I am back from our road trip out west! We went to Colorado and the 4 corners area. We went to 5 National Parks, drove to the top of mountains, walked on trails, saw animals and museums. It was 2 weeks filled with great times. If you want to see the photos you can click on my Instagram page in the side bar menu.
This road trip was epic. My husband and I haven’t taken 2 weeks off together in 10 years. I was concerned about keeping up with the pace with my long Covid but I did well. I walked 7 thousand steps one day! I did a lot of riding in the car, 4400 miles, and saw this nation like I have never seen before.
Road trips are nice and slow. You get to absorb the scenery, google the points of interest that you are driving by and learning history as you go. I had never been to Kansas before. I had forgotten how vast the plains and the desert is. The Rocky Mountains are massive, and I had views I had never seen before. I love the adventure, the discovery and awe you can only get on road trips.
Our itinerary was large, and we knew we could not hit everything in two weeks. My husband is great at driving a very efficient trip, as well as getting all the hotel rooms as we went. We trimmed the trip down once we started as we realized we couldn’t go to Dinosaur national park this time and limit our drive in New Mexico. Instead, we could do more in Rocky Mountain national park as well as attend a Highland game in Estes Park.
We saw so many beautiful places, met some really lovely people in our path and had some great food. Let me recap the trip briefly
Day one drove to Kansas City, Mo
Day two drove to Pueblo, Colorado. We were remembering that all our childhood if you wanted a government pamphlet you send a letter with a self-addressed envelope to Pueblo. I wonder how many millions of pamphlets they sent out?
Day 3 We drove to Durango, Co but on the way there we stopped at Great Sands National park a massive, gorgeous surprise, went through famous Wolf Creek pass and saw pronghorn!
We stayed in Durango a couple of days. We ate at the Diamond Belle saloon which was a period bar with Saloon girls as waitresses. Took the Durango to Silverton steam train ride which was an 8 hour trip and amazing! Caught amazing sunset at Mesa Verde national Park and toured the mesa the next morning. The sights are ancient cliff dwellings on the drive, amazing vistas and a lovely museum with artifacts they found including pottery.
Next up was driving to Arches national Park in Moab, Utah. We went to get some sunsets, my husband tried astrophotography, and we were awed. Next day was the proper tour of the park and we had time to go to Canyonlands nearby. Such vast views from the tops of the canyons!!
On to Colorado and we took the google path through Steamboat springs to catch the beginning of the High ridge trail and drive it ending in Estes Park. We were sent through small mountain areas, down a dirt road and saw lovely country even before we got to the park. The road in the park goes up above the tree line in the mountains and that was a little scary as I discovered at Mesa Verde climbing mountains with switchbacks scared me a little but the view from the top was worth it! We saw a Moose, elk, deer and many birds.
Next day we went to a Highland game in Estes Park and went back to view more of the national park that we didn’t see the day before. What a day, the festival was great we saw the Harp Twins from YouTube perform, saw our friend Emily set a world record in sheaf, and my husband found his clan’s tent. Sadly, I didn’t find my clan there.
On to Colorado Springs where my husband wanted to test his driving skills and drive up to the top of Pike’s peak 14, 000 feet! What scared me here was not only the height above the tree line but people were cycling up to the top and coasting down. I was so fearful of seeing an accident. This is a strenuous trip on your body even in a car, it is hard on your car if you aren’t careful, and I needed to recuperate from altitude sickness afterwards. We ordered take out and drank massive amounts of water.
Next day we toured Garden of the Gods which has Red rock formations and then went to the Olympic and ParaOlympic museum. So very inspiring.
On the way home we stopped at Quilting is my therapy quilt shop in Liberty Mo, and last stop was Missouri Star in Hamilton, Mo. I had the best time shopping and made a few purchases.
a quick video recap:
Then the long drive home. We have been resting up. Now to get used to Eastern time zone. Laundry and groceries are done. Now prepare to go back to work.
A couple of take aways from the vacation. Take your vacation and go to the places you always wanted to go. Life is short. Spend the money and go. Next, I didn’t realize that it took me a week to relax and feel less stressed out. So, take 2 weeks at once, I haven’t done it in a long time and regret years I didn’t do it.
Second, there were tons of people in our travels. September didn’t seem to be an off season. Do your research, make sure you have timed tickets to get into venues. Pre buy your tickets online before you get to your venue to save time. Take the maps offered as the internet isn’t reliable most places.
Food wasn’t as easy to find in some areas. We ate out and didn’t starve but it wasn’t as plentiful as I expected. Travel with bags of snacks to be sure you don’t go hungry. Water also.
Lastly, people were gracious, kind an restored my faith in humanity. We didn’t hit rude, belligerent people until we got back home. People took turns, let others see the sights, drove politely, used traffic circles correctly and obeyed traffic signs. It was refreshing. Also, people love to cycle in Colorado so be prepared to share the road with them. And my husband and I had a great adventure. I think we will be good for retirement.
You can expect a bit recap of my thoughts on Missouri Star as well as my shopping strategy on an upcoming podcast and a YouTube haul video.
Have a great week!
Vicki
My Creative Corner3 
unfortunately I have a full week this week but a shorter week next week. I am not looking forward to going back. I am charging my work computer up and I am not logging in early.
hoping to be able to get more of a rhythm to my days and longarm quilts as well as exercise. I am inspired to quilt but I can’t put the crochet with Lori Holts yarn down!!
LikeLike
It looks like a wonderful trip that will surely leave you with lasting memories. Travel really takes us out of our comfort zone and I think as you mentioned, reminds us that there is a lot of beauty and good people in the world. I loved seeing all of your great pictures! Now is the big re-entry into real life! Hope you have a short week to ease you back into things.
LikeLike