Colorado

Into the Fire

/ L. Ryan Storms / Leave a comment

Day 6: 6/7/24
From: Santa Fe, NM
To: Mesa Verde National Park, CO by way of Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area, NM
Distance: 318 miles

Up at 7, but Husband was up half the night with a migraine brought on by the IPA he had with his shrimp tacos last night. Maybe there’s some obscure rule that says we can’t *all* get good sleep at the same time. Because I slept like a baby. It was amazing.

We head to the breakfast buffet at the inn, which is delicious and loaded with an array of southwestern goodies. Pinto beans, mixed veggies, chili, plus your regular fare like eggs, biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit, cereal, pastries, and oatmeal. We eat in the beautiful courtyard where I’ve decided I’d like to set up permanent residence.

Then we’re on the road to Cabela’s for a seamless pickup of the air mat I ordered yesterday. Mat in hand, we head northward to the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area, the land changes drastically again. We drive through several reservations which are nothing more than rock, dirt, and scrub brush from the road. Breathtaking and lonesome.

Along the way, we pass someone in the desert who’s riding a bike loaded with supplies. “Where is he going?” I ask. “Where is he *coming* from???” He’s coming from the same whole lot of nowhere we just came from. I can’t imagine riding a bike on a desert highway. We soon figure out he’s heading towards the town of Cuba, NM just a few miles down the road.

By the time we’re 45 minutes from our destination, the surrounding land is low grass and scrub. Younger Child says it’s “Minecraft terrain.” Indeed. A half hour out and we start pointing out angry alien faces in rocks. 

We travel twelve miles down a dirt and gravel road to the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area and park, load up on sunscreen and water, and head out into the wilderness in hopes of seeing this:

What we didn’t plan on: Being there at the beginning of the hottest part of the day, there being NO maps at all of the trails, and the distance would would have to travel to see what we were hoping to see. 

So in the end, we didn’t see it. But we still walked 2 miles in blistering heat with no shade and got some cool pictures regardless, plus saw 75 million year old petrified wood. Still, everyone is surely wondering what Mom was thinking putting this one on our list, but when Mom planned this in January, it wasn’t a real feel temperature of 100 degrees.

We get back to the car, down more water, and blast the A/C for the next hour, stopping at lunchtime not to eat lunch, but to eat ice cream at a gas station. Because ice cream is the only food that even remotely sounds good right now. 3/4 of us have heat-related headaches. Older Child says Dad must have played his headache card last night.

We did get to see some horses in the wilderness area. Wild? Or Navajo owned? We don’t know. And without cell service, we can’t find out…

Older Child and I drank several bottles of water to try to get rid of the heat headaches…and found out later we both desperately had to visit a restroom but there’s nothing nearby. It was a fun hour.

We got to Morefield Campground in Mesa Verde National Park and were immediately greeted with stunning 360 degree views. There is no direction that isn’t incredible.

A short time later, we set up camp in a beautiful site with sun and shade and trees. A gust of wind tries to take our tent away before we have it staked down, but we hold on.

Minutes after we arrive, both kids are approached by a kid from another camp site who asks if they want to play tag with him. They help us finish setting up and then head over to play for a half hour before dinner. Older Child jokes they want to play snake tag, where you run around in the grass with no shoes on and see who gets bitten by a snake first. Yes, my kids are weird. They ended up not playing any kind of tag, snake or otherwise. Instead, they played Mancala and lost twice to an 11-year-old named Caleb.

A quick camp meal and some local exploring for Husband and kids, while I play with photos on my computer at the camp picnic table and receive a visit from a sweet black-tailed doe. At 9, we head to the amphitheater for a presentation by a park ranger about some of the animals in the park.

When we get back to our campsite, Mom makes another *very* bad decision. Older child is concerned about a noise in the grass and trees behind our tent so I take a flashlight behind to look and then fake freaking out at a bear. The kids *lose* it and it’s a mixture of laughter and tears for the next hour as adrenaline clears system. I am an awful mother. This is the kind of prank their dad would pull, not me… I may never get over feeling guilty over this one.

To try to ease the tension, I pull out my camera and show the kids the earth’s rotation by focusing on the North Star and keeping the shutter open to create star trails. They are intrigued and we agree we’ll try it again tomorrow night with a little more preparation beforehand.

