So, did I learn from my solo road trip mistakes? A little. I took another solo-ish trip a few months later, and I definitely took a different approach. Which brings me to...

Colorado 2-- a trip that was a solo trip for a second, and that also involved lots of Utah

(I'm working on a catchier name.)

I started my journey once again on a Wednesday after work. This time around, the commute was a hair shorter-- about 20 minutes to the airport, where Frank dropped me off so I could avoid paying to park my car. Then, just a quick couple hours of blind terror miles above the ground.

Flying is not my favorite. I hadn't done it in about a decade, either, so I'd actually forgotten how much I hate it. I had the window seat, and the business traveler stuck in the middle seat next to me really seemed thrilled that I kept grabbing his armrest and interrupting his work. I did find that controlling the window helped, though-- I could look when I felt brave, and close the blinds when I didn't.

When I arrived in Denver, my original plan had been to use public transportation to get to my hostel downtown. I realized, however, that it was getting late and dark. I had my purse, a carry-on backpack, and a suitcase. And I don't know my way around Denver, at all. I also had just received an email from Lyft offering me $30 off my first ride. Sold!

I downloaded the app and requested a driver. Within 10 minutes, he arrived and we were off. I'd only used Uber in the past, and even then it was with a group of people and someone else handled it. I was basically new to the concept, and pleasantly surprised. My driver chatted with me the whole way about Denver, being a Lyft driver, and life in general. When it turned out he'd punched the wrong address in his GPS, he quickly took me to the correct location.

I stayed at the 11th Avenue Hotel and Hostel (Insert Link). I reserved a private room with my own bathroom-- I was paranoid about my stuff getting stolen, and I like long showers. It was worth the splurge, and still came out to under $50 for a room right smack in downtown Denver. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat.

Once I arrived in my room, I read for a bit and passed out.

Room for Improvement

Not shockingly, there were a few things on my first big solo trip that I would've done differently. Don't get me wrong, the trip was great-- but next time I might:

1. Look at the weather forecast on my way home

This should've been a given, but the blizzard I ran into on my way home caught me by complete surprise. I could've planned much better had I looked at the weather for my whole drive-- I'd looked at the forecast for Detroit, but Detroit didn't get hit with the storm. Just everywhere else.

Next time around, I'll check that out in advance.

2. Familiarize myself with my route

Losing my GPS signal at night in the mountains made for a good story, but in the moment it was mildly terrifying. If I'd looked at a map and drawn out a route, or printed directions up from Google in advance, I could've given myself a little peace of mind that I was at least headed in the right direction. If I didn't have a set destination it would've been different, but I had a hotel I needed to reach-- since then, I've been religious about jotting down some directions before I leave on any trip.

3. Plan out some stops

I like winging it, but the dingy hotel I stayed at on my way home was just a hair outside of my comfort zone. I don't mind some level of shadiness. This place, however, was extreme. Since I didn't want to reserve a hotel, I should've researched some options along my way BEFORE I was too tired to keep driving or care.

4. Take an extra day

Nearly 40 hours round trip of driving-- not counting the driving I did while actually in Colorado-- got to be a bit much for me. I'm not used to spending that kind of time in the car, and I was sore and crabby because of it. Giving myself an extra day to drive home, or to unwind in Estes Park, would've been very much appreciated. I loved that it was a whirlwind adventure, but now that I've had that experience I'll go ahead and take the extra day next time.

5. Take more pictures

When I travel, I prefer to live in the moment. But afterwards, I love having those pictures to look back on. I haven't found that perfect balance yet, so I need to keep looking. Also, I am really ambivalent over having my own picture taken, and I tend not to take very many selfies. Normally I'd say that's a good thing, but when it's just me on the trip and I want a picture of myself by a rock, I need to take that selfie. One goal for next time is to be more aware of good picture opportunities.

Colorado: the drive home

The drive home was mostly a blur of wind, semis, and open fields. The scenery had lost some of its allure by that point, and selling my car to pay for a plane ticket home began to seem like a better and better idea. I made it to Iowa, near the Indiana border, when I decided to stop for the night at a Motel 6. It was cheap and I was broke and tired enough to accept the smell of old cigarettes and human waste that permeated the hallways.

Still, I cocooned myself in a couple jackets and did my best not to actually touch anything in the room. I've stayed in some cheap places, but usually I do my research first so I find the decent ones. This had been a last minute stop, since I'd originally hoped to make the entire nineteen hour drive in one day.

