A Taste of Fort Collins

I must admit that when we decided that our travels would take us through the midwest this Spring, I was a bit apprehensive. The chances of running into nasty Spring weather somewhere along the way were high. We did have one night of severe storms in Kansas City. Then, there was that nasty day of gale force winds in western Nebraska. Not too bad. Along the way, I told myself I'd breathe easier as soon as we got to Colorado.

Yeah, right.

The first night we spent in Fort Collins (Was that only Wednesday?) was quite celebratory. We'd made it across The Great Plains. We'd avoided tornadoes and the like. Even though we arrived a day late, we got right with the Fort Collins vibe. Fellow fulltimers Deb and Rod had arranged a tour at a favorite local brewer, New Belgium. It was quite the informative and tasty tour. (So much so that a 12-pack of Somersault landed in our refrigerator the next day.)

That first evening, we caught up with anytimers Craig and Anne, whom we last saw in Kansas City last Fall. They're on their way to Michigan this Summer. We felt so lucky that our paths crossed at the same campground in Fort Collins. As we headed to bed after our meeting with these friends, we checked the weather. We were under a tornado watch.

Great!

Storms skirted to the west of us. A hundred miles or so to the south, my brother's family was subjected to a storm that dumped hail at their place for two-and-half hours and stacked the icy stuff up in inches. Thankfully, Fort Collins was spared.

The next day, Craig and Anne hit the road. We took advantage of our first down day in a long while and took care of some much-neglected domestic duties. By late afternoon, the moose was sparkling inside. And, we were under another tornado watch.

Joy! Joy!

With a watchful eye on the radar, we tracked a tornado and hail-producing storm that passed just to the east of us. I checked the map. No, we were not in the midwest. Instead, we were snuggled up against the front range of the Colorado Rockies.

Yesterday afternoon, we made plans to meet up with Deb and Rod at Taste of Fort Collins, an annual Summer event that showcases the food and drink of Fort Collins.

As we headed out of our campground, we noticed a plume of smoke in the foothills to the west. On the way downtown, I checked my phone for news. The fire was on the local sheriff's radar. It was just 20-acres with no structures in danger. It was 10 to 15 miles away. We decided not to worry.

Shortly after we met up with Deb and Rod, we were keeping an eye on the sky. The temperatures were climbing into the mid-90s. Not only was it bloody hot, but the innocent plume of smoke was now towering over the center of town. After an hour or so of meeting Deb and Rod's kin and sampling the best Fort Collins could dish out, we decided it was time to go home to cool off and keep an eye on the fire.

A quick check after our arrival revealed the blaze had grown to 200 acres. It was all 10 miles and a couple of hills away. We wouldn't worry, but we'd definitely keep an eye on it all.

By the time the local news did their 10 o'clock thing, the fire covered 8000 acres. Winds were expected to kick up through the night. The good news was the temperatures would be cooler. The bad news was it was going to be windy.

I was jolted awake at 3 o'clock. The wind buffeted the moose from every which direction. We rocked and rolled. All I could think about was the fire in the nearby foothills. Wide awake, I checked online news sources and twitter. #HighParkFire became a lifeline. In the darkness, I couldn't see a thing. But, on twitter I could "see" it all. An hour or so later, I read that the county sheriffs were evacuating a neighborhood that sounded like it might be nearby. I tracked the route on Google Maps. The evacuating neighborhood was a drive of only four miles. A mere 10 minutes away. As the crow, or burning ember flies, it was probably only three miles. And the winds outside were screaming.

I didn't sleep.

Instead, I waited for daybreak. At just past 5 o'clock, I looked outside. A thick column of brown smoke floated above our campground. Sirens wailed in the distance. Stuff that looked like snow fell from the sky. I quickly realized it was ash.

I so wanted to get the heck outta there!

Instead, I checked the news and monitored twitter. By the time Paul was up, things looked a lot better. The sun came up in a cloak of smoky red. But, the wind shifted and blew the smoke to the north. Fort Collins was blessed with clear blue skies on this sunny Sunday morning. The billowing smoke stayed to the west and north.

My sleep-deprived mind went into information-gathering mode. The latest info on the fire was that it had grown to 12000 acres. There was zero containment. Winds were erratic. The afternoon forecast called for gusty winds in Fort Collins coming from the direction of the fire. There, on the northwestern edge on town, it looked like we might be in for a nasty afternoon and another sleepless night.

It was time to get the heck out of there.

I checked with the office to see if we they would hold our site for a few days. I also asked what would happen if we chose not to return. As they had explained when we checked in, they would simply convert our stay to the daily rate and refund the rest of our monthly fee. I let them know we would be leaving and we'd stay in touch.

The next question was where to go. We wanted to be away from the foothills, not drive too far and go to a place we knew. If we loved it, all the better. Within a few minutes we agreed on today's destination: Cherry Creek State Park in Denver. We'd been there nearly three years ago and enjoyed our stay. At 90 miles or so away from Fort Collins, it was more than a safe distance from the smoke and fire. With several walk-up sites open for the next few days, it would be the perfect place for us to land and eventually plan our next move.

A couple of hours later we landed in this beautiful urban park. As we monitored the news of the fire all afternoon we were affirmed that we had made the right decision. Currently the fire has covered 20,000 acres. Containment is a goal for some time in the future. Neighborhoods are being evacuated. Fort Collins is engulfed in thick, choking smoke.

Our prayers are with those who have evacuated their homes in the foothills. Several of them sought refuge in our Fort Collins campground. We pray for their safety. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the firefighters who are wrestling this blaze. We're also praying for rain.

We are so grateful to be more than a safe distance from it all. When your home has wheels, there's no reason to wait for an evacuation notice. Instead, we left in the light of day, under blue skies, on our own terms. We are so grateful.

We have our spot here for the next three nights. We will monitor the news of this conflagration. Then, we'll decide what to do. We might return to Fort Collins, the town we were so eager to explore. But, we only got to have a taste. And, we might head somewhere else.

We hope you'll join us in saying a prayer. And, stay tuned.