A Snowy Springtime Surprise in the Rockies

When we hit the road in ’07, our goal was to find the ideal place to live and work. It didn’t take us long to figure out that every place has pros and cons. Avoiding undesirable weather was high on our list of goals but the more we traveled the more we realized there is no escape, especially now with climate change.

Dodge Ram snow cover
Our Dodge covered in snow

Usually we can move locations to get out of storms. But sometimes there’s no escaping Mother Nature. Like now that we’re based in the Rockies at “Jerry’s Acres” for the season.

Last week went from sunny and spring-like to snowy and brutal in a matter of hours. We knew snow was coming but nobody had a clue about just how much was headed our way.

Red Feather Lakes snow storm
Red Feather Lakes snow storm

The storm lasted three solid days and when it was over we had 3′ of classic Rocky Mountain powder surrounding our little getaway cabin. Nobody within 25 miles of here could make it the 7 miles to pavement, much less get out to the highway. Everyone was snowed in.

On the bright side, Colorado snow storms are ideal as far as this kind of crappy weather. It storms but the sun always comes out when it’s over. Wyatt Ray doesn’t seem to mind but I can’t stand it. Jim plays it tough like a guy but I can tell he’s just as annoyed at having to gear up just to take Wyatt for a pee.

Red Feather Lakes snow storm
Snow is a bitch.

Our small modular is perched on five treed acres just outside of Fort Collins. Like most modulars, it’s nothing fancy but owning a getaway was our dream when we bought it in 2009, and it’s paid for. When we signed the deed we thought we’d want to stay here longer. But the road keeps calling and we get bored after a few months of being stationery.

Snow Drift at Jerry's Acres
Snow-covered Jerry’s Acres retreat

Whenever we return it’s like checking into a hotel. Life is easier here, but harder on other levels. I have a love-hate relationship with this place.

  • I love that we achieved our goal of owning property.
  • I hate that we have to pay for insurance and property taxes.
  • I love that we can make a big mess and leave stuff laying around.
  • I hate that we have to clean it.
  • I love the sentimental things held inside of it.
  • I hate that we’re tethered down by more stuff than we need.
Snowbird RVers
Snow is not sexy.

Jim hates to hear me complain about it, which I’m real good at. To make peace, we’ve agreed that in a few years we’ll sell it and get two small, vacant parcels of land somewhere else in Colorado and somewhere south, probably in our favorite part of the U.S., the Big Bend of Texas. And in between those two points we’ll keep on making it our goal to roam around and enjoy the best that nature has to offer – while doing our best to avoid the worst.

Everyone has goals for full-time RVing. What are yours?

Red Feather Lakes snow storm
When the going gets tough…

6 thoughts on “A Snowy Springtime Surprise in the Rockies”

  1. First off, I have to chuckle at the fact that the gallup email I read (just before reading this blog post) says that 40% of a “certain right leaning section of our population” (my quotes) believes that Global Warming will NEVER happen, another 20% say it could affect FUTURE generations. So surely, your experience is just a fluke 😉
    And I totally relate to the love/hate thing. My goals for fulttime RVing are to keep one parcel of real estate as a “home base”, keep one as a rental (if it actually produces INcome), and sell one off to pay for a “Shiny new Motorhome” and a few years of traveling in it. 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Scott B Out Cancel reply