August 14, 2023 - VAIL, COLORADO TO LEXINGTON, NEBRASKA

Temperatures: Vail, CO

Exterior: 40*

Interior: 49*

Elevation: 8,750’

Hot box prepped and coffee was in the truck before 8:30! Not sure I’ve talked about my electric lunch boxes. I have two! They can run either 12v or 110. Since we don’t have (or want) a microwave this is my go to when needed. I prepared breakfast sandwiches first thing this morning in the Airstream. Takes about an hour to heat them. They were about half done by our departure so I finished warming them on the road in the truck. These boxes are great to also warm any leftovers. 

Our drive today wasn’t too bad. A few tunnels, one long tunnel and 5 to 6% grades for over 12 miles down into Denver. We’ve made it to flat land in Lexington, Nebraska. Heading East now and putting miles behind us. 

Mac’s Winery and Brewery turned out to be the perfect place for the evening. Family owned and operated. It was about 80* when we got there. Elevation is 2,420’. What a change! We had beer, wine slushies and BBQ nachos! Beautiful location and a very unique winery. Giving guests the best experience during their stay! 

Mac’s is very pet friendly. We sat outside. Then we sat inside. Jett was so good! She got fed sausage by the employees. Not once but twice! We don’t give her people food but couldn’t say no … so we just turned our heads away. It was the best day ever for her. They loved her and wanted us to just let her loose inside. Hahaha … NOT! They would kick us off property if we did!! 

After they closed Tim and I took Jett out to the back of the property, past the vineyards, where they have twelve separate gas fire pits. This place gets packed by locals on the weekends. They gave us permission to hang out there tonight. One of the other three Harvest Host couples came and joined us for the evening. Perfect place to enjoy and end our day! 

Bedtime temperatures:

Exterior: 68*

Interior: 72*

Elevation: 2,420’

August 13, 2023 - PRIEST GULCH, COLORADO TO VAIL, COLORADO

Priest Gulch 

Temperatures:

Exterior: 51*

Interior: 58*

Elevation: 7,970’

The morning came to fast. We so didn’t want to depart. Our cold brew coffee was already done as it was set up a few days ago. So all I had to do was to pour it in coffee cups with our creamer. We drank these on the road and departed at 9am!

The landscape and temperatures drastically changed as we travelled north to Grand Junction then east to Vail on I-70. Tonight will be our last at this high of elevation. Tomorrow we will continue east.  Temperatures went from 53* at our departure to 96* around Grand Junction and 73* when we arrived at our campsite in Vail. 

Along the way today we had to stop for fuel. The gas station was over in Avon, Colorado and was about sixty cents cheaper than what we would find in Vail. It was a tight fit getting in. I had to get out of truck with a walkie to make sure Tim cleared the gas pumps on our departure. He was to circle the building to come back for me. Turns out he couldn’t circle building and left me. Off down the road he went! I had no cell. No wallet. Just a walkie! He did come back for me after going a ways down the road before he could get turned around. I had to quickly jump back in truck from the curb! 

The evening found us at Gore Creek Campground in Vail, Colorado. Absolutely beautiful location. And wouldn’t ya know since we are here just one night we just found out it’s rated as Colorado’s 2nd best fishing location right here at Gore Creek! And sadly we had no time to fish. 

This is a must come back location … hiking, biking and many fishing opportunities. We were lucky and got a level spot without having to unhook. Just one set of leveling boards on one side. Interesting mix of camping equipment with expensive cars coming in and out. Thanks to Elthree-37 we had our weekly family Zoom. Then had a lovely campfire before heading to bed. On Jett’s last outing we did some star gazing and had a good view with thousands of stars!

 

Vail, Colorado 

Bedtime temperatures:

Exterior: 53*

Interior: 70*

Elevation: 8,750’

August 12, 2023 - 1 … 2 … 3 … SUGAR RUSH

Temperatures:

Exterior: 54*

Interior: 61*

Definitely a bit warmer!

Cinnamon Buns! Yeah!! The campground sells hot cinnamon buns in the office now every Saturday. Previously they sold them but we didn’t know details or what days. We were up there bright and early this morning. Ate them so fast I didn’t get a chance for a picture. 

