We left our mountain perch near Breckenridge two hours later than expected. We just couldn’t seem drag ourselves away from Tiger Run Resort. But soon we were making hairpin turns through steep mountain passes amid spectacular scenery. Destination: Amarillo, the helium capital of the world.

Soon after entering New Mexico we encountered torrential rains that made driving perilous and slowed our progress. Before long, we were yet another hour behind schedule. But as we continued our journey through the Llano Estacado (a geographic area of the Great Plains that was once called the Great American Desert), we experienced seemingly limitless prairie, with vast ranches, miles of open road, and large herds of buffalo and cattle. We were startled at one point when we passed three, bloated, stiffened cow carcasses right on the shoulder of the road. The barren land can be brutal.

We finally arrived in Amarillo just in time to be escorted to our site. Chef Cliff fired up the BGE and grilled chicken breast, peppers, onions and cob corn. Accompanied by a fine Cabernet, dinner was a perfect ending to a long day of travel.

And so our Rocky Mountain Adventure came to an end. Yet we learned a few lessons along the way that are worth sharing here:

1. Impatient drivers will always try to pass an RV, even if it’s at their peril.
2. A peanut is neither a pea, nor a nut. Discuss.
3. Children squealing and screaming at a KOA playground neither seem to know, nor care, that there’s such a thing as “quiet time.”