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

Headed into the Rockies! And glad for it.

First things first: time to buy a new tent

Dillon, CO

Grand Lake White Cap Wheat, local and yummy

Grand Lake, southern entryway to Rocky Mtn Natl Park

Hiking near a waterfall in RMNP

USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Buena Vista, CO. They entire field went by in about 10 seconds

The Sangre de Christo Mountain range, eastern boarder of the San Luis Valley

Driving into the San Luis Valley, in crazy weather

The sun made a brief appearance, so we finally made it into the Sand Dunes park and started climbing

Sunset from halfway up the dunes

View of the Sangre de Christo range from the dunes at sunset

2 hikers coming down from near the top at dusk- storm clouds brewing above

Just after sunset

2 different hikers, descending a different peak, well after dark. Based on their laughing and rolling around, we think they were probably drunk.

Arriving in Moab- another patch of sunshine, and another rainbow

Sunset at our newest campground. Goodnight world.

Hannibal, MO

So, Chicago didn't want us to leave, apparently- Mother Nature gifted us with some severe thunderstorms all morning and into the afternoon. We're talking torrential downpours, thunder and lightning, epic storms. Shannon, however, was totally calm and unfazed, ushering us into her little car for a driving tour of the city in the "daylight". This what it looked like:

Chicago, noontime on Saturday 8/20

We couldn't get any closer without getting struck by lightning...

Rain aside, it was a lovely morning. We went downtown for brunch and then stopped by Chicago's Millennium Park where Shannon let us out to see some amazing art. Such as,  the "Bean" of Chicago. Brilliant.









We left Chicago in the afternoon, still in the midst of some turbulent weather, and battled the traffic surrounding the city on our way to Hannibal MO. It was about a 5-6 hour drive and it was raining off and on the whole way. We were under a pretty serious storm cloud for the last 100 miles of the drive, but it was moving East as we moved West and the sun literally appeared to us shining down upon our destination.

The sun revealing itself upon Hannibal, MO, as we approached

Hannibal, MO (the birthplace of Mark Twain), is the first town on the Missouri side of the Mississpippi River, off Rt 72, which connects Illinois to Missouri (east to west). Our campground is located at the "famous" Mark Twain Caves, a historical monument at the site of some... caves... which Mark Twain  frequented in his youth and wrote about in Tom Sawyer and other books.

We arrived around 7pm so although we're only about 1/4 mile away from the river, we haven't yet had a chance to look around. We'll be investigating the site and brushing up on our history in the early morning.

Things are going smoothly on the camping front. We made dinner, organized our gear and set up our tent. Truthfully, the tent could benefit from being about 10 years newer than it is, but so far we've been able to fix all problems as they come along. Here are some pictures of our setup:

1984 wants its tent back from us. But we're keeping it.

 Relieved to have everything in order, we have been able to relax and enjoy the quiet of Hannibal MO. We called our friends and families, mixed up some drinks, and entertained ourselves listening to the troop of Boy Scouts who are camping across the way from us. They are extremely cute with their troop flag and their real fire. They admired our use of a laptop at a campground.

To address that point: Believe it or not, in 2011 there is free WiFi at your average campground. Really, I have to say, it's a bit of a marvel to be camping in the heartland of America these days. There is an RV across the way and I think they have the TV on. It's controversial, but so far we are genuinely enjoying the juxtaposition of authentic camping (incredible stargazing, total isolation, tent living) with modern technology (for keeping in touch with our families, making reservations for the coming days, and documenting our trip).

Boozing and Blogging

We were facing a 40% chance of showers going into the evening, but so far the skies are clear and bright, so we're going to get back to nature now. Tomorrow we head to Kansas City for an afternoon baseball game. Go Sox! Then... Kanopolis? Stay tuned.

xo
Cory and Kelsey

Niagara Falls, NY

Day One complete! Our first day was not without it's moments, but in the end it was a major success. We packed my Honda Fit with care and believe me when I tell you, it's a work of art. I have all the clothes that I own with me, as well as all our camping gear, food, etc etc etc. The Fit is fully loaded.

The Fit

The falls

We left Boston around 8am and made extremely good time all the way to our destination of Niagara Falls. We stopped for lunch around the Finger Lakes region and we were in Niagara by about 5pm. The park was quiet and uncrowded at that time of night- it was a beautiful time to do the traditional ride on the Maid of the Mist boat. We got to spend plenty of time taking it in before heading to our campsite. Niagara Falls is truly beautiful.

Kels and me on the Maid 

And a rainbow too

Then we headed 5 miles down the road to the luxurious Niagara Falls Campgrounds (complete with WiFi, wow). It has been a great place to do a first-run of our camping routine. We had plenty of daylight to work with when we arrived and it's a good thing, because right away we broke a key component of my tent (my mom's old 80's-style Sierra Designs beauty). But we are resourceful, and a little superglue + duct tape went a long way toward solving that problem. The tent is holding up wonderfully as we speak. The rustic old camping stove I purchased out of somebody's backyard last weekend also worked beautifully, and Kelsey's vegetarian chili was an EXTREMELY satisfying dinner :)

The only other major issue we had tonight (after the tent problem) was that the DC socket in my car, which we are using to charge our phones and other essential things for the next few weeks, suddenly stopped working just as the sun was going down. I tried to just let it go but it made me nervous to have something wrong with my car on our first night. So I decided to figure it out. And look, I might be blonde, but I put my thinking cap on, and the first thing I figured (how??) was that I should check the fuse. I didn't know how to do that before, but after reading my owner's manual, I figured it out. And I was right- it was the fuse. And the store here at the campsite had extra fuses for us to buy. And I installed the new one. Major problem #2- solved. We are a couple of geniuses, out here in the wilderness. Aren't you proud of us?!

Time for some rest- off to Chicago bright and early tomorrow :) We have lots of frogs nearby singing us to sleep- yay camping! Missing my people back home but still excited about the road ahead. More from us soon. xo.