When I was out in Denver in May, for Greta’s birthday, we went to the Cherry Creek State park to see about the camping spots. After seeing how beautiful this park is I decided to book a 2 week stay over Thanksgiving. I know the weather in Denver can be unpredictable especially in late fall and winter but, I decided to give it a try. I gathered some information on the park and the guy behind the counter assured me I wouldn’t have any trouble getting a reservation. A few days after I got home I logged onto their website to book my reservation and to my surprise, there was only 2 spots left. While the park is open all year round for camping they only have one small area that has freeze proof water spigots and that is the only area open.
Getting There!
I planned my trip to Denver so I wouldn’t be traveling over 260 miles per day. I wanted to be able to get and early start everyday and pull in to a campground around 1PM so the girls and I could walk, stretch our legs and relax a little before dark.
We left Sunday morning November 5 at 9AM, the time had just changed that night back to standard time, so it was actually 10AM.
Raccoon Mountain Caverns and Campgrounds
Chattanooga, TN
Mileage: 190.2 Arrived: 2:15 PM Weather: Sunny – High: 70 Low: 45
Food; Chicken, mushroom rice and zucchini – all that was prepared at home beforehand.
I decided that with the trauma of packing, and dealing with the traffic around Atlanta our first day shouldn’t fairly short. The Raccoon Mtn campgrounds were only 190 miles from our house but with the intense traffic and road construction around Atlanta and Chattanooga it took 5 hours to get there. The weather was nice – 70 degrees in the afternoon and dropping to 45 degrees at night. I had to get up in the middle of the night to turn the heat on.
The campground was very nice all of the spots were level and contained a picnic table and fire pit. I spent 10 dollars on 2 small loads of wood and had a nice fire that lasted several hours. The girls and I found and unmaintained trail to walk on for a few miles.
Fern Lake
Paducah, KY
Mileage: 268.8 Arrived: 1:15 PM Weather: Sunny – High: 78 Low: 65
Food: Frozen pasta with marinara sauce and beef, salad and bread
KOA Springfield / Route 66
Springfield, MO
Mileage: 304.2 Arrived: 1:45 PM Weather: Sunny, Breezy High: 78 Low: 62
Food: Leftover chicken, rice and mushrooms.
This was a very nice and clean campground
Camp the Range
Wichita, KS
Mileage: 246.4 Arrived 1:15PM Weather: Sunny, windy High:70 Low: 47
Food: Frozen beef patty, onions, rice and zucchini.
Very windy drive today – wind gusts were blowing RV around and it was difficult staying in lane. The road was a, heavily traffic, 2 lane with very a little shoulder.
Diane and Greg’s House.
Hays, KS
Mileage: 1xx Arrived 12:30 PM Weather: Sunny High: 60 Low: 30
Food: Steak, Baked Potato and a salad. Friday Night Mexican Cancun rest
