maroon bells

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!

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>

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!

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.

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