Southbound to Colorado Springs - Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Ice!

We had a relatively short drive ahead of us today, so we dragged our feet a bit and hung out at Camp FMCA until about 1:30.  Our drive south on WY 59 from Gillette was pleasant and uneventful.  I suspect it was just in my mind, but the coach seemed to run better than it ever had before.  Or maybe it was the 24 mph tail wind.  Our route was a backtrack from our route last week, and we again travelled that desolate track from Wright to Douglas where there is no fuel for 75 miles.

I love pictures of the MoHo

I continue to be impressed with the fantastic state rest areas in Wyoming.

Wyoming Rest Area

We wanted to spend the night somewhere near the WY/CO border, perhaps at a rest area or visitor center, but all the rest areas were posted no overnight parking.  There were no Walmarts that allowed overnight parking anywhere along our route.  Dorcas started looking online for a campground and found Last Chance Camp in Cheyenne.  Dorcas called and found out they wanted $40.00 for one night to dry camp in a grass field.  SAY WHAT????? It turns out that Cheyenne Frontier Days is happening this week and demand was high. The lady at the camp said we just had to come.  They had a free shuttle to the largest rodeo in the world!  Surely it was on our bucket list!  No thanks!  Finally I went online and discovered that Sierra Trading Post in Cheyenne offered free overnight parking.  It was only a few miles off our route and turned out to be a fantastic stop.

Welcome to Cheyenne

Sierra Trading Post is a large mail order outfitter store that originally sold closeout and discounted items.  They were founded in Sparks NV in 1986, but moved their corporate headquarters, warehouse and fulfillment center to Cheyenne in 1992.  They offer free overnight parking at their fulfillment center and warehouse here.  A retail store is next door, so we dropped in and bought a few trinkets.





We crossed back into Colorado on Monday morning and stopped in Ft. Collins and pumped 61 gallons of relatively cheap diesel.





We passed through Denver a little before noon.  We elected to take I-25 directly south through the middle of town, rather than take an outer loop (toll road).  The traffic was light and smooth, and we had no difficulty. Well, Dorcas did do a lot of needless sucking, hissing and squealing.  Finally she just shut her eyes.

Denver is a hazy town

Bronco Stadium at Mile High, aka Mile High Stadium

Myron, look!  No I didn't mean to actually look!

We arrived at Colorado Springs KOA Holiday in Fountain CO (EL 5610') around 2:00, our home for the next 7 nights.  While here we will attend a rally hosted by Country Coach International, the national owners club for our coach.

The local weather forecast was for a serious thunderstorm storm with golf ball sized hail. About 4:00 it struck with a vengeance.  There was high wind, lightning and hail.  We watched the warnings on local TV and followed the progress of the storm on the internet as we hunkered down.

We are parked just a little north of Buttes,  at the edge of the tornado warning zone

Water about 6" deep was running across our site.  Thankfully it was flowing towards Fountain Creek and not back from the creek.

Should we build and Ark?

After the storm:

This guy's sewer hose was shredded

A neighbor's camp in disarray. Mayhem!

We are parked on the banks of Fountain Creek.  TV reports reported serious flooding on Fountain Creek in Manitou Springs, about 15 miles upstream from here.  I called the KOA office several times to try and find out if we were at risk for flooding and should move, but the calls never went through.

Fountain Creek after the storm

Kamp KOA the morning after the storm

The morning after the storm Dorcas crawled up on the roof of the coach to check for damage.  There were about a dozen holes and cracks in our air condition covers.  Two waste tank vent covers were slightly damaged, and there was some damage to the LNB housing on our satellite antenna.  Luckily there was no major damage and no damage to the roof itself.  I knew the air conditioner covers were brittle and probably needed to be replaced anyway.  I will mend them with some duct tape until I can get replacements.  As far as I can tell the satellite dish is still functioning normally.  Looking back, I should have put it in the stowed position before the storm.  The Honda, rooftop storage carrier and the boat seem to be fine.

My AC covers sure are dirty!

One of 2 broken sewer vents.  The other 2 vents were unscathed. 

More AC cover damage

The metal plate is where I mended a previous hole from a falling limb

I think the damage to the satellite dish is superficial 

I survived the storm!  So I'm not afraid of you!