An hours-long standoff snarled traffic for miles in both directions on a major east-west artery, clogged up side streets, and basically made for a miserable day for hundreds of travelers.

All that and no crime, as it turned out.

"We sat there for an hour and a half to travel three miles," Corey McBride said.

McBride was one of the many drivers stuck in the mess on Highway 24 after it closed near Manitou Springs around 2:30 Thursday afternoon.

At the center of the closure: a RV that investigators thought might be a rolling meth lab.

"In the process of conducting their business, [Parks and Wildlife] found this RV," explained El Paso County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jacqueline Kirby.

The RV initially caught the Parks and Wildlife officer's eye because it was obstructing traffic, but after noticing suspicious items associated with the RV, Kirby said the officer called State Patrol. After troopers got there, a woman ran from the RV and a man barricaded himself inside.

"Said that there were weapons inside," Kirby told 11 News.

After a two-hour-long standoff, the man surrendered. But it wasn't over for motorists, who had to endure the highway closure for another three-plus hours while the investigation shifted to the RV.

"Pretty much a standstill to 1 mph," Sunil Patel described the traffic. "We eventually missed the exit, but when we turned around from Serpentine and tried to come back -- was about two miles -- it took one and a half hours."

For a pair of tourists from North Carolina, it was reminiscent of the flooding closures in years past.

"A couple of years ago we were here and having dinner when it started flooding," Anita said when 11 News asked if she'd ever seen traffic like that before.

"Manitou Springs sure gets it," Dave added. The couple declined to give their last names.

After a thorough search by EPSO's SWAT team and State Patrol's HAZMAT team, the RV was deemed safe. Investigators determined it was not a meth lab.

Because the man never actually threatened anyone and did not show a weapon, the sheriff's office said he will not be facing charges. Neither will the woman, who was later found by police.