4 Crazy Days to Fort Collins!

Preparing for Take-Off

After many months of planning, researching, and preparing, we were finally ready to get Ilene (our trailer) back on the road for a voyage across the country. Our journey to Fort Collins was actually a smaller “trip” that was part of a much larger one to visit my brother (the one Harry had yet to meet in person) near West Palm Beach, Florida.

Harry spent a lot of time using the RV Life website and mobile app, painstakingly trying different routes to get us to Colorado. I’m so grateful he is so good at finding the perfect stops for us. We had quite a few notes and checklists to get us road-ready. I tell you, when you’re planning a 3+ month trek, you need as many lists as you can make to be sure you don’t forget even the tiniest of details. Doing this might seem excessive, but trust me, it’s a lifesaver! Anyway, the weeks and days leading up to our first travel day of course didn’t go 100% as planned, so we had to shuffle some things around to get everything done, but even after getting a much later start than we anticipated, we finally got our wheels on the road.

Travel Day 1: Kenmore, WA to Pendleton, OR – 298 miles

Our first stop was the Wildhorse Resort and Casino in Pendleton, Oregon. (They have an RV park at the casino, but we opted to just do overnight parking in their RV lot since we were only staying for a single night). This was Rus’s first long drive in his new carrier which was supposed to allow him the freedom to be harnessed while also being able to look around. We thought he’d enjoy this a lot more than being in a hard, plastic one behind the driver’s seat. Alas, as a later story will tell, Rus is actually more of a basic bitch than we thought.

Gravity Coffee and the Columbia River Tradition

In addition to snacks, long days of traveling require coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. We find ourselves frequently driving I-90 across the state of Washington, and we have a go-to stop for that sweet, sweet dose of caffeine – Gravity Coffee in Cle Elum, Washington. The first time we made a drink stop here, we didn’t think we’d be back often enough to sign up for their rewards program. We finally did AFTER we could have had a few free coffees already.

Because we were heading southeast across Washington into Oregon, we drove the bridge over the Columbia River in a “new to us” spot. We have a tradition that whenever we cross the Columbia, we have to play the song (trivia fact: it’s Washington’s state folk song!) “Roll On Columbia, Roll On”. We loudly sing along every single time.

The 4’s Win at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino

By the time we finally made it to the Wildhorse Resort and Casino, to our dismay, it was too late to enjoy a movie or the bowling alley, but we did have enough time to grab some dinner and do a little fun gambling at the card tables. I say “fun” because neither Harry nor I are actual gamblers (unless you count selling our house to travel around the country in a travel trailer as gambling ha ha!), but on the occasion we find ourselves at a casino, which is usually for these overnight stops, we keep it simple and set a small limit and once it’s gone, we break even, or are up even just a little, we call it quits.

We decided to play Spanish 21 which I’d never played before, and it sounded fun, so we decided to give it a shot. I was dealt a pair of 4s and the dealer also had a 4, which meant I’d won some sort of bonus for placing a small wager on the bonus option. I decided to split the 4s, and I can’t exactly remember what came up after that, but I ended up doubling down a couple of times much to the table’s chagrin – there were a lot of “what are you doing’s” and “are you sure’s”, but I decided to just YOLO it anyway. Crazy enough, I ended up winning all of our money back plus a whole dollar. Remember I said “when we are up even just a little…”? That dollar totally counted, we cashed out and walked back to the trailer for some rest before heading out on our next leg to Glenns Ferry, Idaho.

Travel Day 2: Pendleton, OR to Glenns Ferry, ID – 285 miles

We rarely like to spend just a single night in one place, but we had things to do and people to see further (a lot further) down the road, so we woke up and packed up Ilene and Tank and got back on the freeway for another day of driving.

A Haunted Pit Stop at Hot Lake Springs

We made a short pit stop in La Grande, Oregon to check out Hot Lake Springs, where there is a purportedly haunted hotel that was featured on a 2001 episode of The Scariest Places on Earth. While we didn’t see any ghosts, it was quite eerie being in such a desolate area with steaming hot water all around.

Let’s Get to the Y-Knot Winery Already

Stopping at the springs was a welcome, leg-stretching excursion, but I had to get back to work, and Harry had to get back to captaining the truck. After all, we were headed to a winery for the night – another Harvest Hosts stay at the Y Knot Winery. Despite it still looking and feeling like winter in the Rockies, the scenery was still beautiful.

I was excited about the wine, and Harry was excited to see Idaho river trout on the dinner menu (which was delicious by the way). We really enjoyed the wine tastings and steamer clams, too, though I’d have never thought I’d be eating so much seafood in a landlocked state!

Travel Day 3: Glenns Ferry, ID to Evanston, WY – 313 miles

Driving from Idaho to Wyoming took us through Utah, which. was. breathtaking! The mountains still had a light dusting of snow and, while it may have been a bit cloudy, the sun did make its presence known a time or two.

Strikes, Spares, and Splits at Uinta Lanes

This next leg took us to another Harvest Hosts spot, Uinta Lanes, a quaint little bowling alley with good food and drinks, and of course, bowling! We both agree that this would have been a better place to stay, one, had it been in the summer (there were piles upon piles of snow in the parking lot where RVs usually park) and two, if they’d actually saved a section of the lot for us to use for the night.

