When the season’s wound down and hardly anyone (but more than you’d expect!) is out camping, it’s a fine time to go book those spots you really wanted to stay at last time but holy cow look at that the whole calendar’s full! Such was the case with Eleven Mile State Park, housing…you guessed it…Eleven Mile Reservoir which is the main fresh water supply for the Denver metro area.

Down by the lake’s edge—please note I did not say river—you’re pretty much on your own in terms of services. Thank goodness we have solar, but as the sun’s lower in the sky, we can’t gather enough photons to last more than 4 days. Especially with the power-hungry Starlink, otherwise vital in areas with scant cell coverage. Ah, the price we pay for connectivity with the outside world. At least we have a generator in a pinch.

You’re not going to be using your awning for shade much here. The breeze can be strong and if you’re not diligent it’ll take the awning right off its arms, and bend the arms back the way you’d see Freddie do to a too-stoopid-to-live-frat-boy in Friday the 13th. The upside is it clears out all the bugs that wish they could hang out and bite, buzz, or otherwise annoy you. The downside is the wind dies down sometimes, and so our teeny tiny little terrors come for us. Straight through the small-yet-big-enough holes our cats have successfully widened in the window screens. Alas.

Nonetheless, the views can’t be beat. So there’s that.