Family in Colorado

We spent 10 glorious days being spoiled by family in Monument, CO. We arrived on Saturday, May 16 to a brand new concrete slab with fresh asphalt leading into the site. A 50 amp hookup on the side of the garage completed the setup.

The reason Karen and Fergy’s home was so well equipped for a 5th wheel is because they are proud owners of a new 5th wheel toy hauler. They avid motorcyclists and a toy hauler was the only way to go for them. In order to make room for our house on wheels, they backed their rig up into the area graded for easy exit, allowing us the level pad and power hookup.

To say we ate well while staying with Amy’s sister and brother-in-law is a huge understatement. Meals served by Karen and Fergy ranged from burgers with all the fixings to a wonderful spaghetti dinner and takeout pizza from a local specialty pizza shop. The highlight meal, however, was the smoked rib dinner shared with Karen’s two daughters and their families. Ribs, baked beans, potato salad, and broccoli salad made for an awesome feast.

One nice thing about visiting family with your RV is that you have your own kitchen and can contribute to the meals and hopefully be less of a burden on your hosts. Knowing we were going to be visiting family, we ordered some items that we’ve been wanting to get for sometime. Among them was a Traeger Pellet Grill for Dan and a pizza oven for Amy. Dan used his new grill to smoke a pork tenderloin stuffed with cream cheese and hatch peppers and wrapped in bacon. It was a hit. Amy used her pizza oven to make fresh bread for several meals, scones for breakfast, and cookies for the big rib dinner. The highlight from the rig was crab and corn chowder made with crab meat given to us by Amy’s other sister, Barb. It was delicious, rounded out with fresh baked bread.

Of course, all this eating meant we needed to get some exercise. First up was a hike in a nearby park. We drove to the park in Karen’s Saturn Sky, that was provided to us so we could take a break from the big dually truck. It had been a while since either of us had driven a standard but we had no trouble getting reacquainted with it and muscle memory quickly took over.

Running in Monument, CO is by no means an easy undertaking. We did that just one morning during our stay and, trust me, there is nothing flat about this area. The combination of the hills and running at altitude over 7,000 feet made for our worse distance in a while (we try to run for 45 minutes as opposed to a fixed distance).

With hiking and running out of the way, it was time to try a bike ride. The New Sante Fe Regional Trail runs from Monument down towards Colorado Springs. We drove the bikes to the trail in town and rode for 10 miles before turning around. The highlight of the trail is riding past the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Like the run, the bike ride had its share of hills but was mostly downhill on the way out. This meant the return trip was almost all uphill. It was grueling but knowing another cold beer from Pike’s Peak Brewery was waiting when we got back made it easier.

In addition to the wonderful rib feast with the extended family, the drive around Pike’s Peak in the roadster with Karen and Fergy escorting on their motorcycles was a memorable experience. We drove for an hour and stopped for breakfast at Coyote’s Coffee Den in Penrose. After breakfast, we put the roof down on the roadster and enjoyed the wind through our hair for the rest of the day (well, at least Amy did). Driving the little roadster through the winding mountain roads on a sunny spring day in the Rockies is a tough way to spend a few hours. Like we said, we were spoiled during our stay with family.

As we pulled out of the premier RV parking space, Karen and Fergy put their rig back on the pad to prepare for their first big road trip. We left on Tuesday, May 26 and they are heading out on Saturday. We wish them luck on their first big trip with their RV and can’t thank them enough for the hospitality they gave us during our visit.