The Nature of Family

After leaving the sandbox challenge of the Great Sand Dunes, we wandered the back way through the mountains toward Palmer Lake, CO.  Along the way happened to be the Royal Gorge which ended up being a commercial mess of a gorgeous landscape and we chanced a short hike before turning our back on the gorge-turned-playground and got back on the road.

So, a little background.  Rob and I met 35 years ago in Denver, CO.  I had a 15 month old son then who many of you now know.  Jacob has always had Colorado in his bones and left the day before our adventure began to move back to his “home in the mountains”.  Along with a son, I had my pre-Rob life of friends and acquaintances who happen to still live in the area.  Some of those friends, Carla and Roland, still live in Canon City just minutes from the Gorge and we managed a quick but memorable reunion at a local coffee house before our final approach into Colorado Springs.

We have been having the time of our lives on this trip but I couldn’t help but be beside myself with excitement to see Jacob again.  Moving into one of his fathers’ previous houses, he has settled easily into a wonderful new life for himself.  Just down the (significant!) hill from his house, the RV was settled into a cozy spot in an historic property overflow parking lot where dear grazed in the evening.  From this easy vantage point, we enjoyed the next 6 days just being family.  We worked diligently on house projects (seemingly endless!) from installing an a/c to a pot rack to organizing to yard work.  We cooked, ate, played games and got to know Luna, the wonder dog. 

Our second day in was Father’s Day.  A first in history, Jacob invited both of his fathers for breakfast and he cooked up a delicious feast before we all played another of Jacob’s crazy board games together.  What seemed a potentially precarious event went great, leaving everyone feeling a bridge had been crossed.

Each day Rob and I found a trail to hike.  The area amazing supplies easy options with land designated as Open Space in every direction.  From Jacob’s house we could hike down and around Palmer Lake, up to the Lower and Upper Reservoir and ride our bikes on the Santa Fe Trail as far as 60 miles south, past Colorado Springs.  A less than five mile drive provided countless other opportunities including Spruce Mountain and Meadow open space trails.  A natural wonderland!

Enjoying every minute of our time together, the time nonetheless passed.  Rob’s best buddy, Cloos, happens to live 20 minutes north and he and his wife Lidia rode their Harley over one evening for dinner.  And the nostalgic, lifelong ties continued.  They headed back before the sun set and we spent our final evening with Jacob before heading out the next morning to move the next step north to Cloos’s, the next stop on the itinerary.

Adding to the Colorado fun, the best man from Rob’s first marriage (Bob) and his wife (Sue) live yet another 20 minutes north of Cloos and Rob’s brother (Rich) and HIS wife (Lisa) are an hour’s drive north again in Fort Collins. Continuing the reunions and fun continued as we all got together last night to celebrate Rob’s 65^th birthday.

Cloos, Lidia, Rich and Lisa and us all met up in Denver for Rob’s birthday at the Colorado Rockies game.  Although a disappointing and great loss from the Rockies who before were first in their division, it was a great way to while away the afternoon with good friends.  Sitting in the nosebleed section at the Rooftop bar area, we were far enough away to enjoy the game as well as each other.  The culmination of the day was the arrival of Jacob, Bob and Sue at the chosen happy hour hangout where we ate, drank and generally made a good memory of Rob’s entry into his 65^th year.  

On a couple occasions, I was able to see Jacob’s new work environment and meet the people he spends his days with.  Once, taking Jacob to work, he gave me the “mom” tour of the area with the Broncos training grounds and a local protected groundhog area right in the city.  Another occasion, the Robs and I went up to meet the boss and take Jacob to lunch.  With a peek into his new life, I have a frame of reference for when the miles will separate us.

Ending our time together, Jacob shared the world-famous Colorado Renaissance Festival with us.  Having visited here many summers with his father, it was a new experience for us and we all had a great time.  With crazy, talented performers at every turn and loaded with double entendre, we wandered for hours enjoying each show, tasting the food favorites (smoked turkey legs, yum) and shopping the handmade wares.  It was a great, fun way to experience more of what Jacob has in store for him in his new Colorado home.

