Milford Lake State Park 2

It’s straight northwest of Junction City, KS kind of smack in the middle of nowheresland… Drive time from Denver is approximately 8-10 hours depending on how often you have to stop for get and stretch or eat. Initially we where going to start our vacation on Thursday and head out early Thursday morning but I decided it would be a better idea if we headed out Wednesday afternoon, after work–boy was I glad I made this call…

Headed East

So off to the Wakeeney, KS KOA we go!  Headed out Wednesday around 6pm… Trailer in tow, bikes in the back, dogs tucked in on the back seat and work is a mere memory, one I hope to scrub from my mind for awhile. The drive was Wakeeney is fairly mind dulling. Without a coffee one could easily fall asleep at the wheel. We made it to the KOA around 12:30 CST. Next time we’ll stay at the Goodland KOA, it’s a bit closer to the Colorado border so the drive time isn’t as long and I think it’s more half way.  I made the mistake of rushing the decision to leave Denver around 4:30 so had I been a bit more thoughtful I might have noticed the closer KOA but it was all good.  Not much to speak about for the Wakeeney KOA. We got in late and the next morning we left around 9:30 anyway so we didn’t see much of anything really.

We stopped at a rest area somewhere along the way down I70 in Kansas to use the facilities and stretch and found some fauna tucked away into a wheel rim. I’m very surprised but I don’t think Mom built her home here so I can just be thankful that someone must have rescued them.

Resting at the rest stop

Mom?

Baby Chicks!

Tornado Destruction

The rest of the drive from Wakeeney was only about 3 hours and man was I really glad to get to Milford a bit early. By the time we got in we only had a couple of hours to setup and then it start pouring… I forgot to mention though, somewhere about halfway between Salina and Junction City we rolled through a tornado torn area. There were a lot of trees that had been over turned. I managed to capture a picture while driving! Yea, I cam and drive 🙂

We finally made it! We’ll call Milford State Park home for the next four nights!

When you first arrive, depending on the route that you took into the park you can either cross over the dam or not. We happened to come in through the entrance crossing the dam. There’s quite a few different campgrounds along the shores of Milford, we chose to stay in Eagle Ridge Equestrian Campground. This actually is our second time here. Eagle Ridge is nestled up on the ridge, on the east side of the lake.  This campground is beautiful! It’s very well maintained, lots of trees around for shade and the folks that come are pretty good people–I’ve enjoyed most of them.

Crossing the Milford Dam

Opposite side of the dam

Wet, Wet, Wet!

Is there a lake here?

Couch bound hounds

Friday was quite a bit nicer although we got more rain! You could see the lake from the campsite much more clearly. The kids were able to get out and play and they even made some new friends!

View of the Lake

View of the Lake

View of the Lake

Mom & Dad Hanging Out

The sky’s about to open up!

Just a random shot

Memorial Weekend!

The Skys Falling!

Still Falling…

And Still Falling…

Friday we didn’t do a whole lot… Well, most of the trip we really didn’t do much. It was pretty quiet and relaxing, just the way I like it! It’s nice to get away from the city, the people, the noise pollution, light pollution and just be out. The kids got the play with the other kids in the campground and we took them to the swim beach a couple of times. Aside from that, Milford Lake seems to be a pretty quiet place most of the time.  Last year when when were there, there was a fishing tournament going on so there where quite a few boats around but otherwise it’s always been a great, quiet and relaxing place to be.  We did end up with quite a bit of sun on our trip but this time we mostly just hung around our camp spot to do what you do when you camp… Relax!

Well, it’s time! It’s time for everyones most favorite part of the vacation… it’s time to go home… It’s time to pack all of our stuff, and head back out on the open road… The 500 mile, 9+ hour journey back to Denver. The open lanes, passing truckers with the wind buffing the trailer. The lots of cars zooming by! Oh, and I did I mention those guys that I thought were trying to pass me on the right? After I was trying to pass a trucker and get back in the right lane?  Who does that!!! I thought I was going to show them! I zoomed back into the right lane. Then the guys speed up next to me on the driver side, rolls down his window! What!?! “What is this crap!”, is what I”m thinking.

So I rolled my window down thinking I was going to get some crap! The guy yells to me, “Hey man, you have a low tire on your trailer… it’s the right rear tire!”.  WOW! Was I wrong! For a moment there I thought he was still messing with me… Could it be? Could I really have a flat tire? I’ve NEVER had a flat tire… Not on my Truck, not on my previous cars… NEVER! And only 2 more hours until we’re home! Alright, I pondered whether or not I should pull over… but I guess I should. You never know and I sure don’t want to be riding on a low tire if it’s true! So we pulled off the highway to a gas station. I head back to the trailer and BAM! Sure enough the tire was almost flat! That bad boy was LOW! I pulled out the tire gauge and I think there was about 10 lbs of air pressure.

Flat Tire!

The Ramp!

Tire Changed!

Back… Hurts…

Ouch! Well, nothing to do but get it changed. Now I’m not one to ask for help if I can do it myself. I like to be independent. I like having my own tools for the job and I try to be as prepared as possible for situations like this. I’m not going to wait around a couple of hours for roadside assistance. So pop off the spare, pull out the tire ramp and get er’ done!  We got back on the road. It took about 45-60 minutes to get the tire changed but it all went smoothly.  I was wrong about the guys on the highway and if you’re reading this post, Thank you for telling me! I hope good karma finds you guys!

A special Thanks to my Dad for giving me the tire ramp! It saved my @$$ and I always keep it in the front storage compartment of the trailer. You never know when you’ll need it! My dad bought the tire ramps in a set of two, to do just this exact thing. And like I mentioned before, I try to be as prepared as possible for issues like this. Unfortunately, my impact gun didn’t have quite enough power to break the lugs loose, but thankfully I had more tools to do the job.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this cover of Milford! There’s so much around here to see and do, from hiking, biking, boating or going into town and seeing the local stuff! We’ll be back again sometime!

Some more pictures of our site and area for your viewing pleasure…