Day 16, Tuesday 10/1, Seven Falls, CO

   The Seven Falls is another natural attraction local to Colorado Springs. The falls has been an attraction since 1880, and is currently owned and well managed by the Broadmoor, a 5 star resort. The approach to the falls is a walk or ride up a narrow canyon surrounded by high granite walls.  Even during a bright sunny day, below the 1200’ cliffs, the shade and winds below are cooling. At the foot of the falls, there are two intimidating iron stairways.  One has 180 steps and leads to a viewing platform, and the other has 226 steps and climbs along side of the waterfalls. I enjoyed both of them, many people were challenged with feelings of vertigo on the way down, and low oxygen on the way up.  A small wedding was performed while we were visiting. Zip lines are available across the high walls above, several thrill seekers zipped over while we walked below,… maybe next time?

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      At the top of the falls, there is a walking trail to a vista. A short walk from the top of the falls reveals another apparent cascade.  This side cascade is sourced from a pipe which supplies recirculated water from below, necessary during low water conditions in the summer and fall. Hmmm fake falls…

   On the drive back, there is one of the many uniquely Coloradoan sights, a Gas station and Pot shop named Gas and Grass… Wow !  land of the free, home of the brave.

Day 17, Wed. 10/2 RV Talk, Travel Through the Mountains

  First Impressions can be very important, this is our first experience pulling a travel trailer into and over the mountains. What’s the big deal, sure, plenty of cars and trucks drive these routes, everything will be okay, right??  What can go wrong?  How about cross country bike riders, who know they will blow a tire, but don’t know when…  Wayne blew a bike tire riding the road up Mount Rainier in Washington.  I blew a bag of chips (really, yes) riding up to the shoulders of the Rockies 30 years ago, and 2 bags of snack were are the bursting point on this trip.  Altitude causes athletes to struggle at the mile high stadium in Denver, CO. Air pressure goes down, oxygen is reduced with each breath.  Auto and truck engines suffer the same, lack of good air pressure, lack of oxygen, lack of power and performance. Truck tires filled to 35 psi at sea level balloon out to 43 psi at 6,000’. Camper tires filled to 65 psi mushroom out to 76 psi at 6,000’.  No wonder bike tires and potato chip bags blow out at 8,000’.  Watch your tire pressure campers!  Be sure to check and adjust.  The temperatures will also drive your tire pressure up in the heat and down in the cold.  The eastern White Mountain hikers say there is no altitude impact hiking the New Hampshire Mountains.  Well, actually there are performance impacts when hiking from 4,000’ to 6,000’ as frequently done in NH, remember mile high stadium at 5,000’.  This effect is increased during hot summer days when the air density is lower (yes lower air density when hot, less air, less oxygen).

   What else about RV mountain travel?  Wind.  The winds in the mountains are much more active, bigger highs and lows.  Today, live roadside signs provided high wind warnings while driving, at risk are high profile and low weight vehicles.  Hmmm, does that apply to micro-lite campers,… ahh yes.  Did the trailer blow in the wind, sure it did. We pulled the 6,000 pound trailer with the 6,000 pound truck up, through and over the La Veta mountain pass at 9,413’. This was a milestone, and it went well despite the high wind warnings.  Due caution was used, and I kept the speed between 50 and 65, the speed limit or below. 

   Another first for today was carrying a full load of fresh water.  Forty gallons is loaded, the 320 extra pounds is forward of the axels.  What could go wrong?..?  Fortunately, nothing went wrong, almost.  The water added extra load to pull, but also helps to stabilize the camper by reducing sway, by providing weight forward of the axels.  We will use the water when dry camping at our destination, The Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO.  So what went wrong? One of the camper exterior lamp lenses blew off in the high winds, some where on the mountain pass, here yesterday, gone today…

   And how about fuel economy?  I have blocked out the specific numbers from my memory for self-protection, but you are correct. Driving against the west winds and up and over 9,500’ the fuel sucking sounds were screeching!  Good thing we tanked up, enough said. 

   Camping at the Great Sand Dunes NP is by reservation, so while trip planning I spent much time viewing the campground map and selecting sites which would provide a view and some shade.  All of this was for nothing, When I tried to reserve, all I could get was “W”, not available.  What??  Sometimes you find yourself spending too much time and getting nowhere.  The “W” means Walk Up.  Sure, Walk up,… means first come first serve, okay, everyone knows that… I can reserve in September, no problem, but on 10/2, I get “W”.  Read the fine print, no reservations in October, this is the last month this is open for camping, due to oncoming winter conditions. The overnight forecast for this 10/2 is frost warnings, brrr. All’s well that ends well.  We drove into the park around 2:30, while many sites were occupied, we did score a great site with views and a bit of shade. There is a mix of RV’s and tents here, the park is not designed for RV’s, the park areas are small and there is no hook ups.  No electric, no water or sewer connections.  We will spend 2 nights dry camping. We have 40 gallons of fresh water, the battery is charged, and we will run a small generator to recharge each morning, and also use the electric for coffee and microwave. We also tanked up 4 gallons for drinking water at the last campground.  

   The Great Sands campground is very quiet and the campers are all happy to be here and eager to exchange greetings and talk about how they love it here. I ran the generator only to confirm all is working as it should, the noise is not welcomed, it is quiet here.   We talked with a camper from Connecticut, a free spirit who was going to New Brunswick and New Foundland Canada, but changed his plans due to cloudy and damp weather forecast, and drove here, yes to Colorado. Talking later with him, he is here to photograph the stars, and shows us the app on his phone which shows the stars, constellations and more, which are currently in the day time sky, very cool.  On a late day walk to the dunes and back, we pass another hiker with tripod in tow heading out.  It is 6:00, sunset is at 6:45, so you are going to shoot the sunset?  Yes, and the milky way.  It will be a long night deep in the dunes, the sky is crisp and clear.  There is no light pollution here.  He will photograph the dunes in light crescent moon light and the milky way above, super cool.  

   Battery Trouble ? Sure we had em…  Expectations were high for the dry camping, with back up systems in hand. The biggest challenge was not fully expected, a tired battery (Richie warned me).  Hmm, the battery and camper are 1 year old, but the battery did run dry twice during that year.  I prepared by testing the battery charge capacity myself, and measured the self discharge (almost none).  I removed the battery and had if tested at AutoZone, good as new.  But, the voltage loss at the camp site was fast. RV’s are known to have high battery drainage while sitting idle. The 12 volt devices on board will drain down a automobile sized battery remarkably in a few days.  While dry camping for only 2 nights, the water pump and heater blower draws down the battery fast, and LED lights, refrigerator and other small devices slowly drain the charge.  I have a small generator to recharge, but, it is a quiet camp, and we will minimize this disturbance.  On the second evening, our factory stock battery is depleted. A lamp or other load may have been left on during the day by mistake.  I felt the need to disconnect the battery overnight to prevent more drainage. The generator is run in the morning to run the refridge, heat, coffee maker and boost the charge. I will purchase a better deep cycle Interstate battery in the future, but it must fit the existing battery tray.  So, don’t let the battery run dry!  (it ran dry while in prolonged service at the dealer by the way, and once during summer storage…)

• 2019 Fall