As I sit here and reflect on the significance of this gathering in the middle of our journey, I see the glorious beauty of relationships in the midst of the beauty of nature we’ve become spoiled by along the way.  I am thankful to reconnect with Jacob before returning home without him being nearby and appreciate the familiar faces and comfortable relationships in the midst of all of the new ones we’ve been forging.   This journey of friends would not be complete without it!

Friends Revisited

We shared Easter dinner with Bob and Patty in Guadalupe National Park at the beginning of our journey.  Having invited us to visit them when we passed through, we checked in as we got close.  Hearing we were nearby, Patty enthusiastically invited us to stay with them and we just didn’t have a reason to say no.  And so began a fun time with new friends!

Leaving Mesa Verde, we headed for Durango, a town we both enjoyed in our years living in Colorado.  Not due in Vallecito Lake until mid-afternoon, we wandered Durango for the next few hours.  We found parking by the river and walked into town for a latte, catching up on phone calls and being a tourist (I think that was a first on this trip!)

Vallecito Lake is 10 miles or so up in the mountains from Durango and the drive was beautiful.  Bob and Patty live in a welcoming (and gorgeous) home in a charming community at the top of the lake and had a big driveway waiting for the RV.  We settled in quickly and wasted no time sampling some beer!  But the agenda had us visiting some local haunts where we met the local “color” and experienced a few favorite happy hour spots.  Patty graciously had ribs in the slow cooker so back to the house we went for the evening.

Waking up early the next morning, Rob and I headed for the Lake Eileen trailhead.  A three mile hike up the mountain took us through pine and aspen forests to a beautiful mountain lake filled with lilies.  The trail up had more wildflowers than I’ve seen to date and Rob had a hard time keeping me moving for all my gawking and picture taking.  A personal flower favorite of mine has always been the Colorado columbine and I found one unlike any I’ve seen before – a special treat!

Returning to the house, we packed up lunches and headed up to Middle Mountain for a picnic.  High up a steep road, we wound our way on 4 wheel drive paths and ended up with views in all directions, something we’ve had a hard time doing with only an RV for transport!   Patty had invited neighbors over for the evening so we didn’t stay long and made our way back down the mountain to get ready.

The evening was such fun!  With several neighbors and friends, we shared great food, stories and BEER and came away with yet more people to add to the list of friends!  Moving from the large deck and all the food, Bob lit a fire and we wiled away hours as the stars came out in all their mountain glory.  Saying goodbye this morning, we were back on the road with the next park in our sights.  

Great Sand Dunes National Park was a good drive with a 10,550’ mountain pass along the way.  Good ole’ Moonshadow did a great job!  We pulled into the park just after noon and went straight to the campground.  OH NO – our first disappointment so far!  No sites available – I guess the season really is upon us!

Not deterred, we proceeded straight to the dune field to experience what the park had to offer.  Another amazing landscape, with massive (700’ plus) sanddunes stretching for miles and the Sangre de Christo mountains rising on one side with a long mountain valley on the other.  The Medano Creek ran around the dune field to the delight of literally countless children – and adults for that matter – playing in the water and sand.

Of course we had to go conquer the sand dunes so we filled the water bottles and headed out.  With near constant winds and the massive dunes, the going was SO much harder than we expected!  Rob was determined to wear his sandals even when I returned to don my tennis shoes to protect against the hot sand.  But onward we went – up and up and up. 

Trudging our way one slow step at a time, we made it to the top of the first tier of dunes.   After meeting a group of fun-lovers from Orlando getting ready to body board down the slopes, we took off …no better way to get down but to run, right?  I swear it felt like flying as we barreled down the dunes!  Such fun!

Without a campsite and with Rob’s now sore feet, we gave up on any more hiking for the day and started the final journey toward the foothills where we will reunite with our son, Jacob, in Palmer Lake where he moved the day before we left on our adventure.  As the night falls around us in our roadside campsite with the Arkansas River a serenade, we mark the halfway point of our journey.  So much seen and much more to come.

Amazing Mesa Verde

Standing among the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park, you can almost feel the presence of the ancestral Puebloans that occupied these amazing spaces.  Perched high on the cliffs of skyrocketing mesas, the dwellings are a masterpiece of human ingenuity and skill.  Although none of the sites are fully recovered, it is still possible to imagine how the structures functioned.  With expert craftmanship molding and carving the stone to near perfect fit, the dwellings utilized nature to its best advantage.

