Away She Goes: Colorado, in pictures

Hi friends,

Hope all is well with you! I'm a little worried about my friends on the East Coast, as Irene approaches. Everyone please stay as safe, we're thinking about you. We are in Utah now, after spending Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday in beautiful Colorado. I think pictures are the best way to share our experience, but briefly, here's what we've been up to:

Jess welcomed us to Dillon CO on Monday night, and took the day off from work on Tuesday to show us around her amazing backyard. We drove north and checked out Rocky Mountain National Park, did some beautiful short hikes around the mountains and mountain lakes. We stopped on the way home in the town of Hot Sulphur Springs to have a long soak in the hot mineral water before heading back to Jess' house to cook, and shower, and do laundry, and get ready for a week on the road.

We left Dillon early Wednesday morning to drive south on Rt 24 toward Great Sand Dunes National Park. We were only briefly held up, on account of running literally STRAIGHT into the USA Pro Bicycle Race, taking place in Colorado this week. We went as far as we could go on 24, but the field was coming toward us and eventually we were told to pull over and wait until the race went by. So we did, and what a happy accident it was- the star bikers blew through pretty quickly but it was a fun experience nonetheless.

The Great Sand Dunes are located in the San Luis Valley, a high and huge desert-like valley in the southern Rockies. It is one of the most stark and beautiful places I've ever seen- absolutely worth a visit. Unfortunately, when we finally got close, so did the weather- in the form of violent thunderstorms moving through the area. So we checked into a sweet little campground nearby, set up our *new* tent (in very high winds, no problem, we handled it), made dinner, and waited it out. Thankfully, near sunset it looked like there was a clearing which meant an opportunity to go into the park and walk around, so we jumped. It was dry but still cloudy as we headed in, but we maintained hope that we could climb all the way to the summit. We got pretty high, and saw a beautiful sunset, but it started looking ominous again after the sun went down. So, sadly, we didn't make it but halfway to the top of the 800-foot dunes (The highest in the US). Apparently, the top is prime ground for getting struck by lightening, and it was getting really dark, so yeah we chickened out. Still, the scenery was breathtaking, and we stayed as long as we safely could, playing around in the sand. I'll never forget it. The most amazing thing to me was that it was literally DEAD silent there. We sat down at the edge of a mountain of sand, and couldn't hear anything but our hearts pounding in our ears from the climb. No wind, no water, no sound at all. I can't remember ever hearing so much nothing before.

Today, we woke up and and once again headed west, toward Utah. We stopped at some more very beautiful hot springs in the morning, located on a land trust nestled into the Sangre de Christo mountains at the edge of the San Luis Valley. From there, it was about 6 hours of driving to Moab, UT. For anyone interested, we took the scenic, winding Rt 114 through Gunnison National Forest (gorgeous) to Rt 50, which connects to Rt 70 in Grand Junction, CO, which is a short distance from the Utah boarder. Then we cut south to Moab along Rt 191.

And here we are, in the most scenic campground you could possibly imagine. We are staying for the next 3 nights at a BEAUTIFUL campground tucked off the access road between Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. We'll spend a few days exploring the desert before heading to the Grand Canyon.

Loving and missing my friends and family
Xoxo
C