Interstate 70 stretched before us, connecting Grand Junction to Denver via Vail Pass through the Rocky Mountains. We intended to drive about halfway and stop for the night at the Eagle River – Wolcott Campground, but we arrived early in the afternoon to find every space filled. Granted, this is a small camping area but we had hoped to find at least one site available for a single night. It wasn’t even the busy camping season (generally Memorial Day to Labor Day) when we passed by Wolcott (on a Monday, no less) so finding the campground filled to capacity was a little disheartening. We luckily had internet service on our Verizon hotspot in this area, so we spent some time researching our options rather than setting up camp.

The first and usually most convenient option for a last-minute overnight parking space is a friendly local Walmart. We already knew none of the Walmarts close to Denver allowed overnight parking thanks to a city ordinance, so that option was out. The campgrounds along our route were a bit too far out of the way for just a single night’s visit, so those were way at the bottom of our list of options. A search for local rest stops revealed two along the way that supposedly offered overnight parking according to the internet. So those became our initial targets, with a Cracker Barrel north of Denver as our alternate destination. Ashley called ahead to first ask if the restaurant allowed overnight parking, and after getting disconnected while on hold the first time, she was informed on the second call that it would be fine as long as we bought something. As far as chain restaurants go, Cracker Barrel is far from the worst option for us so we didn’t mind buying a couple of restaurant meals in exchange for a place to sleep for the night. Plus it’s simply common courtesy and a generally assumed practice among RVers to purchase something if you’re parking overnight with permission at a place of business.

Our drive took us through the ski resort town of Vail, which was picturesque even without the slopes covered in snow, and onward to the first rest stop perched atop the Rockies at 10,600 feet elevation. Turns out you can’t actually park overnight there, but we did find a lake still covered in ice not far away along a road leading to the National Forest Service Black Lakes picnic area and the Tenmile Canyon National Recreation Trail. We weren’t prepared for near or below freezing temperatures overnight, and you can’t park overnight at this picnic area anyway, so we hopped back on 70 and continued east to the next rest area. No luck there either, as it was much too small and sloped to even consider parking. With the Cracker Barrel as our last option, I reluctantly kept driving to Denver.

We likely could have found a spot somewhere in Boulder or Golden, or driven further out of the way to find some BLM areas (free primitive camping on public land) deeper in the mountains. But the last thing I wanted to do was search for a space in either town without really knowing where to even start looking, or drive for miles down a dirt road in search of a BLM spot that might not work for our RV. And frankly, this is a “big” driving year for us so we’re trying to limit excess mileage as much as possible (well, I’m specifically imposing the mileage limit since my priority duties include financial and route planning, basic RV maintenance, and making sure we have enough food on hand to keep us alive).

Turns out we weren’t the only RVers to take advantage of the Cracker Barrel that night, as we were greeted by two rigs already parked when we arrived with another pulling in later that night. So we rolled into the large bus and RV lot behind the restaurant, shut off the engine, and promptly went inside to fulfill our obligation of purchasing something (two fine Cracker Barrel meals) in exchange for the overnight parking space. This was the first time we spent an unplanned night in a parking lot (as opposed to a Harvest Hosts stop), but it was an uneventful experience and we were glad to be in the presence of other RVers through the night. Plus we didn’t have to cook or reheat leftovers for dinner, which is a tiny luxury after a travel day.

Departing early the next morning, we drove the short distance to Cherry Creek State Park located in the Denver suburbs on the outskirts of Aurora. Cherry Creek is another highly popular park thanks to its location within ten miles of Denver, as well as the expansive beach area along the Cherry Creek reservoir. If you’re planning to visit, definitely make reservations in advance. The park was nearly booked for the summer when I started searching in April for a site, and we eventually learned from our park neighbors that they booked a site in January for Memorial Day weekend with only a few available even at that time. The trend continues – Colorado state parks quickly fill in advance, so plan accordingly when attempting to procure reservations.

Cherry Creek is another typical Colorado state park (in our limited experience) – well-maintained, dump station and laundry on site, pay showers, and busy. We stayed in two different sites during our visit, one in the Cottonwood Grove Loop and the second in the Gold Rush Loop. Cottonwood Grove consists of basic campsites (no electricity, shared water faucets) and we had a nicely shaded spot in Site 110, with enough full sun available to deploy the solar panels and keep the batteries charged. After leaving the park for Memorial Day weekend (a tale to be told shortly), we returned for reservations in Site 87 in the Gold Rush Loop which features full hook-ups. Those are the two site types at Cherry Creek – basic or full hook-up, no electric-only sites. While the added conveniences of shore power and a dedicated water source are certainly nice, the sites in the Gold Rush Loop are closer to the highway and you do get some road noise in that area. Not a huge deal – you’re practically staying in a city, after all – but something potential visitors might want to note. I don’t have much else to say about the park, it’s a pretty typical state park with the added bonus of the proximity to Denver, probably the closest you can get to the city for overnight RV parking without staying at one of the private RV parks in town.