We ended up in Mesa Verde after Arches having bypassed the Needles section of Canyonlands when our great friends from Boise decided on an impromptu road-trip to join us.  Before leaving Ken’s Lake, we hiked to the “waterfall” that feeds the reservoir.  Originating from a pipe running through the mountain from a spring on the other side, the waterfall was not only beautiful but fascinating.

The day slightly less arid than the preceding days, we had a comfortable ride out of Utah and into Colorado.  Needing a few extra supplies with company coming, we stopped in Cortez, CO just in time to be stopped by a parade (the origin of which we still don’t know!!!).  After fuel, groceries and much-needed laundry, we headed up the steep slope to the Morefield Campground at Mesa Verde to set up camp.

What a treat to have Christine and the boys join us!  They arrived late and we had chili waiting just in time to beat the chill settling in with the setting sun.  After dinner outside, we huddled around the RV table for a game of “golf” that we played repeatedly when sailing together in the Bahamas years ago.

The next day, we headed out early for our first cliff dwelling tour at the Balcony House.  With stairs, ladders and tunnels, we worked our way into our first Puebloan experience.  To imagine the inhabitants living and working in these surroundings fascinating.  Each space is intricately planned and utilized from the ceremonial kiva to the grain storage high above, from the unique water capture system to the cooking fire space.  Each block used to create the structure was individually formed and where extra mortar was required, chips of stone or even cobs of corn were used for stabilization.

After Balcony house, we hit another challenging trail to view the area petroglyphs and stopped for our picnic before hitting our second tour of the largest dwelling, the Cliff Palace.  Again, we found the same amazing cliff-side community but on a grand scale where they expect over 150 people lived!  On top of wandering through the rooms and imagining days past, we enjoyed the amazing views before heading back to the campsite.

The night brought delicious barbeque, a campfire with marshmallows and another rousing game of golf and we retired ready to wake early to head to the second mesa and final cliff tour of the Long House.  This dwelling is guessed to be the spiritual gathering place of the area with less living area and 21 ceremonial kivas being the main focus.  Taking an hour to hike to the area and another steep descent, it was again unique although our guide seemed to be proficient in one words explanations and, on that front, we felt a little disappointed.

The final chapter was to hike to the Step House, the only cliff dwelling where you can view the space without a tour.  The Step House was the only one with a pit house in it.  These were the structures used on the mesa before the people moved down the cliff face.  I guess that would make it an older structure.

All of the sights being seen, Christine, Logan and Cole headed down the road for Canyonlands, Arches and home and we regrouped back at the campsite.  Having reserved the site for three days, we spent the day getting ready for the balance of our Colorado adventure. 

Before heading down the road, the next morning Rob did the “daily maintenance” (think fill water tanks and drain “the other” tanks) while I took advantage of yet another nearby trail.  Being further down the mesa, I was enchanted when I hiked around a bend and found a view of the entire valley and surrounding range and continued to be amazed at how an entire population managed life on the sheer cliffs.

On the road again, we set turned the map to the Durango area and a day of more surprises and delights, thankful for what had happened and excited for what was yet to come.

Last of the Utah Parks

It never ceases to amaze me how unique each of these parks are.  Of course, if they weren’t, there wouldn’t be much point in seeing them all!  But the topography is SO unique from one to the other, it seems almost impossible that we could be in such awe at each one.  We arrived at Canyonlands Park again not knowing what was in store.  Having seen so many canyons by this point we really didn’t expect much.

So much for that!  Canyonlands has canyons inside of canyons inside of canyons!!  No, really!  Climbing from the entrance to the first overlook, we found a sheer cliff to a lower white granite plain to more sheer cliffs to another plain.  Each level had unusual rock formations sculpted by wind, water and weather over the ages. 

We followed our usual pattern and got trail advice from the visitor center and headed out to hike and explore.  First stop was Grand View Point where we had a great time wandering the trail to the furthest-most vantage point over the fascinating expanse.  Most trails are marked with cairns – rocks piled on each other – to help people navigate across larger expanses.  With the area littered with wonderful rock chips, visitors can’t help but “play” with the rocks.  Sometimes frustrating (when the actual trail markers disappear or creative ones lead you astray!) to entertaining or artistic.  On this trail, the art was in the form of little cairns built from tiny pebbles in wind holes in the cliffs which provided extra diversions.

