Colorado - Sept. 2011 - Frisco

We got home from Canada recently, spent a few days at home and headed out again.  This time for Frisco, Colorado.  Some people wondered why and I just think...it beats this...

That's not true, I enjoyed teaching for 29 years and still think about my students, classroom, and close teammates.  That was then and this is now.   Miki and I have enjoyed this area since we started coming out here to ski years ago.  It is an hour or so west of Denver, right on I-70.  When we were getting close to getting a 5th wheel to travel with, I started thinking about places to go.  I discovered Heaton Bay campground on the internet.   It is on Lake Dillon and is the only campground I could find with some utilities (water and electric).  It is between Frisco and Dillon.  You turn off I-70 at Dillon to go ski at Keystone and Frisco to ski at Breckenridge.  Both towns have really developed with things to do since we first started coming to this area and have a nice feel to them.  So now that we have the time, we are here to explore the area by hiking, biking, fishing, paddling, and driving around to see what is off the main drag.


First we have to get to Frisco.  If point A is Blue Springs, MO and point B is Frisco, CO, then a large part of that straight line (I-70) between the two is Kansas and eastern Colorado.  I remember as a kid, it was the worst part of traveling to visit relatives in Utah.  It just went on and on and on.  As an adult, for some reason, I have come to enjoy the drive.  From east to west there are some cool things to stop and see and some less desirable too.  The Kansas Speedway may well be the first place of interest past downtown Kansas City, but then past Topeka you get into the Flint Hills, Post Rock Country, and later the Largest Prairie Dog in the World, which of course is surrounded by two headed animals and 5 legged creatures and who knows what else.

You may recognize these from the highway, but the rock
is a special limestone that when it is first exposed, it is
"soft" and becomes harder as it is exposed to air.
It was discovered as a building material about the
same time as sod houses were being built across the
plains.  Fence posts to home building, this rock made
its mark and you can still see remnants today along I-70.

We persevered through eastern Colorado, through Denver, and breezed up to the Eisenhower Tunnel as it was bumper to bumper traffic headed back down towards Denver going about 25 mph.


We found our campsite and set the "doghouse" up like we'd been doing this for six months...oh that's right, we have been doing it for six months.  For the 11 hour journey the dogs did well, getting potty walks every gas stop and amazingly Mulligan goes all day without a litter box.  We settled in and crashed as a gentle rain began.

Tuck and Mulligan take the lead in settling
in to their new digs for the next couple of weeks.

Tooga snuggles in next to the faux fireplace.

It appears I am the only one awake.

Back to bloggin'... but what a view!

So there you have it.  It's dreary, it's chilly, and we're right where we want to be.  There is new snow in the higher elevations and we'll see about getting up there.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring...


My Zen from the road:  I was sitting at a Chevy dealer today getting the oil changed in the truck and a young man was there waiting also for some work to be done.  He was dressed as what I stereotype as Wall Street, complete with cuff links (really?).  I sat in a chair facing out the window.  He paced back and forth checking his phone for whatever and making calls.  This went on for an hour until the truck was done, I left and he was still pacing.  I kept thinking that he was what I use to be...gotta be going - can't sit still.  In contrast to that, I sat for an hour staring at the mountains, the traffic, and listening to a young, slick salesman flounder through a sale.  Simply put...nothing stays the same.