Travel day 1 was supposed to be an easy one. 243 miles and under four hours. We’d been set up in a park close to our home while moving out and getting it ready to rent. Getting into that spot and out of the house was difficult, but that’s a story for another day.
We packed up for the road, nothing like a well-oiled machine. This surprised nobody as it was our first travel day and we weren’t even really moved in. Adam’s meeting schedule changed at the last moment, which added some complexity. As our first travel day, we hadn’t yet figured out how the kids could best help. Gideon swept off the roof, Cecilia made sure everything was in the sink or tub in the bathroom, and Ephraim pushed the buttons for the slides. We did realize there wasn’t a ton to do. Heather did a bunch of packing things into corners, and Adam got all the electronics secure for the drive, but compared to a pop-up tear-down was really easy.
The drive itself was not bad at all, in some ways. The kids all got to discover life without residential broadband, specifically the fastest available. The mobile hotspot did a decent job, but service got spotty at times as we got further from Denver. Traffic was also a factor. That four hours? It’s with no traffic. We left Elizabeth, Colorado, for Lingle, Wyoming, on a Friday at lunchtime. We made it to about Longmont by 4ish and stopped for an early dinner – planned initially as a lunch. It was the last visit with Heather’s grandparents on our way out of town.
Setting up at the other end was not a good time. It was close to 9 by the time we got there. That included missing the turn and having to drive almost an extra ten minutes to get turned around and come back. We were in the dark at the edge of a storm. The solution we have for leveling the camper sunk into the slightly wet and somewhat soft dirt. We adapted, barely.
Still new to everything, we teamed up on setting up the outside, trying to get the kids to stay in the truck until we finished. The lightning flashing nearby and light rain helped convince them. After leveling the trailer, another minor issue popped up when trying to connect the sewer line. For some unknown reason, our 45-degree clear adapter wasn’t sealing. Not wanting to troubleshoot at this time, Adam used a straight clear one and called it good enough. By contrast, the inside was fairly uneventful. A TV got set up for the kids to watch a show, and everyone got to bed. Late.
Pony Soldier RV Park was almost a tranquil little place. The only issue was the noise from the nearby train tracks. The very busy, nearby train tracks. The park wasn’t busy, but there also wasn’t much to do onsite. There was no playground, and laundry was not available. The kids did find a couple of little boys of similar age to play with, which helped the time at the campsite after school go a little easier for them.
Our first big adventure was Fort Laramie. We got a slow start due to getting in so late but made it in time to see most of a presentation on cannons. Seeing the cannon fire a blank stood out to both Gideon and Cecilia as a highlight of the day, though Gideon pointed out it was inefficient to require a team of four. After the presentation and Heather running to get our masks from the car, we picked up Junior Ranger books for the three kids and Gideon planned our route to get through the books.
Ephraim really liked it when we started going inside the buildings and seeing dioramas of how things were when the fort was operational in the late 1800s. In addition to the army buildings and ruins, a traditional tipi from the era was set up on the grounds. Another thing that stood out to the kids was the contrast between how officers and enlisted lived.
For Heather and Adam, hearing an elderly lady sharing her story of growing up in a small house with only one wood stove and how it heated up the entire house was a highlight. This was during a part of the junior ranger tour where the books had the kids think about why there was both a fireplace and wood stove in every room of the houses.
The visit was deemed a success, with everyone learning something and enjoying the time there, some more than they thought they would.
