Fun Valley, CO, Friday August 26, 2011

Couldn't hook the Jeep last night and wanted to do it this morning before it got hot.I thought our drive for the day was 190 miles.  I found out the Colorado SR 10 was closed.  We had to go to Pueblo and then south to pickup US-160 and continue to our destination, Fun Valley.
We got underway at 9:15.  A few minutes before 10 I was thrilled by the sight of the purple line of mountains ahead.  We have been out of the sight of mountains since leaving West Virginia on July 19th.  Two hours later we were in the foothills and the mountains were a distinct sight not so far distant.
We stopped once for fuel in Walsenburg, CO for fuel and then turned west on US-160.  Fun Valley is just west of South Fork, CO and we arrived there at 1:15.  The detour through Pueblo added almost 50 miles to the trip.
I had called ahead and they knew we were coming even though they don't take reservations.  At the office we were greeted by security who place a Fun Valley guest sticker on both vehicles.  When I checked in they told me that we pay on departure and anything we buy at the park can be charged to our campsite.   I also asked where our friend Alan Howeth was parked and if there were open sites near him.  The said he was in site 320 and that site 315 was vacant.  The procedure was similar to Thousand Trails in that you pick an open site and then report back to the office with the site number. Any open site without a rented sign was available.  I located Alan's site but decided to get set up before seeing if he was home.  Site 315 was very short but next door was unoccupied 314, so we took it.  The site is close to the highway but shouldn't be too noisy.  I went back and turned in the information and asked about our mail.  The envelope Dana had sent was waiting for us.  I was a little worried about the mail getting to us; Fun Valley receives their mail in South Fork but FedEx comes to their address on Hwy 160.  Dana sent it by mail to the street address but it worked out.
After getting set up I walked down to Alan's site but the Jeep was gone.  That was when I noticed there was an open site next to him.  I left a message on his phone.  A little later I saw the Jeep there and I saw Alan in the street.  I went to greet him and while we were talking it started raining.  We went to our coach and visited for awhile.  We decided to have supper at the onsite restaurant, tonight they were serving BBQ Brisket, sausage and Turkey Breast.  Serving starts at 6 and Alan said we should get here about a quarter till.  We drove to the restaurant in the rain, Alan rode his bicycle.  When we parked we discovered we hadn't allowed for the time change we had by coming from the Central Zone into the Mountain Time Zone, so we were an hour early.  Alan took us for a tour around the property which is extensive.  Alan has been coming here for many years and knows a lot of the history.  There are several sections for RV, motel rooms, cabins and travel trailers available for guests.
We went back to the restaurant and had an excellent meal.  We sat by a window that looked out over one of the several ponds on the property.  The ponds are fed by water from the South Fork of the Rio Grand which runs through the property.
After supper we had the option of watching a group of square dancers or attending a dance with a country western band.  Gerri and Glenna choose to go back to the RV.  Alan and I went country western.  The small band was very good,  There were couples dancing and groups doing line dancing.  Alan has taken some line dancing lessons and joined in several. He is quite good at the dances he has learned. The dance broke up about 9:30.  Alan dropped me off at the coach and we called it a night.