After weeks of traveling through our beautiful country, our summer adventure was finally coming to an end.
We left Gunnison, Colorado, and headed toward Durango. As soon as we were out on the road, the GPS decided it had other plans. It started giving us incorrect information, so we finally decided to ignore it and just keep going. Sometimes you just have to trust the road—and hope you know where you’re going!
Our route took us through Ouray, CO, known as the Switzerland of America. Ouray is situated in the heart of the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado. We have been to Ouray numerous times over the years so there was no need to stop. After passing through Ouray and heading up the mountain, we ran into a construction area and came to a complete crawl. We sat in traffic for about an hour and a half. Ken was especially disappointed because this is one of his favorite parts of the drive. He loves the mountain roads, the curves, and all the scenery, and sitting in traffic wasn’t exactly the adventure he had in mind.
Eventually, we made it through the construction and traffic started moving again. Finally, we could enjoy the famous switchbacks and winding mountain road.
And that’s when our next adventure began! As we rounded one of the big curves, the bottom freezer drawer of our refrigerator suddenly flew open. With each curve it would open and then slam shut. There was nowhere safe to pull over, so I came up with a solution that was probably not found in any RV owner’s manual. I made my way back to the freezer and I tried to close it, but with every curve it seemed determined to stay open. The inside drawer and ice maker would not allow the drawer to close completely. I unloaded the inside drawer, removed it, and placed it on the bed. I sat in a chair holding the freezer closed while Ken continued driving the mountain curves.
I had never ridden in the back of the RV while going around mountain curves—and I’m not sure I ever want to do it again! Between the constant curves and the motion of the coach, I was beginning to feel a little carsick. Ken, meanwhile, was finally getting to enjoy his favorite mountain drive! To be honest, I doubt it was that enjoyable! Finally, we were able to stop and assess the situation and put everything back in its place.
We continued on the highway and passed the town of Silverton as we continued towards Durango.. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, and despite our little freezer mishap, it was a memorable way to finish our drive.
We arrived in Durango and settled in at Alpen Rose RV Resort, where we stayed for two nights. The park was completely full, and it didn’t take us long to figure out why. We discovered that many of the visitors were in town for a motorcycle rally.
While motorcycles can certainly be fun to watch, we decided that wasn’t quite the kind of activity we were looking for at the end of our trip. Instead, we chose to take a short driving tour of Durango and stay at the RV park, relax, and enjoy a couple of quiet days.
After all the driving, sightseeing, mountain roads, and adventures of the summer, doing absolutely nothing for a while sounded pretty good!
After two nights in Durango, it was time for one final long drive. We headed to Camp Verde, Arizona, where we would spend the last two nights of our summer trip. And it didn’t take long to confirm that we were definitely back in the desert! After spending a few days enjoying cool mountain temperatures, it was quite a shock to step outside and feel that Arizona heat again. We knew our summer adventure was officially coming to an end.
Our view from our beautiful Gallery Windows
Back Home—and One Last Challenge(Maybe two)
We arrived home in Sun Lakes, Arizona, on September 9, and it didn’t take us long to unpack the RV. Getting everything out of the RV was the easy part. Finding a place for everything once it made its way into the house was a completely different story!
Once we were unpacked, we drove the RV over to our storage facility, where we had rented an RV garage. Getting the coach into the garage turned out to be one last adventure. It took several attempts to get the RV lined up just right so Ken could finally drive it inside. Before we could close the garage door, Ken needed to remove the tow bar. The tow bar hadn’t been removed all summer and proved to be quite a challenge…particularly is the AZ afternoon heat! Of course, it had to be one of the hottest days. It was hot outside, and even hotter inside the garage! By the time we finally had the RV safely parked, we were more than ready to get back into the air conditioning.
This summer we covered a lot of miles in both the jeep and then in our new RV. We saw some incredible places, and made plenty of memories along the way. We love RV travel because we never know what the next road or next curve will bring!
Until the next adventure…
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