2½ Driving Days … from Utah to Colorado

Saturday, 7 July 2018
Cherry Creek State Park — Aurora, Colorado
Temps: 96F (37C) / 62F (17C)

Way late catching up ... but better late than never!

We have changed states again.  I had two days planned for the drive … but we ended up with an extra half-day because of a slight miscalculation on our part … ooops.

So let’s go back to July 5 … to when the story starts with our hasty departure from the famcamp.  The day started out fairly routine.  It was to be our last day at Hill AFB.  We were taking it easy, enjoying an al fresco barbecue lunch in the shade.

We had barely sat down to our meal around noon when the campground manager stopped by, saying something along the lines of being awfully easygoing with check-out scheduled for 1:00p.  Huh?  Why would we care … we weren’t leaving until the next day.  Wrong!  Turns out we had miscalculated our two weeks and we were due to check out … NOW!  

With no other sites available and another rig due into our site, we rushed through lunch and our departure chores and were out minutes after 1:00p.  We had two options — dry camp in the parking lot down the road from the famcamp or drive a few hours to a campground that had full hook-ups.  We pulled into said parking lot to discuss our options.  With the day’s high temp forecasted to reach into the three digits, we figured an FHU site would be better.  Which is how we came to drive 74 miles (119 km) to the Phillips RV Park in Evanston, Wyoming.

I wouldn’t call the park a destination campground, but it had decent sites.  We were assigned #49, on the front row … with shade and a view of the southern sky to get a satellite signal … also easy in/out pull-through.  The 50-A FHU site, with speedy wi-fi included, came to $38.64, including tax … after a 10% discount (military/Good Sam).  Pricey for an overnight stay, but on a hot summer day, it’s best not to quibble too much about that.

A shady site on a hot day ... Phillips RV Park in Evanston, Wyoming.

We wrapped up our unexpected driving day by finishing up the laundry we had to cut short due to our hasty departure from the famcamp … and also doing some baking for healthy snacks.  And then we treated ourselves to a glass of wine and some chill time on the patio … the shade and light breeze making it possible to sit outdoors despite the 90F (32C) early evening temp.

The next morning, July 6, we woke up to a cool morning.  We had a reasonable distance to cover … made all the shorter by getting an unexpected head start the previous day.  Having driven this route on our maiden voyage in 2010, we knew our drive would be an easy one … provided we didn’t get stuck in a miles-long backup due to an accident … like we did on that very first Phaeton trip (story here).

It was 1:30p when we pulled into the Western Hills Campground in Rawlins, Wyoming … the same campground we stayed in back in 2010.  Our reservation was for a 30A electric-only gravel site ($27) … must have expected it to be cooler when we made the rez.  Certainly we were not expecting the 101F (38C) that greeted us when we rolled into the campground.  Turns out it didn’t matter as we ended up using our generator to run our A/C for several hours when the transformer blew shortly after our arrival … likely due to all the rigs running their A/Cs full blast.

We're not alone in watching the sunset in Rawlins, Wyoming.

Thanks to the high-speed internet, we whiled away the afternoon and evening easily enough … I even managed to process and upload photos into my online galleries.  It was 8:00p before the power came back on.  By then the temp was down to 89F (32C), so having only 30A to run a single A/C through the night was a non-issue.

July 7 … our last day on the road.  We once again woke up to cool temps, though it didn’t stay that way for long.  In fact, we were to have another hot day on the road.

Even with the elevation gain — got up to 8,835 feet (2,693 m) at one point — I-80E turned out to be an easy drive with little traffic … just as we expected.  We made a few stops to give Mui a chance to stretch his legs, but otherwise did not dally much along the way.

It wasn’t quite 10:00a when we stopped at a point of interest on I-80 … accessible via off/on exits on the left in both directions, with a loop road for those who just want to drive around Tree Rock without stopping.  Mui parked on the shoulder of the eastbound ramp and we walked over for a look-see.

No one really knows the age of this limber pine — Pinus flexilis for those who understand such differences.  The tree, which literally looks like it is sprouting out of a rock, has been around since before the first Union Pacific Railroad tracks were laid across Sherman Mountain between 1867-69.  Stories abound that tell of locomotive firemen giving the tree “a drink” from their water buckets.  Like the railroad before it, the Lincoln Highway diverted its route slightly to go around the tree … as does I-80 today.

Tree Rock in Buford, Wyoming ... nice to see it alive and doing well after all these years.

An hour after this fun stop, we pulled into the Colorado Welcome Center in Fort Collins.  We parked in the rest area and while Mui prepared an early lunch, I walked over to the main building to pick up some brochures and maps for our stay. We were back on the road 45 minutes later.  After a diesel top off, we arrived at Cherry Creek State Park in Aurora, Colorado.

Finding the park was easy.  Getting into the park … not so much.  There is a narrow road leading up to the entrance kiosk where one must buy a park pass … even if one is camping.  The queue to buy passes was long, and there was no separate line for campers.  It took us about 30 minutes to take our turn at the window … only to be told to continue onto the campground and they would take care of the park pass for us when we checked in.  Sigh!

At the campground office, I was offered two options … either the daily pass for $54 for our six-night stay … x2 since we would also need a pass for the CR-V.   Or I could get the annual pass for $73 and a free tow pass for the CR-V … no brainer … I opted for the latter.

By 3:00p we were settled into site 50 — back-in 50A FHU in the Pioneer Loop.  Very private on the patio side with trees hiding our neighbors.  The shade from the trees will be nice if the temps continue in the three digits … it was 104F (40C) in the sun when we arrived … livable in the shade, though. 

Widely spaced sites with plenty of privacy ... we love it.

Our main reason for camping at Cherry Creek SP is to visit Sonia and Boris … friends from last year’s world voyage.  After settling into our site, we drove into Denver to see them.  We had a wonderful meal — including homemade borscht and blinis.  A sour cherry pie — made with cherries from their daughter’s garden — wrapped up both the meal and our chatty reunion.  We have some fun plans with Sonia and Boris while we’re in the Denver area.  But that’s for another post.

T-Mobile Update:

Hill AFB to Evanston — no T-Mobile once we left the urban areas; 3G cell through US-Union Telephone.

Evanston to Rawlins — Leaving Evanston we were on 3G US-Union Telephone … full bars, so this must be the service provider for the area.  About 40 miles into our drive T-Mobile made an appearance with varying bars, but before long we were back to US-UT.  The signal was strong enough for phone calls only.

Rawlins to Cherry Creek SP, Aurora — 3G US-Union Telephone … strong enough for phone calls … with pockets of no service out of Rawlins.  Didn’t see many cell towers, so I imagine other carriers were non-existent as well.  We picked up varying bars of T-Mobile LTE — up to full bars in places — as we approached the turnoff to I-25S near Cheyenne.  Remained strong for the remainder of our drive and at Cherry Creek SP.