Chief Hosa

     Well, it was another beautiful day for traveling.  We planned to get out early but one of the boys had jumped up on the driver side console and turned on the lights.  Battery was at 7.8 Volts when we tried to start.  After a little head scratching I jumped it with the house batteries and we got off by 9 am.  The price of gas has been going up with the altitude, so we filled up in Colby at $3.59/gal before jumping on the Interstate.  For while I watched the altimeter rise at a foot per second and before very much longer we were moving into Mountain Time and crossing into Colorado.  

    We came across a gas station about half way to Denver where gas was $3.77.  Didn't see it till after we passed the exit and since everything else going forward was over $4, I doubled back at the next exit and filled it to the brim.  A short time later, the Rocky Mountains faded into view on the horizon about 40 miles outside of Denver and seemed to grow a lot faster than I was driving.

    A short stop at Sam's Club in Denver to stock back up on supplies and continue west.  The foothills start before you even get out of Denver.  Georgie Girl got one heck-of-a work-out today.  Usually she can keep up with the traffic pretty well but it was a steep climb out of Denver on I-70 and with towing the car behind she could barely hold onto 40 mph in a few spots.  The oddest sensation happened too.  There were a couple areas where the road "appeared" to level out and go back downhill.  A complete illusion!  Even on what appeared to be a downhill stretch we were still climbing at over a ft./sec. and nearly 10 ft/sec. on the steeper sections.  This was probably the most stressful part of todays drive.

    We arrived at Chief Hosa Campground around 2:30 and all that stress just melted away. 

 The Campground is Historic.  It opened over a hundred years ago as America's first motor-camping area.  Lynn booked a Pull-thru campsite and we got Georgie Girl Settled in for the night.  It's beautiful here, just off the Interstate about 20 miles west of Denver, shaded with tall pines, and a contented 78 degrees with a light breeze.  I got a text from my good friend Pete saying it was 104 degrees at home 🥵

    As beautiful and relaxing as it is, it's a shame we didn't book an extra night here.  I guess the only drawback is that we are from Bella Vista where the altitude is below 1200 ft.  The Altitude here in the campground is 7,900 ft and it will be another week before we can "breath easily."  The air is a bit on the thin side but we did come prepared with a supply of supplemental oxygen canisters.  

    Tomorrow will test our lungs to the limit as we cross the Continental Divide.  I'll be keeping the Oxygen canister close at hand for that trek.  It's time to get dinner started and kick back for the evening so I'll finish this up and just say, "Wish you were here!"  Until tomorrow, Cheers!