We seemed destined to be done with Wyoming at this point. Limited time, hot open desert, and what I thought was engine trouble. The next closest big town on our route, Steamboat Springs, CO, perfect. It turns out that the engine light that came on was for an additive that was low for the diesel exhaust system. I thought for sure it was some major problem because I read through the manual too quickly and missed the "it needs to be added every 5000 miles" part, and instead read that it was probably contaminated and needed to be cleaned immediately or you could only start the engine 16 more times problem! I texted Sarah with the engine trouble news, and set to finding a way to Steamboat. When Daren and Sarah arrived after what was for them a killer, as in painful ride, Daren methodicaly read through the manual and found it was minor issue. But, too late at this point. All of our minds were made up! We're heading to Steamboat to fix "Rocky" and take a short break.
Steamboat is a great town. It was so named by early settlers because of the sound the hot springs made, like a steamboat coming down the river.Silas had the best time with the kids that were camping there. They played lots of pool, watched the Olympics on the tv in the clubhouse, and just had a great time with each other. We enjoyed the town. Fortunately, the town of Steamboat has a free shuttle bus that goes through to the rv park where we were staying, and into the center of town. It was a great way for us to get to town without having to ride. There were several good restaurants, galleries, bookstores, and coffee. We also did a short 2 mile float on the Yampa River. It was a leisurely meander on single inner tubes, floating down a slow moving, low river. Several hot springs fed into the river. There were a few small rapids, nothing to get your heart rate up or anything, but enough to put a smile on your face. The take-out was just before a small set of rapids. I thought I would just ride into the pool just as you come out, but managed to flip the inner tube! I kept stumbling, trying to get up and in the meantime, my inner tube was heading down river. Fortunately Daren watched the whole fiasco, and sprinted down river and down the bank to retrieve my tube. Fortunately for the 8 to 10 people behind me, their entertainment value went way up. They also all exited well before I did where the water was calm(quick learners!) I should have charged money for the show!
We got shuttled back to the start, then headed to a great lunch on the river. After, Daren and Silas took the free bus back to the rv park, and Sarah and I looked around at the shops, then headed to the Old Town Hot Springs. We really enjoyed this place. There were several pools of varying temperature fed by hot springs. There was also a lap pool, and waterslide. After several hours of soaking and feeling the healing powers of the naturally occurring lithium, we had a "hurricane" by the river. Good name for a killer cocktail. I felt like I was in Hanalei. We met Daren and Silas for dinner at the Laundry. The Laundry, as you may have surmised, used to be the old laundry facility for the town, built in the 1800's. The decor was old hardwoods and brick, and the food, was tapas style. The "hurricane" is not a good night before ride drink come to find out, it took several hours to recover from this fruity concoction.
Sarah is convinced that she could live in Steamboat. We would definitely visit!
Not enough pics
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