The Big RV That Could

Grand Junction, Colorado to Cotopaxi, Colorado – 211 miles

On this birthday of mine, we are moving on up and over the Continental Divide!  Our destination is a small community located on the Arkansas River named Cotopaxi, Colorado.  Before we head out there are a few things we need to take care of.  First of all, Blake popped off his wire off his back bracket twice while in Las Vegas.  Although he was successful at putting it back into place, Al wants to make sure everything is okay before we head off to a place where an orthodontist more than likely will not be readily available.   So off to an orthodontist in Grand Junction before heading out of town.  Our visit was quick, pretty much in and out.  An assistant took a look at Blake’s braces and clipped his wire plus gave him some wax in case it bothers him any more.

On our way back to the RV we stopped at Safeway to buy meat for our next stop.  We had plans to make fajitas while in Cotopaxi so we picked up some freshly cut steak and chicken.

We ended up pulling out of Grand Junction a little late – around 11:30 AM.  Our first stop was a small town on the way, Delta, Colorado, where we made a pit stop at the Wal-Mart Super Center to load up on food for the next week.  This Wal-Mart was laid out in the traditional Wal-Mart fashion so it was so much easier than the Flagstaff Wal-Mart! It took me a good hour and a half to get everything we needed.  We loaded everything into refrigerator and pantry and off we went.

In order to get to Cotopaxi we had a lot of climbing to do.  I was glad I wasn’t the one driving today.  You know, the Appalachian and Smoky Mountains are beautiful but they certainly don’t even begin to compare to the Rockies!  Just to put things into perspective, Mt Mitchell, which is the highest peak in North Carolina is 6,684 feet.  Today we climbed over Monarch Pass, which at its peak is 11,312 feet!  It took us a while to get to the top of Monarch Pass.  Our speed dropped down to whopping 25 miles per hour while climbing but Loox did it!  There were several times Blake and I thought of the story, The Little Engine that Could and when our speed would drop we would say, “I think I can, I think I can.” 

We stopped at the top to take a few pictures, buy a magnet for our refrigerator (I mean it wasn’t a destination but it was a feat for sure!)  Loox was the Big RV that Could today.

While at the top of the pass Blake insisted on climbing up a trail so he could stand in the snow that remained and throw a snowball at me while taking his picture. 

We took off the car for the trip down the mountain and Blake and I followed Al and Tilley down and to Cotopaxi.

We arrived at our campground around 8:00 PM, which was perfect timing; there was just enough daylight to get Loox situated before dark.  We were assigned, again, to the best site in the campground.  The last one on the property, our site set right on the Arkansas River.  To get the full effect, we opened the back patio, and kept our windows open during the evening.  This allowed us to hear the river running all night long.  This truly is the perfect place to unwind away from all technology (zero phone service and no Wi-Fi) for three days and four nights!