Our first try at Moochdocking was made possible by the Casson Family who used to be our neighbors in Lake George. They also live in a beautiful area by Morrison, CO and after hearing that we needed a place to park Lucy for a couple of days near Denver, to have a scheduled visit with Connor, they reached out to us.
I admit, after two weeks of contacting every campground in the Denver area within a 50 mile cushion around it I struck out on each one. State Parks are literally booked and so were the campgrounds. The irony is that when close to a city it isn’t even tourists that fill them up but the many work campers that follow their work and then book for several months. Our neighbors in the last campground did this. He works in construction as is a Crane Operator so he spends 6 to 7 months in each location. South in the winter and now here in CO.
So after getting a tad frustrated and worried I put up a post on my FB wall asking if anyone could possibly have room in their driveway for us to Moochdock for 2 nights. So here is what I posted:
‘ I need some friends in the Denver area that have a nice big front or accessible back yard that can let us Boon Mooch, if that is even a word 😂
I literally spend about four days, numerous hours online and on the phone trying to find a decent place for us to park our ‘little’ Lucy for 3 days. What I learned is that Denver is horrid when it comes to either decent campgrounds, safe areas or one’s that are not booked out for the next two years (state parks anyone?).
I know we should have known better as we never planded at aiming for cities. The open roads is our aim. However, our oldest son lives in Denver and we have several outings planned with him, first one is this Sunday. Sad we can’t find anything closer but heck we just go with the flow…….’
And the irony is that I actually did not expect any responds as who would actually have the room for our 65 foot baby girl to park. I was however so touched that several friends reached out under my post offering help but they lived in our old neighborhood and that would put me even farther away from Denver.
Then comes my husband and says that he got a txt from Chris, our former neighbor in Lake George, telling Ron that we could park Lucy Lou at their home in Morrison, CO which put us just 30 min from Connor.
So the irony is that even thought I was the one asking I was then also horrified at the offer as I also beyond dislike inconveniencing anyone. Taking us in is not an easy feat, not only our size but also crazy us plus two somewhat equally crazy pups.
However, my husband and Chris kept working on the plan and before I knew it was really happening and we were leaving CSprings on April 31 and drove 2 hours north (traffic slowed us down a bit).
Once we arrived Rons phone rang and our friends neighbor was telling us that we would actually be parking in his yard. Now I was getting anxious again as we weren’t just putting out our friends but are now involving their neighbors as well. Ron and I couldn’t quit figure out how we wanted to go about parking Lou and moving into the spot behind the house. By then, us older peoples were also a tad tired due to the 3 hour departure work from the morning and then the slow drive up north. We had a quick lunch and then the neighbor told us there was a pull off a mile down the road by the Volunteer Fire Station. So we figured that would be an easy solution since we could just pull in there and not bother anyone.
So at the Inter-Canyon Fire & Rescue Station number 1 we proceeded to set up for the night. We unhooked Lou to see if we could get Lucy level, which sadly was beyond our auto level possibilities as Lucy kept beeping out warnings of ‘excess slope’. So we settled on not moving out the slides and just being a ‘tad’ crooked. At one time Lucy, in trying to level us, had both front wheels about 6 inches of the ground. It was crazy.
However, I learned to not discount the commitment of our friends who would not let us get away with staying at the fire station. After some back and forth between Ron and Chris, and a lovely conversation for me with Chrissy and Khloe we were planning another try at Moochdocking in the next morning. Oh and of course prior to doing that, the night before, my husband asked if he should turn on the heat to which I replied that ‘nope, I think it is warm enough’ and us then waking up in a very cold RV with outside temps of 31’F, or my Celsius said -1° 😱. So guess who got the stinky eye for not thinking we needed the heat on?
But who can dwell on the cold when one has to prep to move again. So bright and early our neighbor showed up and proceeded hooking up Lou to his truck. I rushed to Rosalina while Ron got Lucy up and running. We then somewhat caravanned back up to the neighbors property. Chris parked Lou and then guided in Ron in a very nice spot behind the neighbors house. Within an hour we were settled in, almost level and the slides out. Breathing room at last. The pups were thrilled as well as I took them for a nice walk where they saw a horse and got their needed exercise in.
The generosity of our friends however did not end there! After Ron and I had a much wonderful visit with Connor, who is doing so very well and which made this short trip up north all worth it, we were then invited to come to their house for dinner. Now envision not just a dinner but a 5 star treatment. Their family is absolutely precious. Fun conversations with not just the adults but very witty and smart kids as well. Yummy food that I won’t try to describe but will add pictures of.
So our very first try to Moochdock was an incredible success. We hope we weren’t to much trouble but of course we did interrupt their days and I just hope not to badly.
Oh and yes, this morning we woke up to some snow after going to sleep listening to the pattern of rain, but Lucy was nice and warm, thanks to my husband who kept the heat going.
Thank you so much Casson Family, and of course their neighbors as well who showed us so much kindness. We are grateful and I will pay it forward.
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