The next morning I was greeted to a surprise ice storm that stayed with me for the next several hours, turning what should've been a five or six hour drive into an all day event. At one point an ice chunk fell of an overpass and landed on my driver's side windshield wiper as the blade was wiping the window. It wound up denting the wiper right in the middle and exposing some of the metal, conveniently rendering it useless right in the middle of the storm. I stupidly kept trying to use the wiper, and I now have a giant scratch across the middle of my windshield as a souvenir from the drive.

I tried to nap for a bit in a Wendy's parking lot after calling April and finding out that the weather sucked there, too. If I wanted to make it home that day, I was just going to have to take it slow. Easier said than done when you're desperate to get out of the car, but I made it in one piece nonetheless.

Up next-- what I did right on this solo road trip, and what I'd do differently next time...

Colorado Part 4

After hiking Table Mountain, I headed back to Estes Park. It was mid-afternoon at that point, and while I would've loved to hunt down another trail to hike, I had to be up early the next morning to start my nineteen hour trek home. This trip was more about the journey than any one destination.

The ride back from Table Mountain took me on the same roads as my drive to/from Boulder the day before. I was beginning to feel a little more comfortable on them, and found myself wishing my daily commute could be similarly jaw-dropping. Colorado has made it to my short list of places I'd love to live some day. Some private land on the side of a mountain? Yes, please.

Once back at my hotel I relaxed for a couple hours, until the sun started to dip down in the sky. My goal was to take in as much of the sunset as I could while walking the loop around the lake that I'd explored the day before. I'd only walked a bit of it, so I figured this would be my chance to see the whole thing.

I turned a corner and saw a car driving slowly, coming towards me. Initially I hesitated and debated turning around-- I'm easily spooked. But then I noticed why the car was driving so slowly-- a herd of elk were hanging out on the other side of the street.









Fortunately I saw them before I came across the sign about dangerous elk.

The sun was at the perfect angle. These pictures don't do the view justice.











It got a little chilly as the sun set. I made it back to my hotel shortly before dark, and passed out.

Colorado Part 3

My last full day in Colorado-- this was a whirlwind trip, there's no doubt. I woke up early and started researching Rocky Mountain National Park. Since I didn't have a lot of time between when I decided to go to CO and when I actually went, I never hashed out exactly what my plans were beyond a few tentative trail links that I'd emailed to myself.

Upon further review, Rocky Mountain seemed a bit daunting. In hindsight, I would have been fine. But I was envisioning myself stranded on a snowy mountain summit a la the movie about some very unfortunate hikers on Everest I'd just watched. It was disappointing, but I put Rocky Mountain National Park on hold for another time when I'd hopefully have someone with me.

My back-up plan was a trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater down in Golden, CO. This was a bucket list item, as I've had a long standing obsession with both red rocks and music. That video of U2 playing Sunday, Bloody Sunday against a backdrop of jagged rocks and desert sky sends chills down my spine every time.

I had to see it in person-- I was too close not to. So, I made the trek to Golden. It was about an hour away, but the scenery was flawless and I didn't mind the drive. On the way, I passed Table Mountain trailhead and made a note to myself to stop on the way back if I was up for it.

I parked in a distant parking lot from the stage, and hiked up a big hill to the rock tunnel and a closer parking lot that was full.

People were everywhere-- it was over 70 degrees out in March, so everyone was taking advantage of the weather. I took my time walking around the stage and the bleachers before journeying over to the Trading Post Trail.

It was a short loop, but so freaking cool. I could stare at those rocks for hours.

After I'd had my fill, I wandered back to my car and decided to check out Table Mountain. This hadn't been on my radar at all when I was looking up places to hike, but it turned out to be a wonderful choice.

 You start at the base of the little mountain, and take this incredibly steep hill up to the top. I'm not sure exactly how long the incline is-- maybe a half mile-- but it's brutal. I walked part of the way, and came across this-

Another hiker confirmed it wasn't a rattler, but getting by him still required getting closer than I'd prefer. Still, I managed, and kept going. There were signs posted about rattlers, so I made a mental note to keep an eye out.

The beauty of Table Mountain is, once you reach the top you can hike on a perfectly level surface for as long as you'd like. The loop I was on was about four miles, and much of it was spent enjoying the view and easy hiking terrain.

Once I was done up there, it was a long but easy downhill hike back to my car.

Colorado Part 2

After I'd been sufficiently wowed by Estes Park, I headed out to Boulder. Specifically, the Chautauqua Trailhead.

