I don’t know if it’s a 3rd times a charm thing or if we really just found a gem of an area, but nobody wants to leave this one. A friend posted on IG a few weeks ago that she was camping at this magical place just an hour and a half from us and 45 mins from our next destination later in the week so I looked online and found their last spot remaining for the 2 days leading up to our other trip. It was perfect. And here we are.
It’s not a mountain destination so the drive was an easy one without passes and hills. We drove through such beautiful country with both grand and modest homes all set in valleys with horses and vast pastures. It was a different landscape, and an area Mike and I hadn’t explored which is weird for 2 Colorado natives. The last 5 miles to get here was up a winding road, then sharply down to the reservoir which is in a valley with hills surrounding. The views and setting are not as lush and intense as Steamboat Lake. You don’t look around in wonder, but there’s something so charming about it that feels more homey. Our spot isn’t right on the water, but a site back from it and still close by and our view from our site is the water. It’s beautiful and perfect for us. The reservoir is smaller so we can easily paddle from one end to the other, the water is clear and glassy with no motorized boats. People are out fishing, paddle boarding, and kayaking., but not too many. The camp host came over to check us in and asked how we heard of the place then asked us not to tell anyone about it because it’s such an overlooked little gem. (Hit me up on IG and inbox me if you want to know what it is 
) It’s hardly reviewed on Google, unlike some of the larger more popular spots. I’m starting to think that people do this on purpose, leave no reviews just so their fave spots can stay under the radar. It’s a good lesson for sure, the ‘popular’ places are often not the best.
We wanted to leave the house at 10 and ended up leaving close to 1:00. The days leading up to when we leave are still really busy and I can’t figure out how to streamline the food prep. I tried making 4 out of the 5 dinners ahead of time including potato soup on a day when it was rainy so I didn’t consider that it would be 100 degrees out when we actually ate it. I also made lasagna which, again, the kids will eat and it’s filling after a long busy day. Mike overcooked the first batch of noodles which were mush, then used the no-boil ones for the current pan we have which will now have to cook in the oven for like an hour. I haven’t cooked anything except a frozen pizza in there so I have no idea what to expect. We’re hooked up to electric so we can use the AC which is great especially if we need the oven on.
We don’t have water hook ups, but since we didn’t last time in Steamboat either, we know that we can go 4 days without refilling water for sure. We’ll refill when we get to our next destination after the 2 nights here. I think we’re pretty well stocked. I like our set up and it works well for us. I’m looking out our windows now and can see another site with 3 tiki torches which make a lot of sense for light and bugs. Mike and I have been so tired after the long days that we haven’t been going outside to hang out once the girls are finally sleeping to enjoy the night. We plan fo head out tonight and play gin. It’s 9:00 and Lola is still up, we’ll see how I’m feeling once she finally submits.
Mike and I were talking on the way here about how different this is from how we were living before. Everyone we knew were like WTF are you doing camping? We had never done this as a family or even as a couple pre-kids so it was out of character. There’s something about it that feels so completely comfortable and great about it and we all took right to it. I was very worried about how I would feel and if I would be comfortable, but when we’re home in between trips I can’t wait to get back out here and have been booking more and more filling in times when we’re home. We love our little ‘house’ where we feel safe and happy that we can take anywhere. It actually beats a hotel because we have just what we need and can cook when we want. We feel like we’re on vacation just a few hours from home. It’s not what I imagined but I guess I didn’t know what exactly to expect having not done this before. It would seem like this isn’t ‘me’ at all, but I guess it was the whole time and I just didn’t know it. I still literally brought like a 10 piece skincare routine with me though, so I guess I’m a little bit of both. 
One of the best parts of this is not thinking about Covid all the time. We can walk around, say hi to neighboring campers, and kayak or SUP whenever we want. We hike and do school too. It’s like a whole world here that’s already safe without even putting thought into it. The whole situation feels like a complete decompression for me and I can feel my shoulders leave my ears the moment we leave. We know we made the right decision every time we arrive at our site. We are very fortunate to be able to do this and are grateful for each moment. I told Mike tonight as we were walking the dogs after dinner and the girls were riding on their bikes that I have seen him in so many different situations, but not one like this. It’s nice after almost 20 years to see each other in a different light, working for the same goal and really enjoying each day. It has helped us to grow too.
The worst part so far is that something is broken on the RV (the dealership knows and is fixing it) so we can’t get the RV leveled. I feel like when I walk in the door, I’m running down an aisle like the Price is Right which is annoying. From the outside it doesn’t look that extreme, but from the inside I have to push the water down the drain and I feel like I have an inner ear problem or just left a cruise ship.
9:06, all 3 are sleeping. Wish me luck at Gin, I’m usually too chatty to focus and ever win a hand.