July 7 – 13, 2022
Leaving Rapid City we drove southwest headed for one of Bill’s favorite states and Destination 2 of our trip. We’ve actually divided this destination into three parts. First up, his undergraduate alma mater town – Fort Collins.
We anticipated about a 6 hour drive and (with a time change) expected to arrive around 2 p.m. Well, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. It was a hot day and the tire monitor system on one of the RV tires started to complain. Dutifully we stopped and Bill lowered the tire pressure in that tire and kept a close eye on it as we continued. Sometime later, on a two lane road in the middle of nowhere (about 20 miles outside of Cheyenne) that tire blew. Somehow, Bill was watching in the side mirror at that very moment and wondered why the side moulding around the wheel well suddenly blew off. Then he saw the tire pieces flying – not good. He immediately stopped the rig as far off the road as possible to assess the damage. A Good Samaritan traveling in the opposite direction stopped to see if he could offer any assistance. He told us there was a turn-out about a mile further on where we could get off the road and then followed to make sure we made it safely. Bill was then able to replace the blown tire with the spare. Fortunately we were able to continue safely to our campground.
Ft. Collins/Lakeside KOA
We always stay at the Ft. Collins/Lakeside KOA when we visit Ft. Collins. They have some nice concrete patio sites with table and chairs that we like plus a beautiful lake.
We had already decided to do a minimal set-up, quickly shower and dress so that we could decompress in one of our favorite finds from our last visit.
Social
Social is an underground speak-easy in downtown Ft. Collins that specializes in unique cocktails and small plates. We had an Uber pick us up at the campground and drop us near the establishment (which is actually a bit hard to find. Find the clock and go down the stairs.) After deliberating over the drink list, we decided to give employee Will’s “Hot and Heavy” featured cocktail a try. The first sip told us he had a winner!
For food we had the Potato Wedges and Dipping Sauces, Thai-Style Meatballs (times 2), and Street Tacos. Yummy!!
Plan for Repair
The next day was spent figuring out what to do about the blown tire and the damage it caused. Bill determined that the best thing to do was to ditch the Goodyear tires and upgrade to a set of more capable Continental tires. (After all this was the second time a Goodyear tire had put us on the side of the road with damage to the RV.) Luckily we found a tire shop in Loveland that had them in stock and set up a time to take the RV in after the weekend.
The next question was how and where were we going to get the RV damage fixed. Looking at our summer route we decided that the best option would be to divert at some point to Rolling Retreats in Elk City, Oklahoma if we could get on their schedule. (A big IF since they are always busy.) Fortunately our schedules aligned and we were able to secure an appointment for Sept. 29.
Finally, Bill had to contact both Goodyear (who does cover damage caused by tire failure in most cases) and our insurance company to start the repair claims.
Definitely not a fun day nor how we had planned to spend time in Ft. Collins.
Another Plan Foiled
We had made reservations for Rocky Mountain National Park for the following day (Saturday) but decided to go to the Brainard Lake Recreational Area instead. The intent was to hike around Long Lake. As we approached the Recreational Area we passed a sign mentioning required reservations – wait, what?? Of course we didn’t have such a reservation. Sure enough, they made us turn around at the entry gate. OK, plan B.
For Plan B, we decided to investigate Nederland – a cute little mining town. Unfortunately Nederland was also the end point of a bicycle race and a motorcycle poker run. We walked around a bit but it was just too crowded for our enjoyment.
On to plan C. How about if we drive over to Boulder and check out the shops along Pearl Street? We enjoyed browsing through the shops but hunger and the really hot weather conspired to cut our time there short.
On to Plan D – dinner. Leaving Boulder we set out for Louisville and some Italian food at Parma Trattoria and Mozzarella Bar (which we found via Yelp). The restaurant proved to be the highlight of the day. Bill even said the spaghetti carbonara was the best he’d ever had!
New Tires
After a relaxing Sunday, we were up early on Monday so that we could take the RV into Loveland for new tires. The tire replacement was quick and fairly easy and we were back on our site before noon.
In the evening we ordered a pizza from LaPorte Pizza (they deliver!) and relaxed in front of the TV until it gave up the ghost. OK, time for bed.
New TV
The next day Bill contacted technical support for the now defunct TV. The verdict – bad motherboard no longer under warranty. Although reticent to deal with the hassle, I talked Bill into buying a replacement from a nearby Best Buy. That meant that the old TV had to be dismounted from the wall (never an easy task) and the new one mounted in its place. Of course, although the mounting plate fit the new TV just fine, the wall mounting bracket had to be repositioned. So, after several hours of toil and frustration, we finally had a working TV again.
So Long Destination Colorado – Part 1
Although this visit didn’t go as well as we had hoped, we did enjoy some good food, beautiful scenery, and a few moments of relaxation. We still have more of Colorado coming up later in the trip. And we will definitely return to Ft. Collins on future trips. In the meantime, we’re off to our third Destination – Utah. Stay tuned.
