansel Watrous Campground. We were parking just as the sun was setting, which is not a good idea, but there we were. Bill did his best, but we ended up not being able to fully extend our living room slide, as a tree was too close. Guess it could have been worse. The river was literally right behind us, and so loud, but not in a bad way. I LOVE the sound of water, and I commented to Sue that the river flowing was my second favorite sound, the top spot taken by ocean waves.
The next morning, we got to see the full view – and WOW! It was just gorgeous! We sat in our chairs, enjoying our coffee, and watched the white water rafters go by!
Throughout the week, we visited with Brian & Sue, sharing meals and full-timer stories. It was cool enough in the evenings to share a few campfires – which was awesome!
We (ok – mostly me) were very grateful they allowed us to mooch off their WiFi – as there was no signal in the canyon at all! I would have been twitching otherwise! HA! I kept my usage to a minimum, but I have to check in! I don’t like being out of touch!
All sites at the three campgrounds Brian & Sue manage, Ansel Watrous (upper and lower) and Stove Prairie were boondock sites. Since our site had a good bit of shade, and since there were clouds for at least part of every day, Bill had to run our generator sometimes. While we could hear it, Brian & Sue couldn’t, neither could our neighbors on the other side, as the river drowned out the sound.
We ventured into Ft. Collins on Brian & Sue’s day off. We enjoyed a delicious Mexican lunch, and walked around checking out the shops. There is free music in the fountain area; we got a table and listened for a while. The young lady playing was a freshman in High School, and was pretty good.
Knowing how much Bill enjoys his beer, Sue had graciously gotten us reservations for a New Belguim Brewery tour. Jo & Ben (who are working in Loveland and staying near Horsetooth Reservoir), wanted to join us, so we met them there. The hope was they could get on the stand-by list and get in due to people not showing up. We didn’t think the plan was going to work at first, as there were seven people ahead of them on the list – but the stars aligned and they were able to join us!
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I might mention at this point that the beer “sampling” started as soon as we arrived. It quickly became apparent that I might be driving us home. As we got started with the tour, that “might” be driving us home became “will be” driving us home, as there were many opportunities to “sample” beer throughout the tour. Since I don’t drink beer at all, Bill was able to enjoy his “samples” as well as mine. You see where I’m going with this, right?
Jo & Ben invited us for dinner one night, so we headed down Poudre Canyon, and then around to Horsetooth Reservoir. They have a nice site in a long-term only park. The dogs, Peyton and Sammy, were happy to see us!
We reciprocated and Jo & Ben, and the dogs, came up to have dinner with us and Brian & Sue. We had a yummy dinner, and pie, brownies and ice cream for dessert. No one left hungry!
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Since our site was reserved for the weekend, we had to move. Brian & Sue had “reserved” us a site at Stove Prairie CG, which was 4 miles up further into the canyon. The new site used to be for camphosts, but not any more. The nicest part about it was no shade, so we had full use of our solar, and no more gennie! And, no tree in the way of opening the slide! The inside felt so big!
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Our old stomping grounds. We lived in Ft Collins for 7 years before we went fulltime. We spent lots of time riding motorcycles up Poudre canyon over to Steamboat Springs. It’s a great area. Hope you had time to visit RMNP.
We’ve driven through but it’s on the list to spend more time there!
That’s wonderful, so glad you got to experience it!!
Wish you could see it! You would love it!
Last time we were there was right after the fire. So glad it is recovering nicely. It was always a day trip, now you have us wanting to go back for a longer stay.
That’s an awesome sunset in your last foto!
Thanks Jeff! We loved falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the rushing water!
Kelly, We are so glad that you and Bill got to spend time with us. It was a pleasure having another full-time couple visit and share stories. I’m sure we will see you down the road somewhere…….. Maybe even in an Elks Campground as Brian will be initiated this coming Thursday (thanks to you!).
We had a great time! I sure do hope paths cross again! Tell Brian congrats from us!
We’re heading that way in a few weeks staying at Horsetooth Reservoir where we’ll be camping with the Ft Collins grandkids.
I’m sure you will love the area, Jean! Have fun with the grands!
Looks like a beautiful area! Barb and I are probably more social now than prior to being on the road. I attribute it to having more in common with most of the people we run into. That and not having the stress of work weighing you down as well.
I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you are probably right – we all “come from” different places but we have our full-timing lives in common – and MUCH less stress! Don’t know if you guys have been to Colorado – if not you will love it!
This are is going on my Bucket List. Water is a huge attraction to me. Being in a place where you can watch the white water rafters go by would be priceless. Love the sound of waves and rushing water, can’t think of a much better sound to fall asleep to.
Hope you get to enjoy this someday – sounds like you would love it! We can’t hear it – but you may also love where we are now – boondocking at Williams Fork Reservoir – water and mountain views all around us! Amazing!
Looks like a wonderful time had by all!
You betcha!