Sleeping Lady

I was greatly relieved once I realized I would not have to take out a stop sign in order to get parked in our site, but when I heard the words “back-in”, my relief was short-lived. I mean, I would have had to back OUT of site number ten when we left, but the idea of having to back in first was just scary. Steven was instructed to go inside to pay, and once he was gone, the camp host informed me I should drive on to our site. I sheepishly admitted to him that I have very little experience with backing in, and he assured me I would be just fine. In fact, two camp hosts were already making their way to help me. With fear and trepidation, I left Steven behind and headed down the loop.

Sure enough, the two camp hosts were there to help. They guided me forward, then back, and I did exactly as they instructed. I had no choice but to trust them implicitly. Because there were no rigs parked on either side of our site, I felt like I had a little more wiggle room, and in the end, I backed right in with no problems. Whew. This backing in business is still a scary proposition, because Steven and I have only really done it once together, and that was when we were putting Scoopy in storage. I have no doubt we could eventually get it done, but it might not be pretty. I guess as long as there is no damage, who cares about pretty, right?

Steven’s encounter with the office lady was not quite as successful. She was quite abrasive which is consistent with what a number of people have said in reviews of this park on www.rvparkreviews.com.

Once we were all set up, Steven went out to clean the windshield and put on Scoopy’s screens. I have a love/hate relationship with these covers. If they are on when it rains, it looks as though we’re parked in a muddy river. If the sun is shining directly on them, it looks like we’re caught in the middle of a haboob. On the other hand, they certainly keep the inside from heating up, and when the sun is not directly on them, I can see out just fine, but no one can see inside. I will just have to deal with the downsides, because I love the whole “I-can-see-you-but-you-can’t-see-me” thing.

The next morning Steven was up and out before sunrise. He went down to the river to get some early morning shots. As usual, I slept in.

When he returned, we headed out for a walk to “Sleeping Lady”, a place we thought was just a restaurant located next to the campground. We weren’t planning to eat there, but just take a walk and check it out. “Sleeping Lady” is not a restaurant at all. As we walked further into the grounds, Steven commented, “This is like a Star Trek episode where they beam down into an alien village settlement.”

There were very few people about and, on one side of the trail, a guy was just laying on the ground out cold in his sleeping bag. The first building we came to was small, but it had large windows. The only thing inside was a baby grand piano. We came upon several more buildings, all about the size of a large outhouse. Most had nothing in them but black music stands. The path went on and on. It twisted and turned and had several offshoots. With few signs, we had no idea where to go. We followed one guy around a long loop to a bathroom and ended up right back to where we had been. The buildings, which finally began to resemble cabins, all had names from nature, usually a bird. When we saw the sign for “Rookery” we thought we had stumbled upon a heron habitat, but no, it was just another cabin.

We rounded a corner to find the office, the Kingfisher restaurant and bar, along with several other impressive structures, the most jaw-dropping of which was a huge Dale Chihuly icicle installation. It was spectacular.

After a bit of googling, we discovered that Sleeping Lady is a “mountain resort” with a fascinating history. The word that kept popping into my head as we explored was “organic”. Every facility is nestled in with the aspen and pine trees as though it had been there forever. It is an incredibly peaceful place. I am glad that our discovery unfolded as it did, because we were just in awe. If we had just driven in through the front entrance, it probably wouldn’t have had nearly the same impact. You can read more about the history of Sleeping Lady here.

Given that Scoopy is still without a car of her own, we are necessarily limited in our local travels. It was a real treat to find something so different and worthy of exploration right next door.

UP NEXT: Camping with my posse.

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