Home
Staycations
What's New
Where to GO
Where to Stay
Itineraries
California
Afford a vacation?
Plan a vacation
Packing Tips
Trip Tips
RV's
Let's try camping
Let's Blog
Quick Tips
Author's Journal
East coast Journal
Share your story
E-zine
Contact Us
About this site
Work from home

XML RSS
What is this?
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Add to Google

Colorado and Mount Rushmore

The family vacation with Ups, Downs, a hospital visit and BAD weather

Our Colorado trip was different than any family travel we have ever done. The most amazing thing is that we really did have fun. and would like to go back to Colorado and Mount Rushmore. Our first mistake happened when we left San Diego at Midnight, no one could sleep. This was not the smartest thing we’ve ever done. The drive to the Flagstaff KOAtook about 8 hours. We checked into the Flagstaff KOA with our little tent trailer. It sleeps 4 very nicely. It has a kitchen and heat too. We pull the trailer with our minivan. The tent trailer doesn’t change our gas mileage much, so it’s very economical to tow.

After a little nap we did some sightseeing at the train station and shopping for food. This wasn't our first trip to Flagstaff so we did not need to visit Williams, the Grand Canyon, The Meteor Crater or the Walnut Creek Indian Ruins. Flagstaff was just a stopping point for us.

There’s no need to cook breakfast at the Flagstaff KOA. Just wake up, pack up, and eat a $3 breakfast. So fast and easy.

Earlier in the year we gave the kids a road map and a list of places we wanted to see. It was up to them to get us there. For the entire trip we had to ask them, where are we and are we there yet??

We were on our way to 4 corners when we came along an electric Train that was hauling coal. The train was so quiet. We saw it coming but could not hear it.

So what is four corners and where is it? Well it’s the point where Utah, New Mexico,Arizona and Colorado all touch each other. Everyone needs to visit the 4 corners ONCE!!!It’s in the middle of no where, so plan accordingly.

We finally arrived in Durango, Colorado and we are trying to find a KOA campground. I have the KOA book and the kids have the map and Kevin is driving. Kevin asks, where’s the campground? We reply, ”were looking for it. Then all of a sudden Kevin asks in a demanding voice, “which direction do I turn?” We had come to a “Y” in the road. All three us shout NORTH simultaneously. That’s when Kevin shouted, “THERE IS NO NORTH!” The sign at the intersection had every direction except north on it. East, South, West, but no North. We looked up from our maps and books and started laughing. Kevin, on the other hand didn’t find it funny at all, “fine I’ll turn right, We’re probably going the wrong direction!” he snap. He was right and we were still laughing. It been years since that happened, but even still today when on vacation, one of the kids will yell, NORTH! Kevin just sighs and we still laugh. The Durango KOA is clean and friendly. They also have a restaurant that serves food all day. Driving to Silverton was fantastic. The climb is steep though with lots of curves, but the view is spectacular. Take a couple of little side roads and you can find crystal clear lakes and streams.
Did I mention this vacation had a train theme? Trains, trains and more trains.

From Durango you can venture to Canon City to visit the Royal Gorge. To get to Canon City you must travel over the Continental Divide on Hwy _?_. Our poor little minivan towed our tent trailer up and over the Continental Divide. At times we were only going 30 miles an hour. The strange thing was not very many cars were passing us.

And yes we do make our kids stand in front of just about every sign and marker. Sure, they complain, “We look like tourists”. We just tell them,” when mom and dad are old and can’t remember your names at least we will have pictures” They just shake their heads and smile for the camera.

Once in Canon City there is a KOA. It’s clean. The following day the first thing to do is head for the bridge. In the summer, visit the bridge in the morning, it gets quite hot in the afternoon. Too hot for walking around. Later in the day you can take the train ride through the gorge. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

Canon City has plenty of restaurants for dinner. We ate at a Mexican restaurant on the main road. The food was fair and the price was high.

