The reality? Somewhat different. Black Canyon of the Gunnison - check. We had already noted before we left home that there were no, shall we say "proper" campgrounds in Winter Park. There were only three small state park campgrounds that were being run by the local Lions Club. The problem with most state and national park campgrounds is that while they are a fraction of the cost of "for profit" campgrounds, they lack amenities. Things that happy campers (like me) want - electricity, water, sewer hookup, wifi. You know, the basic essentials of life.
But we really wanted to be in Winter Park. We knew that we could go three days before we would have to empty the black or gray water tanks. That's about the same amount of time it takes us to use all the water in the storage tank if we are quick about showers and don't run the water constantly while doing dishes. So a few days in one of these more primitive campsites would be okay from a water perspective. Mark bought a generator so we could have air conditioning if we needed it. (The lights and refrigerator will run off the propane - but the air conditioning will not.) I assumed the phones would work because we were in the United States and not that far from Denver.
We also knew the campsites were first come - first served. Mark had looked at them on Google Earth before we ever left home. We learned something about Google Earth. The images are somewhat flat. You don't get an accurate look at the topography. And things can appear larger than they really are. What this really means is that when we got there, there were only about three sites that we could have actually parked our RV in and of course, other people were already parked in all three of them. The remaining sites were either too small or angled so steeply that the RV would have rolled down the hill into a tree. (I still haven't figured out how people could even camp on those sites in a tent.) The curves on the narrow little road running through those campgrounds were so tight I feared (as did Mark) that we wouldn't be able to get out of there without some kind of damage to our truck or RV.
But we did get out (even though we had to go the wrong way through the Entrance. (It was supposed to be "one-way" but we couldn't make the turn to go through the Exit.) We started looking for a "proper" campground. They were booked up for miles. Miles. We ended up in Black Hawk, over an hour away from Winter Park. This campsite had electricity and water but no sewer hookup. So the three nights they had available would suit us just fine. They also had wifi. When I reserved the spot I told them where I was and asked if there was a place to stop and buy food along the way. I was assured that there were plenty of places to stop and that they also had a store where you could buy food.
I must have missed all of those places to shop. They did have a store - full of junk food. And bread. We bought a loaf of bread (which was all we needed to make BLTs) and a jar of pickles. We could go out shopping the next day. We couldn't find the water hookup. The owner came out to show us where it was - way too far for our hose to reach. They were very nice to loan us an extension hose - even though it leaked badly and created a big puddle on the road. As for the wifi - it mostly only worked if you were standing in front of the store. Other than that, every now and again the planets would align and our phones would make noise as data came through. But typically that only lasted a few seconds. It was fairly amusing to see at least a half dozen people huddled outside the store staring at their electronic devices. (I know, I was one of them on more than one occasion!)
Our new plan was to tough it out there and find a place near Boulder so Mark could do his continuing education course. When we first bought the RV, some friends who had been RVing for years told us never to worry about finding a campsite. "You may not get your first choice, but you'll get one." Clearly, these friends have never been to this part of Colorado in July. The closest campsite we could find was in Colorado Springs - hours away from Boulder. The only thing we could do was cancel Mark's CE class, let my friend know we wouldn't be getting together after all and then head for Colorado Springs.
So our plans changed. No big deal. We were willing to go with the flow. We planned to spend a few nights in Colorado Springs and then figure out what to do next. I always wanted to ride the cog railway up to Pikes Peak. The guy who checked us into the RV park told me that you have to buy your tickets a day ahead of time. No problem. I called to order the tickets. There was a problem - no availability until Saturday and we only had the RV space through Thursday night. We would be leaving Friday morning. We would have to drive up Pikes Peak. But by this time, Mark's back had gone out. He could barely get the RV set up. And I suppose that's where the real trouble started.
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