For now, bed. An early wake up so we can head out to see the Pueblo dwellings along the mountain in the morning. Animals are also most active early in the morning, so who knows? If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll see a bear on the way…

Bound for Santa Fe

/ L. Ryan Storms / Leave a comment

Day 5: 6/6/24
From: Aspen, Colorado (Difficult Campground)
To: Santa Fe, NM
Distance: 300 miles

I’m up at 4 am. Why am I up at 4 am? Because my body is not used to camping. I made the executive decision somewhere in the blackness of night that I would flip my sleeping position so I could try to escape Husband’s snores, my head now at everyone else’s feet. It worked for the most part, but I’m generally a light sleeper and so I still wake with every shift of sleeping bags. The cold forest air has my head stuffy this morning, so allergy meds were my first go-to. (I thought about taking a Sudafed, but as we’re camping at an elevation of 8,000 ft, I’d rather not make my heart explode. It’s already working double time to keep up as it is.)

Up and out of the campground by 8 am, but not before first admiring a mule deer at a camp site next to us. It turns out Independence Pass isn’t as bad when driving the other direction. Or maybe it’s that we’re fresh off a night of sleep and haven’t been driving for 6 hours before getting to it this time. Who can say?

We make a quick stop in the teeny “town” of Twin Peaks so Husband can grab a coffee from a van and get to see an awesome magpie who lives nearby. They are big, gorgeous, incredibly smart birds in the raven family and I’m so glad I had the chance to see one live!

Before we head to Santa Fe, we need to find a Cabela’s. Husband cannot sleep on this creaky air mat again. It kept everyone waking every time he moved last night. A quick trip to Albuquerque tomorrow on our way to Mesa Verde National Park only adds 20 minutes to our drive, and there, we’ll find an air mat like mine waiting at curbside pickup at Cabela’s because the internet is a wonderful thing and I ordered one as soon as I had reception again.

On the way to New Mexico, we encounter a dust devil in southern Colorado. Fun! (And much better than encountering a tornado.)

We arrive in Santa Fe at a lovely inn in the middle of town around 2:30 pm, but check in isn’t until 4, so we walk the street and peruse the shops until our room is ready. There are so many vendors both outdoors and in with an array of beautiful artwork, pottery, jewelry, clothing, and so much more. You could easily spend a week shopping and half a year’s salary here.

We stop by the Loretto Chapel, but don’t go in since we’ve already gotten a call that our room is ready. But locals tell us about the “miraculous staircase,” so I make a point to find out more online. Neat? Yes. But we’re not terribly sad we missed viewing the inside in person. It’s plenty gorgeous from the outside.

Our room at the inn is lovely and inviting with a fireplace we almost certainly won’t use, and a walled porch with a gate that leads to a courtyard garden that separates the guest rooms from each other.

After hot showers and a rest, Husband and Older Child go out for dinner with promises to bring back food for me and Younger Child, who are just too beat to keep going today. I update the blog with all of yesterday’s activity, since we had zero reception for much of our adventures in the Rocky Mountains.

Aaaaand, by 9 pm we realize our air conditioning is broken. I figured we’d be sweltering during this trip. I just didn’t figure it would be while in an adorable inn in the middle of Santa Fe. I kind of figured it would be later when we were camping and hiking in the desert. Maintenance leaves at 8, so a poor security guard who doesn’t know anything about A/C repair is sent to our room. He does his very best to make it manageable. (It was getting rough when outside seemed cool at 80 degrees…) A few minutes later, he returns with a standing fan to help move the air in the room. We are very grateful.

Within a half hour, the room is tolerable and we are finally ready to get to bed. It’s been a low key night watching television after so much activity over the last few days.

Tomorrow, we head *back* to Colorado. But nowhere near Aspen this time, so we will NOT be heading over Independence Pass. Whew!

Moving Up in the World

/ L. Ryan Storms / Leave a comment

Day 4: 6/5/24
From: Cedar Bluff State Park, KS
To: Aspen, CO (Difficult Campground)
Distance: 528 miles

Up at 6 and out the door by 7:30 with a quick stop for groceries at Malay’s Market in WaKeeney, KS, Christmas City of the High Plains. There are three checkout lanes; This One, That One, and The Middle One. I love the humor. And friends. They bring your groceries to the car FOR you, even if you just have three bags. Hey, Kansans, I do have one question though. What is chewable nugget ice and why?

Halfway to the next stop and the kids marvel at the number of bugs splattered on the windshield. I’d forgotten about this part. Eastern Colorado is much like Kansas, but with ever-so-slightly barely rolling hills that prevent you from seeing very far.