The KOA Was clean but not very friendly at the time of our stay.It had a pool and an amusement area with a Ferris wheel,multilane slide and go carts. The go carts were fun until a group of rowdy campers took over the amusement area. We ended up taking our daughter to the Canon City Emergency room after a kid ran over her while she was still in the go cart. We will never, stay at that campground again. The Canon City hospital was under quite a bit of construction when we were there. The staff seemed to be very friendly and well trained.But, when we arrived home we had hospital bills for x-rays and things that never happen. What a mess!

After a long night, needless to say, we didn’t get an early start the next morning, It was also our son’s 13th birthday and time for presents.

We were on our way to Estes Park in the Rockies, just outside of Denver. This was to be an easy drive with lots of time leftover, or so we thought. The weather turned really bad around Boulder, Colorado. The further we went north, the worse it got. Finally we were at the exit for Estes Park. We could see no more than a couple of miles. It was pouring down rain and it was very dark. It was only 3pm.

After, checking the weather report. The forecast for Denver and the Rockieswas rain all week. A quick look at the map and the decision was made to head for the sunshine, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

It was a couple of hours to Cheyenne, Wyoming. We dodged the rain andate dinner at Outback. It was time for another birthday present for Brian. Little did we know, it was going to be the perfect birthday present.

Well, this day seemed to last forever. We have had to change plans and reinvent the vacation numerous times, and right now it seemed as if the bad weather was never going to end. But after a good dinner and birthday dessert, we were off to the Douglas City KOA in Wyoming. At times the pitch black skies, were so bright with lightning. it felt like daylight. By the way, it was only 6pm. The rain and blinding light forced us to take an off ramp. Kevin and I sat quietly in the minivan while the kids watched Star Wars on Brian’s new birthday present, a DVD player. The kids were so involved in the movie, that they were never really aware of the dangerous driving conditions and weather.

After about an hour, we and the other 5 cars that were now parked behind us, were our way again.

The Douglas City KOA was extremely, friendly and clean, but no time to stay. In the morning we were off to Mount Rushmore. The drive was beautiful. In just a couple of hours we went from the plains to the Black Hills.



From Wyoming to Mount Rushmore there is so much to see; caves, the Flintstone Village, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, Deadwood, Buffalo, Wind Caves, and Prairie dogs.

Both Kevin and I visited Mt Rushmore when were teens. Wow, have things changed. The Visitor’s Center was wonderful and the circle walk was beautiful. It’s amazing. We were there during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and yet it never seemed crowed. Just busy. The KOA Campground had just about everything. I definitely would not call it “Wilderness Camping”. I wish we could have stayed longer. In our little tent trailer it was camping without the roughing it. Pools, waterslide, horseback riding, shuttle buses, hotel, stores, ice cream parlor, cabins. WOW! We’d love to go back.

The Drive Home was different, straight home something I don’t recommend. We spent so much time wandering around trying to find sunshine, we lost track of time. Big mistake! We even thought maybe Kevin, should fly home from Denver or Salt Lake City. He needed to be at work on Monday. Then the kids and I would finish the drive at a more leisurely pace. We decided to finish together. Believe it or not, we managed to drive from Rushmore to the west side of the Rockies. We found a place to set up camp about 1am and we were Exhausted.

In the morning, it was off to Mesquite, Nevada where we spent the night. No tent trailer for us tonight. The temperature was 101 degrees and the campground was more expensive than a room. A $29 room, 2 pools, the $1 breakfast, and the $1.99 dinner, what a deal.

In the morning after a swim we were off again. A stop at Buffalo Bill's Casino in Primm, Nevada for dinner and a few rides then home, still 5 hours away.

This trip was probably one of the strangest we’ve ever done. It seemed at times that everything we planned went wrong. We had some beautiful moments, some scary moments, and a couple of times we were just plain confused. But in all, it was an okay trip. Mount Rushmore and the area surrounding it, was definitelythe highlight for all of us and well worth the hassles. We still talk about the trip a lot, the good and the bad of it.What a family memory! Go North!

For more pictures of this vacation visit Colorado and Mount Rushmore


footer for Colorado page