July 28, 2014
It started raining before I went to bed… The rain came down hard and steady. It didn’t take long to realize we were camped in Colorado Springs in a bog, with no drain. The water was 3-6 inches deep all around when I went to bed. Thankfully, it started receding in the early morning and we pulled out of our campsite easily.
I took this photo before dark… Later, the water was 3-6 inches deep all around us.
Looking out the window from the kitchen table at the growing puddles in the campground…
this morning, the water level went down near our site.
This was all under 3-6 inches of water last night, and the stream back by the trees thankfully didn’t flood.
We were supposed to be in the site by the tree but the turn in the road was too tight for our truck and fifth wheel, so they moved us two sites away. The guy who showed us our site, said that dirt mound will soon be spread over the entire campground loop, raising the level of the ground up 4 or 5 feet, to the height of the rest of the campground. Up the hill, the roads are paved…
I was glad to leave this site this morning… More heavy rain is expected both today and tomorrow…
this guy came down to make a channel for the water to drain in the stream…
Leaving Colorado Springs, we drove north to Golden, CO… Our last camp site before we head east and back home to Atlanta, Georgia. The heavy rains have more in store for us the next few days… but our latest campsite is on a hill and the water should drain just fine. We were hoping to stay here a week, but we were lucky to get four nights. It will be hard leaving Friday, knowing a gorgeous rain-free weekend is ahead. C’est la vie.
on the road again… it’s so hazy and maybe a little smoggy that you can’t see the mountains.
Castle Rock – I thought it would have rock spires atop for the castle effect
Oh, my gosh… we found a Chickfila restaurant. It’s been a couple months!
Black Eyed Susans out front… a favorite wildflower
I would love a flower garden with a lot of Black-Eyed Susans…
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) at the Chickfila! Black-eyed Susans are common in meadows and aspen groves. Blooms: June, July, August. Zones: Foothills, Montane
entrance
Office and showers, laundry, etc
Dakota Ridge RV Park – Golden, CO
view out the window at a wet, rainy campground
We wanted to explore Rocky Mountain National Park today, but we slept-in very late, and now the rain is moving in. There are dire flooding predictions/warnings for the whole Denver area right now. Maybe a field trip to the National Park tomorrow, or there’s always the next trip out west! Sometimes, things just aren’t meant to happen when you want them to…
Much of our exploring has been cut short or cancelled due to heavy and frequent rain storms. (In New Mexico they called it the “monsoon season”… I don’t know what they call it in Colorado.) We do not want to be caught on dirt forest roads in heavy rain, mired in mud and stuck in a flooded area, with no cell service. Cell service is spotty at best in the high mountains… We simply don’t have enough time to see Colorado this trip and the bad weather hasn’t helped our cause. But, hey, there is always next trip!
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About Holly Ritger
I am retired, enjoying being a grandmother, traveling to National Parks and other interesting places in our RV with my husband of 43 years, and visiting with friends and family. Hobbies: photography, learning about wildflowers and birds, and trees, and reading from my kindle.
Yep, it’s called ‘monsoon season’ in Colorado also and it’s been very wet, more so than normal. Looks like you stayed in the same row we did a couple of years ago at Dakota Ridge RV Park in Golden. Safe travels home and perhaps you’ll revisit ‘Colorful Colorado’ again next summer 🙂
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Somehow, I didn’t hear of the monsoon season in this area of the country before this trip! I always figured we just needed to get west of tornado alley and I could breathe a sigh of relief! We were near your site at Dakota Ridge. That photo was taken while I was out at the picnic table, looking up the hill : ) We are now in KaWeeney, Kansas doing chores for a day, and maybe dragging our feet going east! (Not only will it be in the 90s at home, it will be really humid! May it be fall soon… Have fun at Rocky Mountain NP. We will be back.
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Here’s to smooth sailing homeward….be safe…and thanks for this wonderful “journal journey” for those of us back home!
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Hi Lynne, thanks for your safe travel wishes. Just yesterday, I was thinking we have been gone 2 months on the road with no incidents or problems… I did knock on wood, as we still have a ways to go till we get home! I’m glad you enjoyed the journal. I figure it will come in real handy in my (not so distant) old age, when I really can’t remember much detail!
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