Speaking of Denver, we had Cherry Creek on our route this year for the express reason of visiting our friends who happen to reside in the Mile High City. So we put the Denver trail system to good use by biking from the state park into the city. The intricate trail system winds throughout the city, and a cyclist who’s familiar with the trails can most likely find his or her way into any part of Denver. We essentially made a ten mile beeline on the Front Range Trail, connecting Cherry Creek State Park to the Cherry Creek district in Denver. The trail is essentially a wide, concrete sidewalk leading over the creek, past neighborhoods, and beside municipal parks before connecting to the bike-friendly streets of Denver. I suppose I should clarify that not every street is bike-friendly, but you can easily find a designated bike route or a wide road with a dedicated bike lane without too much extra searching.

Remember how I said earlier that Cherry Creek was practically booked since January for Memorial Day weekend? Well, we had a dilemma with bookend reservations – three nights at Cherry Creek before the holiday weekend, and four nights after with nothing planned for the intervening three days. Meghan and Tyler solved the problem by scheduling a home remodeling project to coincide with our visit, temporarily creating enough vacant space in their backyard allowing Cecil to squeeze in for a few nights. OK, so maybe the home remodeling project was just a coincidence, but that space wouldn’t have been available otherwise and we would’ve been scrambling for a parking spot. Meghan and Tyler saved us from driving far out of town in search of parking only to return after the weekend, while allowing us to be close enough to conveniently visit for a few days.

Our friends Laurie and Eric, both of whom you may remember from our time in Asheville, also happened to be visiting Denver over Memorial Day weekend so we enjoyed the added bonus of catching up with a group of friends (and all of their children – I must’ve counted 17 before I was overwhelmed – OK, it was only three) while celebrating the holiday. Between sampling beers and food from around the city, entertaining the children, having picnics in City Park, and playing a tiny bit of music, Tyler convinced me that we’d have time to brew a batch of beer. So on Memorial Day, that’s exactly what we did after a morning outing for ingredients. Ashley also celebrated a milestone with her fledgling business, selling two copies of one of her original knitting patterns in two days, effectively doubling her previous sales record. While she readily admitted it wasn’t much of a milestone, that didn’t stop Meghan from spontaneously popping open a bottle of champagne to properly celebrate the occasion. We’re always grateful for the time we’re able to spend with friends, and this visit was certainly no exception. Now if only I could find a way to delay that remodeling project and pull the RV into their backyard for an extended amount of time…

As though our visit wasn’t already packed with familiar faces, we managed to catch up with one more person during our time in town. One of the former regulars from our days at the pizza shop in Delaware happened to move to Denver, and we met her for a brief afternoon in Cheesman Park during her weekly acroyoga session. After a whirlwind conversation and a bit of observing acroyoga on our part, she eventually convinced us to join in the activities to which we hesitantly agreed. It’s safe to say this was the first acroyoga experience for either of us, but we both maintained a pose without injuring anyone involved.

If you’re planning a trip to Denver, you won’t be at a loss for fantastic craft beer and restaurant options upon arrival. Rather than list a bunch of places to check out, I’ll mention a handful that truly stood out from the crowd. Cerebral Brewing on Colfax Avenue had the best beer hands-down – hazy New England-style IPAs, excellent sours, and a couple of Belgian styles thrown in the mix. No food available at the brewery, but you’re on Colfax which is littered with restaurants spanning the culinary spectrum, so just take a walk outside when you get hungry. Work & Class came highly recommended from both Meghan and Tyler, so we joined them for dinner one evening and it was some of the best food I’ve had in months – which is not an exaggeration. Perfectly prepared, unpretentious, and inventive, not to mention pretty affordable by Denver standards, the food at Work & Class will not disappoint. I also liked the concept of Avanti Food & Beverage, which is an upscale food court that doesn’t include an annoying trip to the mall. Plus, it contains a couple of bars with extensive local beer selections, which is definitely something the York Galleria did not have during the days of my youth in southern Pennsylvania. And no trip to Denver would be complete without a slice of late-night pizza from the Atomic Cowboy and a coffee from Hooked on Colfax the next morning. Denver is a sprawling metropolis with new venues sprouting weekly if not daily, and I’ve only mentioned a handful here. You’d be hard-pressed to visit the city and not find a restaurant or brewery that suits your fancy, if that’s the kind of thing you normally enjoy.

While Denver may no longer be the weirdly wild western town featured in Kerouac’s novel On the Road, the city still holds a distinct allure for modern-day roadtrippers. From the finely crafted beers available at any of Denver’s 70-plus breweries and thoughtfully-prepared food from inviting restaurants, to cheap drinks at the PS Lounge and a slice of pizza eaten while standing on the sidewalk, Denver offers a taste of something for any palate. And as always, time spent with family, friends, and friends who’ve become family can make anyplace feel like home, so maybe take a few with you or plan to meet them there when you decide to visit Colorado’s Mile High City.