Our National Parks Journey travel blog


We were expecting rain for our drive to Loveland so we were pleasantly surprised to find a dry morning. The good news didn’t last long and soon we heard the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof. Joe disconnected the utilities before the heaviest downpour and we rolled out of our over-priced KOA about 8:30 a.m. It wasn’t a very long drive but we changed the map routing plan to stay on the main interstates rather than the side roads. We had heard on the news there had been heavy rain, floods, and tornado damage in the Ft. Morgan/Brush area and we wanted to stay away from there.

So, that dictated we drive west on I-70 and we opted for the toll road around Denver. It was $18.00 for a motor home and tow; but, we felt it was worth the money to avoid Denver in the rain…..and rain it did…….non stop all the way to Loveland. Our campground, Riverview RV Park, is about 6 miles west of Loveland and, while it might normally be a nice park, today it was a mud hole. We checked in and luckily a nice man in a golf cart led us to our site. We then asked if we could switch to the next site so we could face in the direction Joe was confident we would get a satellite signal. This was no problem so we did minimal set up to stay dry as long as we could, settled in, and had lunch.

We waited for the rain to subside and finally the sun broke through. Joe finished our utilities set up and I called Sonia and made arrangements to meet her at her RV Park, St. Vrain’s State Park in Longmont. Sonia has had some horrible electrical surge hit her coach and most of her electrical things are fried. Her rig isn’t mobile because she can’t retract the leveling feet. So, with a call from Sonia to the factory and the owner’s manual, Joe was able to retract the feet manually. Now, Sonia can decide if she wants the rig repaired locally or take it to the factory in Kansas. We spent several hours together catching up on the events since we last saw each other in Kerrville. The worst part of the visit was the road into the park was pure sticky mud and we desperately need a car wash. But, we decided we needed dinner too so we stopped at Mimi’s Café and headed back to relax for the evening.

Loveland is situated in a valley at the mouth of Big Thompson Canyon and is a very nice community. Sonia is seriously looking to purchase a home here. It has grown significantly since we were here during our working days and business trips brought us to Longmont. Loveland, CO and North Pole, AK share a similar tradition. As Christmas letters are stamped and mailed from North Pole, Valentines are posted by volunteers in Loveland with the town’s post mark. The town has a rich railroad past and many beautiful bronze sculptures are scattered throughout. Boyd Lake is a lovely area for water sports activities.

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