Back at the Airstream we said goodbye to our new friends from Cortez and gathered clothes and linens so that we could  hit the laundry room here. Not knowing our next opportunity to launder clothes we needed to get as much done here as we could. 

The food and atmosphere at Enterprise up in Rico was so good we wanted to go back again before we departed. So off we went but this time with Jett. The weather was pretty cool so we left her in the truck and across the street where we could see her. She slept the entire time. 

Again Enterprise did not disappoint. Tim got the Brisket Sandwich this time and I had them substitute pulled pork for grilled chicken on my salad. Wow!!! Both delicious! While there I got brave enough to go down into the basement. Supposedly there’s been lots of ghost sightings down there. Pretty cool space! Love the vibe and the rock walls. 

They have something on the menu I’ve never seen before. Shifty Drinks! You can buy the staff a drink. Then when they get off shift they receive the drink we buy them. Today it was just the bartender and the chef working. We bought them both a Shifty! 

Of course we had to hit the liquor store next door. We bought some specialty brews for friends and talked to Paul again. 

Next we drove just a little bit north of Rico to a place we checked out last week. It has great water entry on the river for Jett to swim. Not that we could wash her there but a good rinse would be better than nothing. She had so much fun! While there the rain started. So we packed up early and headed back south of Rico and back to Priest Gulch and our Airstream. 

While we were in Rico the temperature dropped to 67*. When we left Enterprise it was 64*. Then after Jett’s swim and the rain it dropped to 58*. Once back at camp it was 65*. These are the temperature changes all in one day here. Meanwhile back at home today … 

(Those feels like temps … eek)

We really wanted to fish again but we got more rain at camp. So we decided to do more laundry. Eventually I did have opportunity to get my fly rod back out for about ten minutes until a rock ate my fly. So I just called it quits. It was over cast and I wasn’t feeling it. Nor were the fish! 

Right before dark Jett took us on a great hike on the Toehole Trail and then onto the Galloping Goose Trail. Finally back at camp we picked up everything we could as tomorrow brings us another travel day. So, so sad to be leaving here. 

Bedtime temperatures:

Exterior: 60* 

Interior: 73*

(That’s with heater on for showers) 

August 11, 2023 - ONE FISH, TWO FISH

Temperatures:

Exterior: 46*

Interior: 55*

No fish! Today was a bust as far as fishing goes. Tim and I had a few fish turn in the water at the flies but not one catch. The weather was beautiful and always a good day fishing … fish or no fish. 

Our coffee this morning was amazing! That good old ground Folgers coffee and percolator did the job. We call it ‘camp coffee’ and really like it. It just consumes too much water in it’s clean up. And when your trying to conserve water because of the amount of water on hand and the volume of grey water used. It’s a concern. 

We met a few couples today. One couple lives in Cortez, Colorado. They want an Airstream and will hopefully get one soon. We gave them a tour of ours and some pointers of what to look out for. 

Another couple we met today are work campers here. This is their first year at this location having done this for a few years over in Durango. He is a retired firefighter from Texas and works maintenance here. She works in the campground office here.  They just found out that they have been invited back next year! 

Late this afternoon we had a special treat. Something we have never had … Navajo Tacos. The campground had a Native American group come in to cook. We were hesitant but hey, anything with tacos is good with me. 

Navajo Tacos are made with Indian Fry Bread (as big as a dinner plate) and topped with a meaty mixture of taco seasoned ground beef and beans, then all the fixings like sour cream, shredded lettuce, cheddar cheese, onions, jalapeños, black olives and tomatoes! I left off some of the last ingredients. They were so good! DELICIOUS!! And we had a visitor for dinner …

We also got some extra Indian Fry Bread. It’s lIke a fluffy soft round bread pillow. Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. The gazebo clubhouse, where dinner was, was getting crowded so we brought everything back to the Airstream letting everyone we passed on the way back take a peak. 

We ended our day with a few last casts to try our luck at fishing again. And again no luck. Maybe tomorrow!?

Bedtime temperatures:

Exterior: 66*

Interior: 72*