We moved on to Upheaval Dome where they theorize this unusual crater-like cavity was formed by an ancient meteor hitting the earth.  Taking the trail even further, we climbed huge sandstone slick-rock mounds for views of the Green and Colorado Rivers.  Hiking on slick-rock (slick when wet but like walking on sandpaper otherwise) is an interesting experience and great exercise because trails follow paths at crazy, steep angles that you would swear impossible to navigate.

Having begun the day with 3.5 miles in the Capital Reef Cohab Canyon and logging 4-5 miles more at Canyonlands, we were wearing pretty thin by this time!  We pressed on, having heard the Green River overlook was not to be missed.  With another view of the odd canyons and rivers, it was a good way to wind down and happened to be right next to the park campground.

Now after 6pm and being told the campsite was full early in the day, we did a drive-thru just in case and found an open site!  Our good fortune continues!  Exhausted from days of extended hiking, we settled in quickly.  Enjoying a beer with neighbors, we all headed to the overlook for a magnificent sunset over the canyons.  Mesmerized by the shifting colors on the rock, it was a perfect end to the day.

Arches was the next park on our itinerary.  With a reputation for being exceedingly crowded AND under construction, we knew we had to visit early in the day and before the weekend to beat the crowds.  That meant we were up with the sun before 6am and on the road minutes later for the 45 minute drive to the entrance of this park boasting over 2000 arches in its boundaries. 

We arrived within minutes of the park opening and already saw streams of cars climbing the entrance road to the sights.  We skipped the visitor center to save time and headed straight for the big attraction of Delicate Arch.  Thankfully, the parking lot had room for us and we hit the trail. 

The 3 mile hike was essentially straight up!  Climbing one slick-rock face after another, we made our way to this beautiful formation already feeling the heat.  Almost entirely slickrock, the “cairn artists” had a time of it along the trail!  At the arch it was fun watching each group as they made their way under the arch for photos doing crazy poses.  The girl doing the backbend won a gasp from the crowd of onlookers.

Although crowded and with a major area, Devil’s Garden, closed for road work, the park did not disappoint even with temps in the 90s and dry with winds at 20-25mph!  Undeterred, we forged on and got as close to Devil’s Garden as was possible, hiking connecting trails to 3 other massive arches and enjoyed finding faces in the stone along the way.

Sandstone Arch is a favorite with kids with a natural sandbox inside the canyon where the arch is found.  Not inclined to build sandcastles, we moved on to Broken Arch (it should be named Cracked Arch!) and Tapestry, hiking another 3 miles and beginning to feel our early morning start.  With the campground closed and the crazy traffic, we knew we wouldn’t be spending another day so onward we went! 

The final big stop for us in Arches were the Windows, Turret and Double Arch, all accessed in the same parking area.  Maneuvering and parking our big ole girl in heavy traffic and tight spots is not a highlight but we successfully found a spot and carried on.  I think Double Arch was my favorite of them all with the light playing with the different surfaces of the sandstone and surrounding walls.

After logging 7-8 miles of hiking before 2, our feet and determination gave up and we headed to the Visitor Center for our traditional movie and seeing the exhibits.  Having lunch in the parking lot and making a few calls with the very sparse service available, we regarded the next challenge of no campsite for the night.

Can you see the face?  A funny one!

We named this one the Sphynx

Checking sites as we plied the highway, we ended up at Ken’s Lake, a Bureau of Land Management property on a reservoir.  Fighting the area’s fine sand and 25mph winds along with the 95 degree day, we did our best to get settled.  We made refreshing drinks with the last ice on board and recounted the bounty of beauty we had already witnessed, ready to see what was yet to come.

A Fruitful Delight

Without a definite plan for our next campsite, we got on the road toward the southern Utah national parks.  Finding amazing scenery yet again, we headed to Capitol Reef without any particular goal in mind.  Passing the few campgrounds that were our choices, we ended up in Capitol Reef and were pleased to have no problem securing a site.

Capitol Reef is usually a “stopover” park for tourists moving from the more popular parks of Arches and Bryce.  What we found when we arrived was a complete surprise.  The scenery moved from awesome to breathtaking and the park itself was a soothing mix of beauty and peace. 

