Days Twenty-seven and Twenty-eight -- to Frisco, CO

Days 27 and 28 – Moab, UT, to Frisco, CO

It must be the heat that got us down, because as soon as we got out of the desert and into Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, our attitudes started to improve.
Last night in the Moab RV Campark was not the most comfortable. It was warm, and a light post at our campsite – there’s one at every site, burning all night; why?? – shone right into the Teardrop all night. In the morning, we all got showered and cleaned up, and I will say that the bathrooms were very clean and bright – far better than the grungy public-campground bathrooms we have frequented on this trip. Still, I can’t wait to get home and take a shower without wearing flip-flops, latex gloves and a biohazard suit; I’ll get so much cleaner.
We noticed a lot of very fit people in Moab. Every other storefront houses an adventure outfitter, and it looks like people flock to the area to mountain bike, river raft and sky dive. Even the RV park had a bike washing station and plenty of young, athletic-types at the tent sites.
We spent a little bit of time in Moab getting groceries, and then we decided to have lunch there so that we could hit the road, pick up some momentum and go nonstop to our next campground, with no lunch break to slow us down. We ended up at a little wi-fi café and had a great lunch of fish tacos and pork carnitas – coincidentally the same dishes that we ordered last night, at the Moab Brewery. We happily discovered that the food at this tiny lunch bistro was so much better.
While Keith and I made use of the wi-fi to get the blog updated, the kids wandered into a used bookstore next-door, and we left with a few sticker books to replace some of the well-worn coloring books that the kids have had in the car for the last four weeks, and a copy of “The Black Stallion,” which Natalie immediately dove into.
Maybe it was my full and happy tummy; maybe it was the three huge, icy diet Pepsis that I sucked down at the café; perhaps it was the new sticker books, the quiet car and the occupied kids; and perhaps it was the fact that we were finally leaving the desert behind, but Keith and I were comfortable and content on our way out of Utah. I think the real reason was that we were on our way to Colorado to meet up with Geoff and Kim S., and their daughters, Lizzie and Julia, great friends who, despite our strong protests and without our permission, moved from Lafayette to Denver three years ago. For as long as we have been planning this trip, we have been planning to rendezvous with them on our way through Colorado, and Geoff and Kim graciously made reservations at a campground in the mountains between Frisco and Breckenridge, which was incredibly easy for us to get to as we made our way across the state on I-70.
We pulled into the campground just before 6 p.m., and Geoff and the girls were waiting for us. (Kim had to work late in Denver and planned to join us Thursday morning.) The five children immediately took off together to explore the campground, and Keith and I set up camp and then had a chance to relax with Geoff. What a beautiful campground, on the shores of Lake Dillon, with snow-covered peaks on all sides. The campground sits in what used to be a lodge-pole forest, but is now a wide-open hillside; we learned that the trees in the area have been attacked and almost completely wiped out by pine beetles. Every mountainside in every direction is swathed in rust – the color of dead trees. The damage is absolutely devastating. Nevertheless, Keith and I agreed that this was, by far, the most scenic camping spot of our trip and a perfect way to end to the vacation.
We had a great time hanging out with Geoff, and after the kids went to bed, Keith and I relaxed around the campfire for the first time on our trip, and enjoyed catching up with Geoff.
In the morning, it was more of the same. Geoff made a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage over the fire, and the kids played and explored. Of course, they were drawn to the waterfront just over the hill from our campsite and somehow managed to drench themselves playing and splashing around. Keith actually changed into his suit and went for a short dip in the cold, cold water. Although the day included no strenuous activity, Keith and I found ourselves huffing and puffing around camp; we were at over 9,000 ft elevation, and our bodies were certainly responding to the altitude.
We spent the rest of the morning relaxing, taking in the scenery and enjoying the company. Kim arrived around lunchtime, and after we ate, we all went in to beautiful Breckenridge, strolled the Main Street and poked around in the shops. Again, after dinner, we put the kids to bed and spent another evening around the campfire with Geoff and Kim, watched the moon rise over the mountain peak and argued about the existence of Sasquatch. It was like something out of a beer commercial: “You know, guys? It doesn’t get any better than this.”
This is our last night of camping. Tomorrow, we’ll hit the road hard and stay in a motel somewhere in Nebraska. On Saturday night, we’ll stay with Sue and family in Iowa City and on Sunday, we’ll be home.