Escapees RV Club – Live Laugh RV

We’ve hit our one year anniversary of moving into the RV full-time. It’s been an eventful and enlightening year. But before I post a recap of our highs and lows of the year, and oh yes, there were plenty of lows, I’d like to share where we’re currently camped and the best part of this lifestyle; the new folks we meet everyday.

Al and I have come to realize there’s a common bond amongst RVer’s and a willingness to share or help. We share tales of our travels via our blogs, over drinks, and through our photos We share favorite campgrounds and those to shy away from. And then we share the places to camp that require thinking outside the box; a friends driveway, boondocking in the wilderness, parking lots, and organizations with camping facilities.It was through new friends that we met via the Escapees RV Club that we learned about parking at Elks Lodges. Al and I went into research mode and started the membership process during our winter stay in Phoenix, Arizona.

Al was unanimously approved and is officially an “Elk” which opens up alternative options of places for us to park the RV.

Lodges located in major cities rarely have room for RV’s while other lodges, especially in the west, actually have an onsite RV Park complete with hook-ups.

Most offer the ability to park in the parking lot and some of these lots even have electric hook-up. Each lodge facility has varying amenities, but most lodges have a restaurant, bar, and the friendliest folks around.

We’ve been happily camped at the Elks Lodge in Westminster, Colorado, for the past three weeks – just 15 minutes northwest of downtown Denver. Our daughter lives only 5 minutes away, allowing lots of visits with mom and dad. This mama is a very happy camper being able to see her ‘favorite’ daughter on a regular basis.Aside from regular visits with our daughter, we’ve had the pleasure of socializing with neighbors, bloggers, and fellow Elks members.

The Westminster Elks Lodge does have an onsite RV Park with different types of hook-ups. They have everything from full-hook ups (sewer, water, electric) to electric and water, to their temporary sites offering electric only. The later is where we find ourselves camped.

Our original plan was to stay here for ten days. However, we seem to keep extending that stay. We’ve had several opportunities to move to a site with full hook-ups, but Al and I are content with our level parking lot site with electric only. We don’t normally like camping in a sardine can scenario, but the pluses FOR US seem to be outweighing the minuses. Gosh, how many options does one have to park a RV in a major city like Denver? So, no complaints here. That said, I’m not sure how much longer we’ll stay …. perhaps until the daughter says, “Isn’t it time for you guys to move on?”

Did I already mention the nicest folks we’ve been meeting? Last week Jim and Chris from the blog Geeks on Tour pulled in just a site over from us. We’ve enjoyed visiting with them and they even gave me a copy of their book; Beginners Guide to Picasa.

Thank you …. it’s enlightened me on a few features I didn’t know about. Now I’ll be checking into a few of their other products. Perhaps they can enlighten me further on the use of my phone that’s too ‘smart’ for me LOL.

Then there’s fellow Coloradans, Rick and JoAnne of Rick and JoAnne’s RV Travels. We shared a very enjoyable luncheon visit just days before they were heading out for Yellowstone National Park. We’ve also taken the opportunity to reconnect with some long time friends that live along the Front Range

And then of course are the every day meet ups with the folks coming and going. The Elks Lodge restaurant and bar makes it very convenient for congregating and socializing over drinks during happy hour. Keep those $3.50 margaritas coming!We do have plans to stop socializing and drinking just enough to get out and about to take in some of the sights. For now, here’s a couple of photos snapped while enjoying the bicycle trail that passes right by the Elks Lodge ……