But we spot the Rocky Mountains off in the distance to our left and that brings promise that the land will change drastically not long from now. We expect the heat of the day to give way to a chilly evening tenting at a campground not far from Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness where cell reception is spotty. So if you don’t see this post until later, that’s why…

The Rockies are in sight for so long that it’s almost a shock when we’re finally close enough to really see the features. (Especially after so much flat.) I can’t help but think about what pioneers much have thought as they traveled the continent on horses and in wagons when they saw these massive looming snowcapped mountains in front of them. I’ve come to understand that I will never possess the kind of fortitude it takes to uproot your family and immigrate to a new and wild place.

We take a quick lunch break at a scenic overlook just outside of Golden, Colorado where we meet up with this little fella, who didn’t seem to mind at all that we were there.

Up into the Rockies, we go, into the Arapaho National Forest. Younger Child is amazed by the signs to beware of elk and bighorn sheep. But we don’t see any right away. Then, just as Husband is mentioning how he’s usually pretty good at spotting wildlife, we round a corner to a small herd of bighorn sheep eating grass *right* next to the white line of the road. He really IS good.

The temperature has dropped from 87 degrees F to 59, and our car A/C has switched to heat. A small stop in the town of Silverthorne for fuel and nausea relief from the curving, twisting mountain roads. Being in Silverthorne is a bit like being in the middle of the Austrian Alps. Here’s a town. And here are large, snowy peaks surrounding the town on all sides. (Not like the Alps? Here are a bunch of fast food restaurants and gas stations.)

We opt to take Independence Pass again and I have to wonder what we were thinking. By the time we pass Arkansas Headwaters, Younger Child and I keep the windows open to keep from letting the windy roads get the better of us. I remind myself that this was the hardest drive of our cross-country trip last time. These roads are tough! After this, it should be easy sailing by comparison!

I start to get excited as we near the top, though, as the birch trees have begun to show up. Aspen, soon! But first, a snowball fight at 12,095 feet. In shorts, t-shirts, and sandals. Ah, that’s right. *That’s* why we took Independence Pass! 

View from the tent

We arrive at the campground with the help of a downloaded offline map and get ourselves set up by 4 pm. (Kids are less than impressed with the campground pit toilets. This is their first encounter with them and they are underwhelmed to say the least.) But there’s just one problem when it comes to figuring out where to head next. Maroon Lake isn’t on my map and I can’t use the internet to find it. 

So we head to Aspen for dinner (and cell service) to discover that Maroon Lake is actually an hour away. Which…just isn’t in the cards after an 8 hour drive that included Independence Pass today.

We’ll have to be content shopping in Aspen and hanging at the campground this evening. And when I say “shopping,” know that I mean dinner at the Silverpeak Grill and gelato from the Paradise Bakery. Plus a couple of souvenir stickers. Certainly, we didn’t pick up goods from Prada, Ralph Lauren, Dior, Gucci, or any of the other posh stores we can’t afford. It turned out to be a good afternoon despite having to reroute  our original plans.

Older Child is a little disappointed about missing Maroon Bells, but they don’t really want to spend another 2 hours driving there and back. No one does. When we get back to the campground, Husband and Older Child head out for a hike in the day use area of the White River National Forest while Younger Child and I relax in the tent. Sleep will hit hard tonight.

Oh. 

And did I mention we need to drive back over Independence Pass again tomorrow on our way to New Mexico?

<sobs>

Onward and Upward.  Very, Very Upward.

/ L. Ryan Storms / Leave a comment

Original Post: July 24, 2015

We’re up at 5:30 and on the road by 6, but not without first appreciating the views that early morning Kansas plains have to offer.  Deer in the tall grasses, pheasants calling unseen, and the golden sun rising over the horizon.

We decide to stop for gas early in the trip, since we’re low and we want to make sure we get a full day of driving as long as we can.  What’s this?  Oh, gas at the next exit.  So, off we go, but there’s no gas station in sight.  Instead, we drive two miles down the road to a “town” that wasn’t yet awake.  Though the sign in the window proclaims it to be open, it’s quite obvious the gas station is not.  And given the other sign they’ve posted, I think I’ll pass on the hospitality offered in this town anyway…

No need for me to guess, I’ve no need to be here, thanks!

We eventually do fill the gas tank and I am especially glad to be on the road to Colorado.  At the very least, it has to be cooler, right?  It was a long drive, longer than we expected, coupled with an extra 1-hour delay in Denver.  Denver…what’s that smell?  As we sit in traffic, waiting to get back on our way, we realize that we’re smelling…wait…could that be what we think it is?  Yes, pot.  Hey man, a mellow traffic jam is the best kind, I suppose.  At least the road rage will be kept to a minimum.

