Nederland

July 9th, 2023

I am back in Colorado. I arrived at the Kelly Dahl U.S.F.S campground near the small town of Nederland on June 25th. I had made reservations at this site for 4 days prior to the holiday weekend and the 3 days after. I could not get the four nights of the Independence day weekend as all sites were booked.

I figured I would have to cover the 4 nights with overnight stays at the Cracker Barrel, Cabela’s, Walmart, and rest area parking lots. However. once I was at site 30, I discovered that sites 3-20 were “first come first serve” sites. So if I could find one of these open before the weekend rush, I could hold on to it for the duration until Tuesday night when I had my final 3 days reserved.

There was a reason for returning to this front range campground. I needed to get lab tests performed in Lafayette prior to my cardiologist appointment on July 6th. Nederland was about a 55 minute drive from the lab and office. I also had an opportunity to visit with my son in the Boulder area.

On the following mornings, I hiked to Lost Lake and Rainbow Lakes in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. At the campground there were afternoon thunder showers with pea sized hail. Wildflowers were in bloom everywhere and there was a constant stream of hummingbirds visiting my feeder which was hanging on the side of the trailer. It was nice to be up high in the mountains again.

I was able to get a site for the 4 day holiday, site 13. That number has always seemed to be lucky for me. I met several very nice people while camped there and enjoyed some long talks. Often I would go on a walk around the campground in the evening for exercise. This would usually take about 20 to 30 minutes to cover the mile. But some evenings that turned into well over an hour as I met fellow campers with which to converse. These talks could usually be started with comments like “I like your dog”, “That is a cool rig”, or a joke like “What’s for dinner?”, or “Where is my something to eat?” (with jokes, it is best to laugh right away so they know you aren’t serious). At my last site, number 31, I was next to a small playground, and little children were laughing and screaming as they climbed and slid down slides. A mother came over and apologized for their noise. I told her it was music to my ears as it brought back great memories.

On July 6th, I was informed that I would need to stick around in the area as within the next couple of weeks I would be having a heart ablation procedure. I had used up my allowed days at Kelly Dahl campground, so I moved up over the Continental Divide to camp in the driveway of a friend near Leadville. This location was still close enough to Lafayette to make it back down for the 1 day procedure plus an overnight stay at a hotel (would not be allowed to drive after anesthesia). My trailer would be safe with the friend.

Hoping this won’t be my last post…