Our second day of travel found us driving from Amarillo to Estes Park, a route that took us through Oklahoma and into Eastern Colorado. This westernmost portion of the Great Plains is sparsely populated, largely farmland, with many small farming communities. In fact, more than 90 percent of the farms in Eastern Colorado are family farms. Most of the towns are punctuated by grain elevators and water towers.

As we neared the population centers of the Front Range, we encountered crumbling roads and heavy rains, making for a treacherous approach. The interstate highway was actually in worse condition than that state highway. It must be taking some time for all that infrastructure funding to make its way to I-70.

We finally arrived at our Estes Park destination around 5:50 p.m. Getting into our long, uneven site at Manor RV park was perhaps the most challenging set-up to date. Despite our best efforts, we simply couldn’t get the trailer off the hitch. The coupler wouldn’t release the ball and nothing we could do seemed to help. Finally, when it did release, the tongue jolted with such force that it “jumped” off the blocks and landed with a thud.

Undaunted, we greased the ball and hitched up again.

Again, we couldn’t get the coupler to budge. We performed a couple of maneuvers to unlock the coupler (jumping on the truck bumper, releasing the parking break, putting the truck in gear) and finally got it off the ball with the same result: jolt, jump, thud.

Only then did it occur to us that the angle of the truck might be putting just enough pressure on the hitch to prevent it from uncoupling. After hitching up for the third time and moving the rig backwards by about four feet, we were finally able to unhitch without incident.

But we were, quite literally, shaken by the experience.

Eventually, we were able to settle down and settle in, with plenty of time left to take in the setting sun beyond the mountains.

Chef Cliff prepared grilled chicken thighs, steamed broccoli, and carrots with onions. After dinner, we took a long walk around camp to acclimate ourselves to the higher altitude. Estes Park is about 7,400 feet above sea level; Dallas is about 400 feet above sea level. Needless to say, we needed some time to adjust.

We learned a few things along the way worth sharing:

1. Never ask to take a look inside someone’s rig when they’re struggling to get the rig unhitched.
2. T Mobile has invested heavily in its network capabilities throughout Colorado, making it a more reliable alternative to AT&T.
3. Always have a Plan B. That quick trip to the grocery store may be cancelled due to set-up delays, forcing a change in the menu.