When I planned this particular leg of the journey, I noticed that the roads we’d chosen happened to be marked with “Closed in Winter” warnings on the maps.  But, hey, we were journeying in the very middle of summer.  Surely the roads would be fine.  No, it’s true that we didn’t encounter any snow or ice on the road.  But, we did encounter roads only 1 1/2 lanes wide with more hairpins than any elegant bridal up-do.  

Remember back on Day 2 when I said I wasn’t afraid of heights?  At this particular point in my life, I seriously began to reconsider.  At one time in the drive, Nate pulled off to one side (where there actually was a small side…) and pointed my camera straight down the ravine below.  The result was this:

And it doesn’t nearly do it justice.  I won’t lie.  During the time we were pulled over, my heart actually might have tried to leap out of my chest.  (Probably just trying to cling to the road in case the rest of me went tumbling below with the car and all of our belongings.)  I am not afraid of heights, but I’ll fully admit to having a healthy fear of landslides and could only too clearly picture our car slipping off the shoulder and into the empty space below.  

You can image my relief, then, when Nate pulled the car back on the road and we resumed our drive.  When we finally reached the summit at 11,318 feet we had to pull over one more time.  Why?  To do this, naturally:

Who doesn’t want to throw a snowball in June?  By the time we are on our way down the other side, we’re happy for an excuse to stop at a rest stop and trailhead not only to use the rest rooms, but also to check out the ice cold stream flowing with impressive turbulence just off the trail. Naturally Nate can’t resist and he throws in a line.  He catches two cutthroat trout, but both make it off the line before he can reel them in.  A disappointment, but then, he hadn’t really expected to catch anything at all at a rest stop.

As we walk back to the car, the one thing that strikes me as odd is a slight dizzy feeling that I can’t seem to shake.  Before we’d left, a coworker had asked me if I had ever suffered from altitude sickness and up until that point, it hadn’t even been something I’d thought about.  I laughed it off, thinking it sounded ridiculous.  “I’m not even leaving the country!” I’d thought.  But, after she’d brought it up, of course, I did a little research on it to familiarize myself with the symptoms…you know…just in case (Hint: Read – “to add to my repertoire of things about which to worry”).  Now, as I fought a funny lightheadedness, I realized it might actual be a real threat after all!

Our home away from home.

Thankfully, dizziness was the only symptom I experienced in the Rockies.  We camped at the Silver Queen Campground in the White River National Forest near the Maroon Bells Recreation Area.  The campsite, our first true tenting experience on this trip, was perfect.  Gorgeous tall aspens and reed-like grasses made the campground.  The only downside – bear boxes!  Yikes, that meant we were really in bear country now (black bears, anyway). I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I told you that I made sure every last smelly, aromatic, scented item in our car or on our person ended up in that box.  According to the brochures, bears find the scent of soap, deodorant, detergent, and many other odd things attractive.  They’ll come around to investigate dish soap just as quickly as they will for a cooked ham.  (Well, I didn’t actually test that one.  It’s entirely possible they’ll move a little faster for a juicy ham, but I took the brochure’s word for it and stashed everything smelly into that big metal box, regardless!)

After setting up camp, we debated just calling it a night, but we were both too excited to actually relax.  So…off to Maroon Lake for some stunning views of the Maroon Bells and the amazingly clear waters of the lake.  Nate threw on a pair of waders and was in the lake without even having to be asked if that’s what he wanted to do.  He caught (and actually reeled in) his first cutthroat trout.  Though the fish here are small, they are native to the area and brilliant in color…which kind of makes sense because just about everything is brilliant in color.  It’s an amazing view and breathtaking (literally – remember the altitude involved).

When we finally get back to our campsite and climb into our sleeping bags, we’re surprised to learn that at 9:30 pm, it’s still as bright as 5 pm back home.  How is this possible?  It seemed to take forever to finally get dark.  We’re up early (and several times during the night to use the bathroom – high altitudes = peeing a lot) and at 5 am we decide on one more trip to the lake to see the sunrise before we go.

Amazing what a difference just 12 hours can make. On the left, Maroon Lake and the reflection of the Bells at sunset.  On the right, sunrise sets the Maroon Bells on fire.

Getting up early sure does have its benefits.  Not only are we treated to an amazing sunrise on the peaks above, but we’ve also gotten to see our first elk, mule deer, marmots, and grouse.  I’d call that a successful Rocky Mountain trip.

Next destination?  Funny you should ask.  We actually have two in mind for Day 5 – Arches National Park and Bryce Canyon.  It promises to be another long day, but I guess they all are when you get up at 5 am.  I just looked forward to finding a lower altitude where I didn’t have to pee so often.

Beautiful water. Beautiful fish.