Lots of RV’s leaving Florida in March and April.  We headed north from the panhandle the third week of April and stopped again in North Carolina and Maryland before arriving in Michigan May 10^th.  Cool rainy weather greeted us in Michigan and mostly continued for the three weeks we were there; however, we enjoyed time with family, especially lots of activities with granddaughters Megan and Anna.

Staying south of Saline near Tecumseh at Indian Creek Campground is still our best option.  With full hook ups and convenient location near family in Saline, we worked out a reservation for May as well as mid-July – September. 

There really are not a lot of options around Ann Arbor, and the people at Indian Creek have been very good to work with for our extended summer stay.

We had a little surprise over Memorial Day weekend, when the campground put on an excellent fireworks show.  The campground offers family activities every weekend which accounts for the large weekend crowds that arrive Friday and leave promptly Sunday leaving the park very quiet during the week.

In early June we headed west for a planned trip to Colorado and part of Utah.  We stayed on I-80 through IN, IL, IA and NE and then headed southwest on I-76 into Denver. Flooding was very evident through IA and NE as we saw rivers out of their banks and farmers’ fields under water. We stayed two nights on the road, including our first experience staying in a Corp of Engineers campground. 

Coralville Lake is located just north of Iowa City, IA and I-80.  The Corp of Engineers campgrounds located around the country are usually associated with a lake, dam, reservoir or recreation area they manage.  Reservations and information is available at www.recreation.gov. 

Coralville Lake has several campgrounds; we stayed at Sugar Bottom Campground for a fee of $20.  The site had electric hookup only, with potable water and a dump station available near the entrance. It was a very nice park and we will look to stay at Corp of Engineers campgrounds again.

We arrived in Golden, CO on June 4^th, in time to celebrate our 43^rd wedding anniversary on the 5^th.  I wrote quite a bit about Golden when we were here in 2017: https://lifeinthervlane.blog/2017/09/22/golden-colorado/

Golden never disappoints and we enjoyed staying at the Clear Creek RV Park before heading to the west side of the State and UT, which will be the subject of the next post.

Walking, hiking and bike riding opportunities are everywhere in and around Golden.  Numerous paths connect around and through the town for a total of 24 miles just in the City of Golden and hundreds of miles more in surrounding Jefferson County.  Some paths stay along Clear Creek and others veer off into the foothills and mountains.  We found them to be well marked and plenty of information available on how strenuous the trails are.  Here are some trails we went on, the first two accessible from the RV Park, the last one was a short drive to the trailhead with ample parking available:

Climbing Trail:  This moderate trail veered off the Clear Creak Trail and led to a rock climbing area.  We watched several climbers go up the rock face.  Some were just learning and others were more experienced climbers.  We were happy to stand by and watch.

Chimney Gulch Trail:  The trail climbs over 1,500 feet in elevation in 2.5 miles leading to the summit at Lookout Mountain Nature Center.  Both hikers and mountain bikers use this trail.

North Table Top Mountain Trail: The City of Golden is situated in the valley between South and North Table Top Mountains. This trail is a 8.9 mile loop with an elevation gain of 1,145 feet and can easily be split into shorter hikes. At the mesa top it offers a nice view of the area.

Other activities we watched along the trails were kayaking, paddle boarding and tubing on Clear Creek; and paragliding off Lookout Mountain.

Here are some additional pictures from the Golden, CO area (these pictures can be clicked on for a larger view):

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