Our first destination in Colorado was the NKK 2024 Fulltimers Chapter Annual Rally & Business Meeting, scheduled for July 21-26. We were so much ahead of schedule that we called to make arrangements to arrive at our campground at the KOA Colorado Springs (which is technically in the town of Fountain, about 10 miles south of Colorado Springs) a day ahead on July 20. Thankfully we were able to get in early and could be parked on the same site we were assigned for the rally. This meant we wouldn't have to move again before the rally.
This is not the first time we have stayed at this campground. In July 2018 we were here for a rally with Country Coach International when we still had our Country Coach Allure. During that previous stay we had a severe thunder and hail storm, which caused some damage to both the car and the coach. To read about that adventure click HERE and HERE. As fate would have it, we had another storm here shortly after making camp. This storm was not as severe as that one in 2018, and afterwards we were rewarded with a spectacular double rainbow.
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We had Elves!!!
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People often ask what we do at a rally. Well to eat, drink and be merry are always favorite activities.
One day we toured the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine Tour at Cripple Creek
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| It would take a big head to fill that hat |
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| The miners use a sequence of bell rings to communicate with the hoist operator. |
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Downtown Cripple Creek
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Another day we toured the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. They were interesting, but having been to the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, they were a little disappointing. They were not particularly original and a lot of restoration had been done.
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| Dorcas gawks at an elk with a deformed antler |
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| An ancient petroglyph???? |
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| Happy hour!!! |
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| A smorgasbord of "weird beers" |
On another day we did an off-road ORV tour in Pike National Forest
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| She's so COOL! |
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| It was a smoky day due to nearby wildfires |
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| We all enjoyed a box lunch midway on the ride |
Click HERE to see a video of our ORV adventure
One evening we had a "progressive coach stroll", whereby each coach family shared snacks, as other members made the rounds. Preferably folks prepared something unique or special to their home region.
Our offering (see below) was quite a hit. We had real Lexington style barbecue, authentic red slaw, and honest to god, home made, illegal, non-tax-paid, white lightening, all imported from North Carolina. Served in authentic red and white paper trays with real Lexington "dip" and Texas Pete, which is made in our home town: Winston Salem.
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| Bad picture of our fare |
Then there were door prizes and a "bucket raffle"
Our booty:
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| An Oasis 5-year service kit. Retail value: $345 |
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| Helinox Sunset chair. Retail value: $170 |
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| Another Helinox Sunset Chair. Retail value: $170 |
Another excursion was to the summit of Pike's Peak.
When we were here in 2018 the cog railway was not operating. They told us it would likely never operate again due to the cost of repairing the track and building new engines and cars, which need to come from Europe. Yet, here it is. Go figure.
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I didn't feel like fighting the mob to take a selfie at the summit marker. |
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| Mama finally found Bigfoot! |
We had expected to see marmots and pikas, but we didn't. We did, however, find some big game.
Click HERE to view a cute video clip of the sheep.
Finally we had a farewell dinner at MacKenzie's Chop House, a fine steak house in downtown Colorado Springs.
At many of our rallies we identify a local charity and raise funds through raffle ticket sales, 50-50 ticket sale and donations. On this evening we donated $5476.00 to the Colorado Springs Therapeutic Riding Center. The Colorado Springs Therapeutic Riding Center is a nonprofit organization committed to delivering the highest quality therapeutic riding and specialized therapy to individuals with special needs. They provide equine-assisted activities to those facing physical, cognitive, emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities.
It was a busy, fun-filled week at the Fulltimers rally. Tomorrow we travel about 35 miles south to Pueblo CO to attend the 2024 NKK International Rally. Whew! Can we handle so much fun?
