Just outside of Central City Colorado, a gold mining town turned casino city. The campground gives the illusion of being in a wooded area with just a narrow separation between the closest subdivision and us.
To my right, a concrete truck rumbles as the check in office expands their patio for greater activity space.
Admittedly taking the gamble for a spot at one of the national parks nearby would have given us greater peace in nature (maybe) but with my five year old accompanying us the boasted presence of a playground , pool, and pancake buffet in the morning seemed like the kind of thing to ease her out of her skittishness after having seen a water snake the previous year on a trip with her grandparents and her current insect phobia she adopted. One day of watching her cousin dramatically kill imaginary bugs months ago and I’m left with weeks of long talks and demonstrations on why she can’t let her fear cripple her from enjoying herself.
Despite the noise, everyone’s having a good time. A curious Chipmunk scouts the outer edges of the camp. We cooked up some tasty burgers and fruit salad, despite my notoriously poor history of packing for adventures I seem to have pulled it all together alright this time. The kid even willingly left her electronic games at home for the spell, being perfectly happy with the toy frog she picked up in the gift shop.( Huckleberry coffee ground for me? Don’t mind if I do)
It’s a little chillier than I expected with all that heatwave noise the news outlets give me, good thing I packed for that too. Maybe tomorrow we’ll visit Buffalo Bill’s graveside on the way home, or walk historic downtown. We tried to make our way to the closest trailhead over at Mayhem Gulch but a police closure rerouted us.