Today we reluctantly said goodbye to Altogatherers and launched our haul ass leg of the journey toward Quebec. Two things I have found to be essential for things that sit a long time: baking soda and Yoga. Since we’d been stationary for a full week, the shower and toilet had gotten a little interesting. I normally take a sponge cloth and “swooshie” the shower water into the drain before we roll. After seven days of no swooshies… Baking Soda does wonders. And for me, I have come to realize that Yoga is a non optional activity if I want to keep up with this lifestyle. I’ve got the routine choreographed to fit Dory, all I have to do is not make it a question of whether I will do it every day.
We chose to go over the Rockies via Highway 50 and I have no regrets. The climb up and over does not mess around. Monarch Pass clocks in at 11,312 feet and the climb up had some… exciting moments. Nothing too sweat generating, so I’d do it again. And the deathy sections were well balanced with beautiful views.
On our way, we could see lots of smoke in the distance, and we seemed to be heading right toward it. Turned out to be just above us and we didn’t experience any road closures going in our direction. It was pretty close though and the smoke affected all of the surrounding territory and closed highway 285.
We descended into the city of Manitou Springs, just outside of Colorado Springs. Here, Richard was able to scoot into town and acquire his very own Nemo Stargazer chair. After that, we checked out the Garden of the Gods park.
This is an impressive display of very unusual rock formations, preserved through the generosity of Charles Elliot Perkins and his children in 1909. This is a wonderful day excursion if you’re in the area.
We stayed at Pike’s Peak RV Park and can’t really recommend it per se. However, they had a site in a great location, close to the east entrance of the Garden of the Gods, with hookups. So there you go. Dinner that night was a fridge clean out using 5 eggs and leftover pulled pork ribs to make breakfast burritos. Add a little authentic Canadian maple syrup, gifted by a seriously awesome friend, and you’ve got yourself a damn good meal!
Total miles from Ridgway: 246.7, 18.7 mpg, 5 hours 17 min. The park has WiFi, hookups, etc. Just know you’ll be so close to your neighbors, you’ll worry their stuff is going to knock into you. Pricey given the cramped sites.
