A Quick Mountain Escape (and the Return to Service)

We picked up the EarthRoamer from service late Friday afternoon—perfect timing, because after nearly a week of bouncing between hotel rooms, all four of us (dogs included) had hit our limit. We made a quick grocery run to Whole Foods, then pointed the rig west and set off into the mountains.

Climbing out of Denver on I-70—potholes, construction zones, and all—felt oddly familiar by now. We peeled off the highway toward Central City and Blackhawk, winding through the historic brick towns and admiring the buildings as mountain bikers rolled past, dusted in dirt and glowing from their post-ride highs. Major FOMO.

We kept driving, aiming for a nearby campground—but found it totally full. Not surprising for a summer weekend. Thankfully, a few miles up the road we lucked into an open first-come, first-served spot at Kelly Dahl Campground. The camp host was incredibly friendly, and after a long chat about vehicles and travel, we found our spot for the night and settled in.

Jacob and Nia went for a short hike up the ridge behind camp and came back wide-eyed—there had been fresh bear activity just over the hill. Nothing too close, but a reminder that we’re definitely not in hotel life anymore.

That evening, we had our first real campfire of this EarthRoaming chapter. Jacob got it going in the fire ring, and we sat outside for hours, just soaking it in. A quiet moment that felt long overdue.

The next morning, we packed up and started making our way north, back toward Boulder. Our EarthRoamer still needed to go back in for the final round of service first thing Monday, so this little mountain escape was short—but worth it.

On the drive, we found a peaceful lake to hike around with the dogs. We did two full loops, with a quick lunch break in between. It felt good to move our bodies again after the days in hotels.

Before pulling into EarthRoamer HQ, we made a quick stop at Boulder Baked—picked up some warm cookies for the team (and, let’s be honest, for ourselves too). We spent the night camped out in the EarthRoamer lot, ready to hand the rig back over first thing in the morning.