Friday, July 21, 2017

Epic Road Trip - Day 1: Eleven Mile State Park, Colorado

Friday, June 9, 2017

 When planning my road trip, I was aware of the fact that I had just finished the school year, gotten my daughter married, and moved the newlyweds to Colorado Springs. I knew I was going to need a bit of down time before really getting started on my trip. I chose a campground that was fairly close to Colorado Springs and one that didn't have an abundance of places I wanted to explore. Eleven Mile State Park fit the bill.

Eleven Mile State Park is a little over an hour west of Colorado Springs. It is a fisherman's paradise with its 3,405 acre reservoir. I don't fish, so I thought I'd go there and just relax and hang out. I arrived at 6:10 p.m. on Friday, June 9 and stopped by the office to check in. It was packed. I could tell it was going to be a busy weekend at Eleven Mile. Knowing that there was an entrance fee at most Colorado State Parks, I bit the bullet and bought an annual pass for Colorado State Parks for $70.00.

I made my way through the crowded campground and found my tent site. The reservoir was very pretty. Low, grass-covered mountains rose gently in the distance.

A view of Eleven Mile Reservoir.

It was getting close to 7:00 p.m. and I was tired. The first time I set my tent up inside my house, it had gone pretty smoothly so I figured I'd be set up within 30-45 minutes. I was mistaken. It took almost an hour to get fully set up. The first place I tried to set up was a grassy area in a small depression. I thought it would protect me from the wind somewhat. However, it was swarming with ants, so I moved the tent up closer to my picnic table. It was a simple dome tent. But the size of it made it difficult to get the tent poles into the pins attached to the bottom of the tent. I would get one side in and go to the other side and the first side would pop out. Was it going to be this much trouble every time I set up? A few bad words may have slipped out of my mouth. Part of me hoped someone would offer some help, but another part of me was determined to do this on my own. And that's just what I did...I got it set up without any help. Yay me!

The rain fly was next. It was a little windy outside but I finally managed to get it secured to the tent. Then I started hauling my gear into the tent. Because bears had been known to wander into camp, I left the totes containing my food and cooking equipment in my 4-Runner, but I brought everything else into the tent. The heavy totes would hopefully help weigh my tent down in case of high winds. Plus, the tote for my tent made a great night stand next to my cot.

The view from inside my tent.

 Large plastic totes help keep everything organized and dry in case of rain.




I love camping, but I do not love sleeping on the ground. Since I was going to be camping for an extended time, I brought my cot. It was actually pretty comfortable. It got pretty chilly at nights and my sleeping bag by itself didn't keep me warm, but the fleece blankets did!

The first night at Eleven Mile, I was worn out and not feeling great, so I crawled into my tent around 8:30 p.m. As I lay there, I heard the quiet conversations of the other campers, music softly playing at some of the sites, and the comforting sound of a crackling campfire. There was a young group of friends camping nearby who talked and laughed and finally pulled out a guitar and began singing. They were all having so much fun. It was then that I had my first pang of loneliness. I have camped many times in the past, most times on my own, but I was always meeting up with other people I knew. This time it was just me. I didn't know anyone. There was no one there to help set up the tent. No one to turn to and say, "Isn't this great!" I tried to put the thought out of my head and just enjoy the camaraderie of the other campers from inside my tent. It didn't bother me that much because I knew that my epic road trip had finally begun.
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