I’ve spent the past three days on the road, and I’m pleased to announce that with the exception of just a couple of very minor issues, the trip went exceedingly well.  Towing a trailer this large over the kinds of terrain I just covered is no small feat, and I discovered it’s even tougher when you don’t have a co-pilot.  When you make a road trip in a car, you simply take an exit and then pull in to the nearest gas station or restaurant without giving the process much thought.  With a trailer, you have to find the right exit; the one with truck accessible fuel pumps, and you have to find the right restaurants; again, the ones with enough parking that you can pull in and pull back out without having to back up, turn too tight, etc.  The right off-ramp isn’t enough:  you also have to find the right entrance to the parking lots.  Detours in town are nearly enough to set off a panic attack….  what if you get headed down a narrow road and can’t find anyplace to turn around?  It’s the stuff nightmares are made of.

The minor issues?  The first night I parked about an inch (yes, literally an inch) too close to the electrical box so I couldn’t quite run the living room slide all the way out.  Of course, I only extended the slides AFTER I lowered all four jacks, disconnected from the truck, plugged in power, and turned on the water.  Too late to move.  Luckily for me, it turns out that I didn’t want to sit on the couch that night anyway.  The other one?  I forgot the key to one of the padlocks I used to chain my generator into the bed of the truck.  Fortunately, the lock on the other end of the chain was a combo lock, so that worked out.  On the upside, there’s now a chain in the bed of my truck that nobody can steal because it’s padlocked to the cargo tie-down.

All in all, it was a good trip.  I covered 1425 miles in 25 1/2 hours of driving.  The truck pulled great and I’m pretty sure I made a bunch of truckers jealous (or was it pissed?  I can never remember) when I passed them going up some of those long grades.  Wait, maybe they were laughing, knowing what it was doing to my fuel mileage.  Oh well, I made it.

After disconnecting the trailer at the Cripple Creek KOA, my home away from home away from home for the next week (see what I did there?) I headed up to the house.  I admit that there was a brief “Oh Crap!” moment when I walked in and realized this isn’t just a discussion anymore.  It’s no longer a whimsical exchange of ‘what if’s’ and ‘wouldn’t it be cool if we’s’.  I was suddenly struck with the realization that this is ours.  It isn’t a philosophical question anymore, it’s now a matter of actually prioritizing the jobs and getting the work done.  Oh sure, we have a year to get it finished according to the bank, but I have a feeling that at nearly 10,000 feet up in the Southern Rockies, Mother Nature may have a voice in this, too.

But, for all the fear that comes from moving forward, and the sadness that comes from all we’re leaving behind, the excitement level is still high.  Plus, I took this picture from the “front yard” today.Everything is green and lush, the sky is a beautiful blue that goes on forever, and the sun was shining.  The trees are full of new leaves and the hillsides are covered in white, yellow, and purple wildflowers.  I met a doe and her new fawn up by the barn.  I think this is going to be okay.