Comprised of what is called “the waterpocket fold”, a unique geologic formation making the area nearly impassable, the Mormons settled the area in 1853.  With up to only 10 (albethey large) families, they made full use of the land and created their own little paradise in the valley. Fruit trees were planted around the settlement and a one room schoolhouse built.  They stayed the only inhabitant of the harsh challenging area until the early 1900’s when the government started acquiring pieces of the surrounding landscape as national parkland.

The campground green and hospitable and surrounding by orchards, barely before we stepped out of the coach, we had people streaming in curious about Holy City Beer.  Figuring our exhaustion was from the constant rise and fall of the elevations we’d traveled, we asked for a reprieve until “cocktail hour” and got ourselves settled in.

The big event for any visitor to Capitol Reef is the Mormon community house and bakery selling pies, jams and breads made locally.  After a light lunch, we wandered over for a most wonderful fresh baked mixed berry pie with vanilla ice cream !  We sat under a shady tree surrounding by blooming lilies all around and breathed soaked up the warm day and the special treat.

Feeling satiated and lazy, ,we took a short nap before aking a hike from the campground.  We wandered the Freemont River Overlook taking us along the stream and up to a great view of the Fruita community area.  Is there any end to new and beautiful vistas on this journey?!  With the orchards thriving in the valley, the contrast of the harsh, dry high desert was striking.

What we anticipated during the evening hours did not disappoint.  With our biggest gathering yet, we had 17 of us around the picnic table all partaking in BEER!  We shared for hours until the cold beer was gone and came away with a host of new acquaintances and friends all who completely enjoyed the Holy City experience.  At sunset we took off to watch the sun settled over the canyon and then headed to the well-presented ranger program on astronomy under the full moon.

That's Moonshadow way down there!!

The next morning’s morning hike was not as early as we planned, but we did head out on our bikes for the 3 miles to the Rim Overlook Trail.  A steep climb for 1100 ft up the slickrock and Navajo sandstone brought us to another breathtaking precipice with a view again over the Fruita settlement and down the gorge.  The temperature was fast climbing to a dry 93 degrees in the full sun and the unexpected gnats and flies at the top (what WERE they doing up THERE?!) had us headed back down the mountain after a short break.

Again feeling spent from the heat and elevation, we spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the company of our neighboring campers.  Many who we had met the night before, we had a chance to get to know them better including Siegers, a life drawing professor and combat art specialist.  A fascinating and exceeding talented man, he brought his chair over, opened a beer and got to work drawing sketches of a few of us. 

Having to run for our “date night” with the campground hosts, we changed and headed for the big town of Becknell, UT (population 300?!) about a 20 minute drive from the park.  In a creatively repurposed home-to-theatre, we were surprised to find reasonable prices, fresh popcorn and a surprisingly delicious menu.  Rob had a bbq pork and horseradish sandwich with a caramel milkshake while I munched on my first theatre popcorn in ages while we watched “Wonder Woman”!

We got along famously with Ralph and Tess and told a lot of stories and had some good laughs as we slowly made our way back to the park taking scenic detours the whole way.  My plan for attending the park’s full moon hike was surpassed by Ralph driving us through the park’s scenic drive in their 4 wheel drive truck with the lights off. 

With the canyon walls surrounding us and the moonlight illuminating the cliffs and features, we sat in the truck bed with Tess completely dumbfounded by the beauty. At the end of the passable road we stopped and wandered in the moonlight and craned our necks for shooting stars although the closest we got were a couple satellites passing by.  What an end to another amazing day!

Today we DID rise early to grab a final hike up the Cohab Canyon as the sun filtered back into the park.  With lizards scattering, birds singing and mountain goats hiding around each bend, we got some exercise before stopping to grab the bakery’s famous cinnamon rolls.  Luckily, we also happened onto the season’s first fresh picked fruit – CHERRIES! – in 1# bags for $1 that were picked an hour before! 

Having said our goodbyes to Ron and Mike, Ralph and Tess, Siegers and other  new friends, we're back on the road for the final Utah parks before moving into Colorado and  a month of family and long time friend visits.  Another transition to another adventure!