Leaving Estes, there are tons of amazing views! Andy was very patient with me as I made him pull over repeatedly to catch a cool pic.
First, we tried to get a pic in downtown Estes Park. It didn't communicate the charm of the downtown, and traffic was busy enough that we thought it best not to keep trying, so down the mountain we went.
I made him stop for this one:
Little T@b, Big Thompson River!
Then, I thought this pic would be even better:
This is a pic of the T@b and the Big Thompson River. Again.
Then I thought this would be a pretty picture:
Yeah, it's almost the same...
So then we tried this one:
Too much power line, not enough river and T@b...
So, this one?
Lots of T@b and mountain, but no river. Pretty though...
Next:
No T@b at all, but that was a really pretty bit of scenery, so... had to be done.
Back to T@b pics:
Am I ever going to get one I like? Sheesh. Like I said. Andy was very, very patient with me.
I give up.
While I never got THE picture I envisioned, I sure enjoyed stopping a lot and seeing the pretty views!
We drove straight outa Colorado and into the LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG state of Nebraska. On the way, desperate for some sign of life and/or entertainment, we kept seeing signs for Fort Cody Trading Post! The signs made promises of a museum and shopping and souvenirs and history...the list goes on! We figured we HAD to stop...right?
Oh dear. Well, maybe it was a bit of a tourist trap. But it least it made for a couple of good photos! HA!
We stopped for the night at Bessey Recreation Complex near Halsey, Nebraska. Interesting factoid about Nebraska: it has FORESTS in it, and this was where Bessey Recreation Complex was located. Who knew?
Here we encountered our first real issue with our camping reservations. Andy had made the reservations here before we ever left home, knowing we would need a stop somewhere on the way home, and this looked like a winner: on the Middle River, in a National Forest area. Our kind of spot! Andy reserved a site right across from the river.
We arrived and drove to our site, at the end of a long, bumpy dirt road. (I should also mention here that Nebraska was experiencing a significant heat wave, and it was about 95 degrees with no breeze.) Anyway, we find our reserved site and see that a very large camper was set up there, with no indications they would be leaving soon. Hmm....
Doing the smart thing, we drove back to the campground host's site and got their attention. A lovely woman came out to help us, listened to our predicament, consulted her clipboard, then told us to hang tight, and she'd be right back. She zipped off in her golf cart, down the long, bumpy dirt road to see what was happening.
She came back soon enough and informed us that she had made a rather large mistake. Our reservation was on page 2 of her clipboard, and she hadn't realized it was there. When a camper came up as a walk-in looking for a spot, she gave them ours.
Fortunately, the campground was not full that night, so she helped us find another spot to our liking. We assured her we were easy going people, and as long as we didn't have to get back on the road and drive any more today, we were happy with whatever we could get. We ended up with a shady spot, right across the road from the river. Nice!
Not too bad, huh? We did a minimal setup, as you can see, because we were only here for the night and planned an early departure the next morning.
We enjoyed the private campsite and sat outside listening to music. We walked to the river and sat out watching all the floaters coming in after a day on the river. A very relaxing experience, all the way around.
The T@b's air conditioner worked like a charm that night, and we enjoyed a peaceful, restful, comfortable night's sleep before heading home the next morning.
The entire trip was simply fantastic. We packed so much fun and activity in, but managed lots of soothing easy moments as well. 10 out of 10 would recommend again!
Happy camping!
Peggy
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