East Portal Reservoir, Estes Park CO

Lat/Long:  40.32778, -105.57722

Location:  East Portal Reservoir, Estes Park

Electric Hook Up:  Yes

Water Hook Up: Yes, but not at all sites

Bathroom: 25 yard walk

WiFi:  Nope, not even a cell signal

Shower:  FREE!!!  Beware, the website says there are NO showers…

Reserve on web at: https://www.larimercamping.com/

Site:  A33

After a long week, it was very nice to escape to the mountains.  This place doesn't seem to get old for us.  Cole and Ashley met us up there again this weekend, they got a good head start on us as they arrived Friday around noon.  We had different spots this weekend that were a little separated, but it didn't stop group food gatherings and Canasta games.  When we packed this time, we did so while in a daze...arrived with no water tank, no food dishes for dogs....the Powells of course rescued us, felt like jerks though.  :)  I will be creating a checklist later tonight FOR SURE!  

Cole helped us do some MORE maintenance this weekend.  Put a new wheel hitch on the T@b and replaced our battery.  Hitch was a little work as we had to drive to about 5 different stores before we found one.  I had purchased one from a store here in Boulder prior to us leaving.  The dude told me, "Yes, all of them are universal, should fit no problem!"  Thanks buddy, you were very wrong--there was nothing universal about it--at all.  We'll be returning that ASAPLY tomorrow.  But--the adventure to find this one took us into town to see and battle traffic with all the Estes tourist shopping up a storm, packing local eateries, clogging up sidewalk and road traffic with looky loo's.  It was nice to drive back into our oasis of quiet.  

To make things exciting this weekend, we did something we NEVER have done while camping....drink.  Started with a few innocent drinks Friday night that turned into a "stop in" to the liquor store for re-supply Saturday which produced phrases Saturday night such as, "We killed both bottles, there are no more shots, Hey ya'll watch this, is it quiet hours right now?, I haven't felt like this in a long time, I need to sit down, I need to stand up, shhhhhh--it IS quiet hours right now-I think, I have to pee again!, I can't believe I did that".  All wrapping up on Sunday to phrases like, "That's why we only do that once a year, Where is the gatorade?, I feel "pretty" good, I can't wait to brush my teeth, do we have advil?"  All in all -- it was a great time.  Zero complaints.  

Cole and Ashley had quite the neighbors.  As we sat Friday playing Canasta we turn to watch newest arrivals position their pop up camper.  It seemed as if this may have been a "maiden voyage" or something as it looked as if it may turn into a train wreck. With some help from Cole they got positioned...as did we to watch the "set up" show.  Everything seemed to go ok until it came to hook up power.  They had power that flickered on and off at random, only seemed to turn on if you stomped on the floor with some gusto.  Cole tried different power, took apart the electric housing to check for lose connections, checked for bad breakers...all to not really find the problem.  However, his efforts definitely constituted him as "weekend hero" to those ladies.

The "ladies" named from left to right, Amy, Julia and Gina...who we affectionally named "Three Wolf Moon".  Why, mostly because there were three of them and we had two nights of a big, bright full moon.  And...b/c they continuously cracked us up.  Their drink of choice Friday night was Fat Tire mixed in with some sort of wine that we caught Julia holding by the neck and Gina and Amy sipping out of camper coffee mugs.  Whether Julia actually drank from this bottle or just carried it around, we'll never know.  Nonetheless, they all cracked us up.   Saturday night they had a formal presentation (please note:  Julia promised to sing and never did) where they had many words of praise for Cole for helping out with the setup.  They pooled "ALL" of their money to get him some fancy chocolate with an Estes Park label.  

The best part about these gals as I've been thinking about it all day long -- it was so refreshing to meet some down to earth people.  Amy, Julia and Gina reminded me that the four of us are all part of a family -- we're a daughter, a son, a sister, a brother, a neighbor, a friend.  While we'll probably never see those folks again -- it was a good reminder that we're all part of something bigger.  It's important to be sincere, genuine and polite...because in the end, we're all kind of connected.  We all got a lot of great laughs for sure.  We all enjoyed the company.  Best of luck next time "Three Wolf Moon" -- Bless YOUR heart!   ;) 

So, the rest of it consisted of animals and smores and fires.   Chase had a tough weekend as he spent most of it grounded in the T@b.  He could NOT help himself to STOP barking.  So, he was out to pee, stretch his little legs and eat.  His "hurt feelings report" status seems to have expired as he's cuddled on my lap now.  The other three dogs were well behaved as long as the gang leader (Chase) was put up.  Weekend was a great success on a lot of different levels.  Had a hard time packing up as I just wanted to stay up there to continue the bliss away from reality.  

Looking forward to next trip, where we'll have more laughs and the ability to enjoy the sensation of not having to look over our shoulder or worry about where to be at what time.