Despite the bit of chaos getting our rigged parked, once we did, we had a blast bowling, eating chicken wings, and taking tequila shots with the manager of the restaurant. Harry, bowler extraordinaire, of course kicked my ass on the lanes, but it’s always fun pretending I’m even slightly competitive at throwing 10 lbs balls down the alley.

Travel Day 4: Evanston, WY to Fort Collins, CO – 398 miles

We woke up to a fresh (little more than a) dusting of snow and really cold temps for our drive to Fort Collins. What we weren’t expecting was to hit pretty much every single kind of other weather pattern imaginable. We drove through rain, sleet, hail, snow, and wind.

A Spooky Stop at the State Pen – The Wyoming State Penitentiary

We managed to make another haunted pit-stop in Rawlins, Wyoming to see the historical Wyoming State Penitentiary. I can’t lie – I was legit creeped out by the building even though we were there in the middle of the day. The wintery landscape with leafless trees made it feel extra spooky.

Our Fort Collins Friends’ House…Finally

After a long day of winding roads through the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado, we finally made it to our friends’ house in Fort Collins. We hadn’t seen Louise and DB for a while – only once for a brief brunch outing since our wedding in August 2021, so we were excited to get to hang out with them for the weekend. We explored the city, hit up a couple of breweries, relaxed in their hot tub, and even got to play a couple of NPCs in their Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

Dinner, Coffee, and New Belgium Brewing

The first night was fun catching up over dinner at a quaint little restaurant in town, Union Bar and Soda Fountain, even if Harry did spill his beer all over the table. No one was sure if any of the glass went into Louise’s meal, so they made her a new one – hey, that’s lunch for the next day, right?

The next morning, we went out for coffees and breakfast at Bindle Coffee and then Louise, Harry, and I hopped on one of the many hiking and biking trails the city has to take a walk around the city. The best part about this particular part of the trail – it led us to New Belgium Brewing, one of Harry’s favorite breweries. They had so many different beers, we all decided to do some tasting flights and share.

As we were finding a table outside, another random patron decided to chat with us. It was an interesting conversation, if you call us nodding and mhmm’ing and fake laughing at an old man’s cringy jokes a conversation haha. Our only saving grace (because none of us were wanting to just tell him to leave us alone) was that he had to leave to take the tour of the brewery. Once he was gone, we all just looked at each other, laughed, and wondered what had just happened.

A night with the Dungeon Master – Dungeons and Dragons

After enjoying all the delicious beers, we made our way back to the house to prep for a night of DnD with some other friends of Louise and DB. None of you, well maybe a handful of our readers know this, but I was never allowed to play Dungeons and Dragons growing up, and it was insanely popular during my childhood, so this was actually only the second time I’d ever gotten to be part of a campaign (the first being our ongoing one with our brother-in-law).

We were tasked with playing a couple of NPCs who were stealing a boat. It was a hilariously good time coming up with lines, trying not to let any of the other real characters die, eating pizza, and of course having some more tasty beers and whiskey. DB makes a great Dungeon Master.

After everything settled and other friends went home, the four of us decided a night cap in the hot tub was a great idea, made better even more relaxing with the dusting of snow on the ground.

Ghost Hunting in Fort Collins

Aside from all the good beer, food, and fun, we ended up learning that Fort Collins was recently ranked as the 3rd most haunted city in the United States! We were really hoping we could book a ghost tour, but since it was so last minute, all of the ones we thought would be good were all booked solid. So, we did what any good team of spooky searchers would do – we made up our own walking tour.

We found 3 of the most interesting sounding spots, did a little research on them, then set out on foot to explore them – Walrus Ice Cream, The Armstrong Hotel, and the Avery Building. I was skeptical about an ice cream shop being haunted, but who was I to argue – there was ice cream to be had, and I’d have loved it even more if a ghost would have been serving it!

German-Style Beers at Zwei Brewing – and a Celebrity Sighting?

After some paranormal investigating, we decided to meet up with some more of our friends’ friends at Zwei Brewing – a great brewery that features locally made, German-style beers. One of the best parts about this stop wasn’t the fabulous outdoor space or the tasty tacos from the food truck, but it was the fact that the beer-tender looked exactly like Sal from Impractical Jokers! Harry didn’t even get the “hey, you look like…” out of his mouth before the guy finished his sentence for him. Apparently, he gets that at least 2-3 times a day, if not more, he said. Thankfully, he was a good sport about it, but it was hilarious. We still thought maybe he was actually Sal and that we were on an episode of the show.

No Day Like a Snow Day!

Have you ever been staying somewhere and hoped for just “one more night”? Not only have I (we) felt this way before many, many, many times, but twice in my life, snow has made that wish come true for me. The first was when we woke up to a blizzard the day we were supposed to leave the amazing treehouse Airbnb we were staying in the weekend we got engaged. The second was the morning we were supposed to head out from Fort Collins.

Snow had a sneaky way of coming around a lot on this leg of our trip, apparently. There was a good 8-9″ of snow all of the roads, so we just decided to stay one more night with our friends. With our extra night’s stay, we were in for the longest travel day of the entire trip the next morning, so we made it a low-key evening of chatting and watching tv and making dinner at home.

We had such an amazing time on our first big “F” stop on this 3+ month long journey. Thanks, Louise and DB, for showing us around the city and opening your home to us! Not only was it great to explore a new place, we have to say, it was fabulous getting to take a LONG shower!