Our 49th State, Colorado

Our 49th State

Our 49th State for camping was Colorado.  For seven years,  we have been working on a retirement goal to camp in all fifty states.  Finally, in the summer of 2023,  we took a trip to pick up the last four unvisited states in the continental United States.  The entire trip was challenging because it was over 7,000 miles and two months on the road.  I was actually concerned about our ability to do such a long trip as we are older with some health issues. But, we forged ahead, and I’m so glad we did.

However, I wish we had traveled to Colorado years ago because the altitude was too much for me.  Despite the issues, I’m so grateful I was able to spend some time in this beautiful state.

Colorado

Our intention for Colorado was to visit Rocky Mountain National Park for three days, with a couple of one night stops getting there.   I knew the elevation was high, but we had already stayed in Arco, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah for several days and the elevation for both was in the 5000 range.  I was struggling a bit, but hoping that acclimation was occurring.  Plus, we were excited about seeing Rocky Mountain NP.

Grand Junction

Our first night in Colorado was in Grand Junction at the KOA.  The altitude was 4,593, which is similar to what we experienced on our previous five nights.  I could feel the altitude, but it wasn’t extreme.

We had a relaxing night at this very nice KOA.  All was good!

The Ride to Gypsum

It turned out that the trip to Gypsum and then to Estes Park was a major part of our Colorado experience.  In our travels in the Pacific Northwest, we traveled around mountains.  In Colorado, you travel through them!

For example, Hanging Lake Tunnel is almost a mile long.  The roads carved out in the mountains were impressive.

Our route was quite scenic because most of it wound along the Colorado River.   The river was very wide with fast rapids.   We saw a lot of people enjoying the river.

My husband did all the driving  because the road was very curvy, yet with a fast speed limit.  So, I was free to just enjoy it. Sometimes it’s good to be the less-competent one.

River Dance RV

River Dance in Gypsum was gorgeous.  We arrived during very high winds.  So, we just plugged up the power for the air conditioner and waited for the wind to calm.  It was very hot.

After awhile,  we ventured out and walked the park.  It was very challenging for me to do anything.  The altitude was 6,300 and it took my shortness of breath to the next level.

I began to think that Rocky Mountain NP was not going to work for me.   My blood oxygen levels were lower than the should be and our next stop was even higher.  I looked to see how we could head in the direction of home and get to a much lower elevation in one day’s drive.  Unfortunately, all the places we could practically get to were quite high elevations.

So, we decided to go to Estes Park, where we had reserved three nights and to buy some Boost oxygen.  It is sold there because of the high altitude and I hoped that it would enable us to complete the trip.  In the meantime, we enjoyed the beautiful surroundings at our current stop.  Once it cooled down a bit, I could walk around, but I was not moving fast at all.  The Eagle River was behind the campground and it was pretty.

Our 49th State Destination, Estes Park

As planned, we made it to Estes Park Campground,  which is just a few miles from Rocky Mountain Park.  To get there, we drove through Loveland Pass with an elevation of almost 12,000 feet.  Both my husband and I were not feeling well.  We also went through the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel and after it the road  was covered with potholes.  I later learned it is because it receives so much heavy ice and snow. I heard some pretty serious cussing from my husband.

We headed first to a pharmacy for the Boost oxygen and then to the campground.  Our site was quite short, but adequate for our trailer.  The views were very nice though.

The oxygen helped me a little, but the effect was very short-lived.  The elevation at Estes Park was 8,000.

We drove around town looking for a place for dinner.  The small town was jam-packed with people.  We tried to eat at a popular barbecue restaurant, but the parking was insane and once parked, we discovered there was an hour wait.  This was on a weeknight.  Big Horn Restaurant, however, was not so crowded and we had a very good meal there.

If all was well, we planned to go to the park early the next day to beat the crowds.  But, several times during the night, I checked my blood oxygen levels.  I used the Boost oxygen, but my levels of 87-88 were below what is considered safe. This meant that my organs and brain could be compromised.  We would have to leave!

The Stanley Hotel 

I wanted to see two things while at Estes Park.  The National Park, of course, and The Stanley Hotel.  We didn’t have time to see the National Park and didn’t need the higher elevation, but we could drive just a few miles to check out the Stanley.

The enormous hotel was built in 1909.  Stephen King stayed there in the 1970s, when it was in disrepair.  It inspired his third novel, The Shining.  At that time, it did actually shut down for the winter and required a caretaker.  It was also reputed to be haunted.

It was gorgeous, upscale, and very well-maintained.  We checked out the lobby and gift shop and also walked around it, but did not get to take the nighttime tour that I would have liked.

The view of the Rockies from the Stanley was stunning!  So, we had been able to breakfast at a popular restaurant, The Egg of Estes, and tour the lobby and grounds of the Stanley.  It was not all we had planned,  but better than nothing.

Departure Landscapes

Before we left, we checked out Mary’s Lake.  Pretty, but no swimming or boating there.

The road to our next destination was not as challenging to drive, but still pretty.  Colorado, you are beautiful!

Our 49th State Conclusion 

I am so glad we were able to visit Colorado, our 49th state,  but boy did it kick my butt!  I think most people would do fine there, but I have some significant lung issues.  If you are interested in any of the other forty-eight states we have visited, check out States Visited, a Campsite Resource. Now all we have left is Hawaii.

Happy camping!