It's the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
Saturday – 7/12
Got up, broke camp and hit the showers. A hard push to get out and down the mountain. We need to get the rental car back to Loveland by noon.
When I pulled the address for our rental spot in Frisco, I realized that they closed at noon. This presents a problem as we really need a car, and they won’t open again until Monday morning.
I talk to the agent at Enterprise and try to convince him to blow off his plans for Saturday and stay open for me. It is to no avail as his computer system will shut down after noon anyway. My only thought is to try to get in touch with my friend Jon (Shifty) to see if he can pick it up for me. A call to his cell gets his voicemail and a call to the house lets me know that he is hiking at Copper with his sister and her husband.
Fortunately, he sees that I called and calls right back. He is more than willing to do the pickup for me and can make it just under the wire to do the pickup.
Now just need to get this car back by noon. It looks like after gassing up, we will pull in around 12:15. We pull in just in time to catch someone locking up and drop off the keys.
A quick stop for lunch at McD’s and a fill for the RV and we are off, back up into the mountains. The drive up is familiar ground for me as I have made this drive to Frisco many times.
We pull into Frisco and I pull up in front of The Clark abode. They are out front washing cars and we all hop out to say hello. I thank Jon for getting the rental for us and we stop in for a short visit.
Then on to Breckenridge. We find the Hyatt Vacation Club and pull the car and RV into the circle drive. We check in and find out where to park the RV. They give us the same info that Jon did, to pull it into the parking lot for the Ice Arena. We head off and do the unload into the rental car. Again, it takes almost an hour to pack up everything and pull it into the car.
Charlotte decides she needs to go to the bathroom, and we send her to the Ice Arena. The doors are open and I am sure she could have found a restroom, but she comes back looking distressed. She decides to cross the stream next to the parking lot and head to the woods. Hey, if bears can do it there, why not Charlotte.
Jack and Georgia decide to follow and Georgia slips on a rock and ends up soaked. Great start to our day in Breck.
We get her cleaned up and finish packing, then head back to the Hyatt to check in. They call up the bell boy and he is barely able to pack our stuff on a cart.
The condo is fantastic. We overlook the pool below and can see the slopes in the near distance. I check in with my brother John, who has ended up here at the same time and we discuss trying to get together. We still need to get unpacked and that will take some time. The kids are also asking for dinner, so Wendy decides to feed them here.
After we get unpacked, I give John a call and decide to stop over to their condo for a beer. They are staying at the Thunder Mountain Lodge. John got the recommendation from Shifty and negotiated a price on vrbo.com. Their condo is very nice and quite a bit cheaper than ours. When we booked, Wendy wanted something that was full service. I thought that the Hyatt would be and when I called they said that they had room service. It turns out that room service is ordering out from some of the restaurants in the area.
We have a couple beers, get caught up on happenings with the kids and talk about past trips to Colorado and vacations with the Hurst family.
I leave around 10:30 and stop at the grocery store just down the street for some staples, then head home to rest up for the first day in Breckenridge.
Got up, broke camp and hit the showers. A hard push to get out and down the mountain. We need to get the rental car back to Loveland by noon.
When I pulled the address for our rental spot in Frisco, I realized that they closed at noon. This presents a problem as we really need a car, and they won’t open again until Monday morning.
I talk to the agent at Enterprise and try to convince him to blow off his plans for Saturday and stay open for me. It is to no avail as his computer system will shut down after noon anyway. My only thought is to try to get in touch with my friend Jon (Shifty) to see if he can pick it up for me. A call to his cell gets his voicemail and a call to the house lets me know that he is hiking at Copper with his sister and her husband.
Fortunately, he sees that I called and calls right back. He is more than willing to do the pickup for me and can make it just under the wire to do the pickup.
Now just need to get this car back by noon. It looks like after gassing up, we will pull in around 12:15. We pull in just in time to catch someone locking up and drop off the keys.
A quick stop for lunch at McD’s and a fill for the RV and we are off, back up into the mountains. The drive up is familiar ground for me as I have made this drive to Frisco many times.
We pull into Frisco and I pull up in front of The Clark abode. They are out front washing cars and we all hop out to say hello. I thank Jon for getting the rental for us and we stop in for a short visit.
Then on to Breckenridge. We find the Hyatt Vacation Club and pull the car and RV into the circle drive. We check in and find out where to park the RV. They give us the same info that Jon did, to pull it into the parking lot for the Ice Arena. We head off and do the unload into the rental car. Again, it takes almost an hour to pack up everything and pull it into the car.
Charlotte decides she needs to go to the bathroom, and we send her to the Ice Arena. The doors are open and I am sure she could have found a restroom, but she comes back looking distressed. She decides to cross the stream next to the parking lot and head to the woods. Hey, if bears can do it there, why not Charlotte.
Jack and Georgia decide to follow and Georgia slips on a rock and ends up soaked. Great start to our day in Breck.
We get her cleaned up and finish packing, then head back to the Hyatt to check in. They call up the bell boy and he is barely able to pack our stuff on a cart.
The condo is fantastic. We overlook the pool below and can see the slopes in the near distance. I check in with my brother John, who has ended up here at the same time and we discuss trying to get together. We still need to get unpacked and that will take some time. The kids are also asking for dinner, so Wendy decides to feed them here.
After we get unpacked, I give John a call and decide to stop over to their condo for a beer. They are staying at the Thunder Mountain Lodge. John got the recommendation from Shifty and negotiated a price on vrbo.com. Their condo is very nice and quite a bit cheaper than ours. When we booked, Wendy wanted something that was full service. I thought that the Hyatt would be and when I called they said that they had room service. It turns out that room service is ordering out from some of the restaurants in the area.
We have a couple beers, get caught up on happenings with the kids and talk about past trips to Colorado and vacations with the Hurst family.
I leave around 10:30 and stop at the grocery store just down the street for some staples, then head home to rest up for the first day in Breckenridge.