The elevation proved to be more taxing than I'd expected, but I made it to the outlook near the end of my trail, and hopped up on a big rock to rest and catch my breath. It was March, but Colorado weather is volatile-- mid-60s, though there had been snow on my car that morning.

Looking back from the trail, towards the trailhead

One of the Flatirons

Terrible picture of the view from my perch

I made my way back down to the trailhead, which doubled as a cute city park. Boulder seems like a great city-- somewhere I wouldn't mind living.

From there, I drove to the city's downtown area to hit up Native Foods-- a vegan chain restaurant I fell in love with out in California and sometimes seriously consider driving to Chicago just to eat at. I don't necessarily mind chain restaurants on vacations-- my rule is not to eat somewhere that I can eat at home (the exception being when I'm on the road and subject to whatever the rest stop gods want to throw my way). If it's a chain we don't have in Detroit, it's okay with me. This trip was low budget, so this was the only meal I treated myself to the entire time-- the rest of the trip, even when I was on the road, was full of peanut butter sandwiches and a truly shameful amount of Sun Chips and Pringles.

After my soul food bowl, peanut butter parfait, and mint lemonade (hiking at elevation must make me hungry...) I headed out. On the way to Boulder I'd been amazed at the scenery on the drive, but was too excited to hike to stop and enjoy it. On my way back, I pulled over at a few scenic overlooks.

Snowcaps!

I was a little intimidated by the roads-- like I said, mountain driving was pretty new to me. But it wasn't nearly as scary as I expected, and there was never a time when I felt like my tiny Yaris couldn't handle the road ahead.

Back in Estes Park, I took a walk down to the lake.

Statue of a moose named Samson

I got back to my hotel and promptly passed out. It was a short trip and I was trying to see what I could, but sometimes your body just doesn't give you a choice.

Colorado Part One

I can still remember the moment that sparked my passion for traveling. I'd taken this last minute trip to Colorado-- my sister and I were going to drive down to Tennessee to visit my brother, but she'd had to cancel a few days out. I still had the time off of work. That, combined with a desperate need to get away from the things going on in my personal life at that time-- along with a healthy dose of Tom Petty's American Girl on my lunch break-- inspired my last minute road trip.

"After all, it was a great, big world... with lots of places to run to..." Thanks, Tom Petty.

And so it was decided. Nineteen hours through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and, at last, Colorado. I left after work on a Wednesday, spent the night at a sketchy Motel 6 in Indiana, and hit the road fresh the next morning. It was March, but the weather was beautiful. Slightly windy, especially through the plains in Nebraska.

Once I got past the Chicago area, everything I was seeing was new to me-- the ride flew by, punctuated by stops every four hours for gas. I'm not a stopper when it's just me. I'd much rather get myself a good soundtrack for the drive and some changing scenery, and just go. And so I did.

I entered colorful Colorado late afternoon, just before the sun started to set. I remember turning off I-80 to head towards Loveland and Estes Park as the light was beginning to fade. I could see what looked like clouds in the distance, and lamented the fact that I couldn't see any mountains yet. Until I realized that those clouds-- those were, in fact, mountains. The Rocky Mountains, very far in the distance. 

 An addictive blend of awe and adrenaline took me right to Big Thomson Canyon, the link between Loveland and Estes Park. By that time, it had grown dark, which would've been fine if not for my terrible night vision, failing GPS signal thanks to the mountains, and lack of any kind of real map. I'd been the passenger while driving through the Appalachians, but had no experience driving on or near mountains myself. Great!

I think I drove about five miles an hour the entire time. Imposing rock walls on one side and drop offs that I couldn't quite make out on the other. I had no idea where I was going, which turned out to be fine-- I was on a major through road where my only real option was to head into Estes Park, anyways. But I didn't know that then, so I just pushed forward and hoped for the best. 

Once I hit Estes Park, my GPS started working again and I found my hotel, the Rocky Mountain Park Inn. 

Taken the next day

And all of that, leads me to the next morning. I stepped out of my hotel and saw mountains. Estes Park has the unique distinction of being located IN the Rocky Mountains-- it's a great access point for those hitting up Rocky Mountain National Park, which, thanks to it being March and my first time solo traveler anxieties, I did not. I was grateful to experience a little bit of the Rockies from the comfort of Estes Park, however.

I ventured out a little further to the water, and saw my first snow caps. 

That. That did it for me. From that moment on, I was hooked-- wanting to see everything. With a couple trips back to where it first began, of course.