Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that under 2 years after I renovated my Airstream to be a family camper, would we be camping in style!
In Colorado, the camping name of the game appears to be “Plan Well In Advance”. We had a few camping trips last year (that didn’t end well, because mom and dad each got sick on each of the trips – one one time and the other, the other time.) This is a relatively big deal, because we don’t really rough it – even though my husband had pestered me for 13 years to go camping. A composting toilet was a must have, for middle of the night treks. ✔
Our first adventures in the Glamstream was with all the clothes from my fashion truck taken out, and we slept on the floor. 😂😜
Next trip, was with beds (we whipped them into shape), but no kitchen. 😆 Effectively we had a glorified tent – but it was cozy….even if we went home in the middle of the night 😂
Either bravely, or stupidly, I planned 3 camping trips 6 months +++ in advance.
On this trip: Bent’s Old Fort.
What are you doing for spring break?
Going to La Junta, CO. Doesn’t it sound exciting?
I was met with blank stares. Either the other person didn’t know where La Junta is (quite possible), didn’t know WHY THE HECK we’d POSSIBLY vacation in La Junta (also quite possible), or they knew that there was something there to be seen (ding ding ding! We have a winner)!
So I built a kitchen (because that’s the logical thing to do before going camping. And by kitchen, I really mean, a counter space to put things on!) and we were off to South Eastern Colorado – in style. It did take a bit of convincing my husband that it would be fun. He had the same look when I say, “Really, kombucha tastes good!!”
La Junta is about 3.5 hours south east of Denver. If you’re heading down from Denver, there isn’t much right off the highway to see in March. We talked about stopping at a plane museum in Pueblo (there are also some really fun looking museums in Pueblo), but it was late in the day as we waited to leave Denver until the spring snow from the previous night melted.
If you are traveling from out of state, to CO, it’s fair to say that snow in March is to be expected – it IS our snowiest month! There may be snow in mountains in the summer, so do plan for all seasons! 🙂
Side story: When I was a child, I couldn’t figure out why “they” would put a National Park out in the middle of no where! HA! I didn’t quite understand that the middle of nowhere NOW, was the middle of significant trade routes in the 19th century.
THE CAMPGROUND
We pulled into our campsite at La Junta KOA mid to late afternoon. We are picky campers (if you haven’t discovered that already), and we like our space and quiet campgrounds. We’ve been lucky with most of the KOAs we’ve stayed at.
We stayed in the back of the campground (spot 49 – great size for larger rigs like ours). There would have been plenty of space beside us even if other RVs were around us. But we were one of only a handful of people who stayed there. The campground IS right off of a semi-busy street, but the back was quiet. Some of the long term residents had loud TV’s, but that didn’t last all night.
This KOA has a tiny house you can rent – it was a bit odd to see a random tiny house, but discovered on Instagram that it IS rentable. That would be fun to try! (maybe).
Staying on the plains has advantages. One is that you get fire pits!! We were so thankful that there weren’t fire restrictions – we haven’t gotten much snow this year, so there is an increased risk of fires. I don’t know if Otero County would ban fires in a campground or not.
Our kids enjoyed our traditional camping fare: smores! And I made hobo packets (Chicken, potatoes, onions, red peppers, and yellow squash, with a bit of butter, salt and Italian seasoning) in the fire.
I’d imagine that, like any other campground, this one is hopping during the normal travel season. The advantage to off season camping in South Eastern Colorado, is it is the warmest part of the state. Keep this in mind for adventuring in the summer – it gets REALLY hot!
I didn’t do a very good job of looking at the amenities this KOA offered. Because it was off season, I didn’t expect to use the pool, etc. They have a fun dog park (our dog liked it), and decent playground (it worked for my kids – there were no complaints). They also have a putt putt golf course, which I didn’t plan for. While it was only $2, I didn’t bring cash. I’m sure they would have taken a CC, but I didn’t want to send my kids down to the office with my card. So, that’s something to keep in mind if you stay here.
THE ADVENTURE
We had loose plans – either stay one night or 2. We realized we didn’t bring enough dog food, so it was one night! We made it to Bent’s Fort in time for our oldest child’s first lunch, which we powered through, and saw part of the fort.
It is in the middle of no where, because it was the southern most part of the US Territory in the mid 1800’s, and prime trading for Native Americans, Mexicans, and trappers, along the Santa Fe trail. If you love history, this is an excellent stop. It’s a quick trip from Denver, and a quiet National Park (which I appreciate). The Park Rangers are in period dress, and they answer you in character – which made for a couple semi awkward pauses. I asked about Susan Magoffin (a traveler who stayed at the Fort for 11 days), the ranger asked, “Do you know her?” Uh…. no? (The rest of the conversation was not in period answer) And I asked about why William Bent’s mattress was on the floor, and many of the other VIPs had what we would think of as a proper bed – raised off the floor. The answer was, “That’s what I sleep on at the fort.” 😆 I didn’t get the answer I was looking for.
One of the trade stores.
Exploring the Fort
Pardon DS who had slept funny…so was standing funny for most of the day
Lunch time & working on Junior Ranger Badges.
We had a lovely lunch, listened to meadow larks outside our door…picked burrs out of our pup’s hair (ugh), worked on Junior Ranger badges – we have one still excited about JR badges, and another who is embarrassed by the swearing in ceremony. Both kids had a great time working on their badges.
Plan on about spending 4-5 hours at the Fort. If you go during a slower time, I’d imagine you could get a tour from the Rangers. I seem to recall this from my childhood visit. Because it’s a ‘working’ fort, the Rangers participate in the daily work: chopping wood, making nails, repairing various aspects, caring for the animals. It was a wonderful taste of Fort life! There are also events during the year where other re-enactors come and participate – which could be a bit confusing. The 4th of July celebration includes shooting off a canon, and other period correct celebrations – sounds like a FUN time, but also the hottest time of the year.
The Stats:
Campsite: 49
Dates: Spring Break, March 2018
Weather: Warm during the day, chilly at night
Elevation: 4,078 ft
Cost: $50ish per night
Child 1: “I liked it”
Child 2: “IT WAS AWESOME! It was different than what I had in my imagination…but it was cool because there were real animals!”
EVERYONE loved this trip. While it might not have been the beach, or cliché spring break trip, it was perfect for us. It would have been nice to stay another day, and see some other things around La Junta. Rocky Ford is close, and it would have been nice to get fresh melons! There are also dinosaur footprints along the Purgatory River that would have been really fun to see!! However, we didn’t plan really well for our pooch.
Campground rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐ No complaints. We are a tough crowd to please. Our rating is simple: needs to be quiet. 🙂
National Park Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ No complaints! It was quiet. There were other visitors, but it wasn’t packed.
