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.

Bucket List

Once upon a time, I took this last minute road trip out to Colorado. That trip inspired a passion in me I hadn't realized was there-- the desire to see everything that I could. One glimpse of the Rockies and I couldn't believe I'd gone my whole life without seeing them.




Which made me think, what other amazing things are there that I might miss?

So, I started researching, daydreaming, and scheming. I've developed a pretty extensive bucket list at this point (which basically consists of every place I've ever heard of anyone visiting). Since it exists solely in my head at this point, I thought I'd try and hash some of it out here.

For the sake of time, let's just talk about the first ten.

1. Peru
2. Hawaii
3. Alaska
4. Redwoods National Park

5. Glacier National Park
6. Badlands National Park
7. Isle Royal National Park (are you noticing a trend? Let's just say all 50+ national parks are on the unabridged version of this list)
8. Venice, Italy
9. Cuba
10. Olympic National Park (sorry, couldn't leave this gem off here).

At some point, I'll dedicate a post to each of these places and some possible itinerary ideas. Who knows, maybe after I win the lottery I'll be grateful I got all the planning done for my future travels!

Southwest Road Trip

A lazy afternoon spent staring at the giant map hanging on our office wall, combined with some friends who were planning on hiking Havasu Falls, led to an idea. And it didn't take long for that idea to evolve into a plan. A very loosely hashed plan, that I hope to brain dump about here from time to time.

So anyways. The plan? A Southwest road trip. Fly into Vegas, rent a camper van (it's a thing!), and head to the Grand Canyon. Spend a couple days, then drive up to Utah-- specifically Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. We'd see as much as we could, and then make our way back to Vegas. Enjoy a night there, and then fly out the next morning.

And that was a great plan. Until some friends mentioned they'd done the same trip, only they'd gone west and touched the ocean. In less amount of time than we were planning on taking for our trip. April spent one of her younger years living in Huntington Beach, and even if she couldn't remember much of the time, we would be so close... and oh, on our way there we could see Death Valley National Park. And Sequoia. And King's Canyon. Plus a chance to pass through Joshua Tree National Park on the way back. 

And what city would we be not too far from at that point? Sedona, Arizona, with its vortexes and its awe-inspiring red rock formations. Which, at that point, you're not that far from Petrified Forest National Park, either. 

From there, it's back to the original destinations-- the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce. Relax and hike around for a few days, then Vegas. 

We'll see what the final itinerary looks like, but I think it's a solid start. Four states, eight national parks, and over thirty hours in the camper van (which may be upgraded to an RV-- undecided, there). Should be good!

Rambling Revery

Merriam Webster defines ramble as:

1. To walk or go from one place to another place without a specific goal, purpose, or direction.
2. To go from one subject to another without any clear purpose or direction.

And revery:

1. Daydream
2. The condition of being lost in thought

A fitting name for a blog run by a travel-obsessed space cadet. I have some hopes and dreams for this blog, but for now, I thought I should post some kind of introduction.

Island in the Sky

That's me. And I don't quite know what to elaborate on. I'm a Michigander, born and raised. When I was a kid, we'd go visit my cousins in Wisconsin and I soon realized that I loved those long car rides. As I grew older, I tested that love with longer road trips out to Chicago, Washington DC, and a few other places before setting my sights on a nineteen hour car ride to Denver. I took that one solo, and loved every minute-- including those white knuckled moments in Indiana when I wasn't sure if my Yaris could handle the impromptu ice storm, or lost in Big Thomson Canyon at night with no map or GPS. Currently on my trip radar, there's a trip to Traverse City, Michigan/Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in May, Michigan's Upper Peninsula in July, Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota in July, and a Nevada/California/Arizona/Utah road trip slated for September... and hopefully a few spontaneous camping adventures thrown in along the way, too.

I'm passionate about seeing everything I can, and excited to have a place to dump all the daydreams and itineraries bouncing around my head. More soon!