Today we headed west, with the goal to get to Amarillo, or further if we could. Our final destination was Breckenridge, Colorado, but there were snowstorms in northwestern New Mexico, the corner of Colorado and the panhandle of Texas, that had us concerned. Parts of the highways were closed for a time. We headed out by 6:45am, and made good time. The road to Clayton, NM was closed, and so was our alternate route, further into New Meixco, so we stopped in Amarillo and got to visit family, go out to eat, and then open Christmas gifts. Overall, it was a wonderful time, even if we didn't get to our intended destination!
Sunset in Amarillo, TX
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Today we again got up super-early, wished our relatives a Merry Christmas Eve, and headed out. The roads were surprisingly clear, for having just been closed the day before. We had no trouble at all getting from Amarillo to Raton, and over Raton Pass. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground and evidence of heavy drifting. It was quite a sight!
Sunrise with the Mammoth in the side mirror
Mammoth getting fuel in Dalhart, TX
Going over Raton Pass
We can see mountains!
Large herd of Antelope
Rest area
We decided to stop for lunch in Trinidad, at a McDonalds which advertised RV friendly parking. At first it appeared as though the restaurant was right off the highway, but once on the service road, we realized we would have to drive around a city block and over a bridge and cross some railroad tracks to get to it. No big deal, right? Except that there was 6" of snowy packed slush everywhere, and piles of snow lining the lanes. Needless to say, I think we earned those big macs and half the lot to park... 4x4 and a little snow-plowing of our own got us there, and back out... Unless it's all clear, we won't be back.
RV parking at McDonalds in Trinidad, CO
We pressed on, and soon realized we'd need diesel before we got to Denver. I checked our "Next Exit" book to find the nearest truck stop, and we took the exit. Unfortunately, the location wasn't clear, and there was a similar gas station at the same corner, so we passed it up. Upon doing so, we missed the entrance to I-25 and had to take another adventurous snowpacked route to get back to the truck stop to fuel up. The truck and trailer didn't have any issues with this, but it did slow down our progress. LOL!
Once again on the road, we figured we were not that far from our final destination. Only 120 miles to go, and even though we'd arrive after dark, we couldn't see stopping as an advantage when we were so close. The drive into Denver and around the loop went fine, and soon we were on I-70. Not my most favorite of roads because of the fast local drivers, but we maintained our safe speed and made it through the Eisenhower Tunnel and down to Frisco, just fine.
Sunset from I-70
Eisenhower Tunnel
I-70
We got to Tiger Run Resort in Breckenridge about 5:25, and got checked in. We then worked to get water, electricity and heat going, not worrying about having the 5ver all level... It was in the low 20s already! Once we got hooked up, Tony made a quick dinner and we settled in to get warm. I think we were in bed by 9pm. Our heating pads and extra precautions for winter staying all worked as planned.
We're in site 339
Sunday, December 25, 2011 Christmas Day
We woke up way too early today, but probably because of our early rising the two days prior, and the time change to the Mountain Time Zone. We enjoyed seeing all the Christmas posts on Facebook from friends and relatives all over. The morning temp was a brisk 10 degrees, so we snuggled in for a while. About mid morning Tony got out and worked on a few things we didn't get to last night, like setting the stabilizers and hooking up cable. He also refilled our freshwater tank. The sun was shining, and it felt good outside! We ventured out to see if we could get some groceries that we did not bring. As we left, we stopped and met Dan Mayer, a fellow Heartland owner, from Austin, who was outside working on his satellite hookup. I had been chatting with him on the forum and we had been emailing back and forth about road conditions on the way to Breck. He invited us to the Pot Luck supper the Resort will have at the clubhouse tonight.
Luckily, the CityMarket supermarket was open, so we got what we needed, and came back home to eat lunch. After relaxing a bit, we ventured out to see where things were around town. Many stores downtown were open, I guess since its a big tourist destination. It was busy! After that, we drove through the Resort to see what was what. There are many individually owned cabins here, but also individually owned RV spaces. Some are even combo, where you can have a cabin and an RV space. These 'lots' are expensive, but supposedly become money-makers, As the Resort can rent your space or cabin when you are not using it. The Resort has many amenities, and is very well cared for. When we got back home, Tony baked cookies.
At 5, we headed over to the Pot Luck, and had a nice time visiting with Dan and his wife, Ruth Ann. We'll probably visit more with them during our time here. We came home and prepped our gear for skiing tomorrow, then crashed to watch tv and catch up on the blog and other Internet folly. All said, it was a very relaxing, lazy Christmas Day.
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