VACATION!

We had a great vacation in Colorado.  The weather was perfect the entire trip - cool breezes and sunny skies.  Although we went to Colorado last year, we covered different territory this year.  We brought our mountain bikes along, too.

We left Arkansas right after the graduation ceremony, leaving out Hwy 412 to Tulsa and then north when we hit I-35 and West on Hwy 400 through Kansas.  This is the route that Google suggested and it was nice to see some different territory.  We spent Tuesday night in Garden City and slept until 9:00!  That is so late for us, especially since we were asleep by 10.  I don't think we would have gotten up at 9, but the maids woke us up banging on the door.  We got into the Sand Dunes National Park around 3:30 and the campgrounds were already full.  Good thing I had been doing my research.  I mentioned camping on Primitive Road (which is actually out of the Park) and spots were available there.  We now know why - very difficult to get to.  A high clearance 4-wheel drive is required and the campsites have only a bear box.  The road up the mountain has deep sand and even with Phillips truck we got stuck.  We had to back down the hill and let some air out of the tires.  We then got a running start and finally made it up to the mountain.  We camped right on a creek bank.  It was beautiful!

This is our vehicle...Phillip added the camper shell for this trip. 

Notice the bear box.  This is the only thing provided at this campsite.  I didn't sleep well - afraid of bears!  However, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get a picture of a bear.

Thursday we headed to the Dunes.  This is the COOLEST place!  I can't believe that we've never heard of it before.  It looks like you're on another planet when you are on the dunes.  We spent a couple of hours hiking the dunes, had a picnic and then hiked up the mountain to a viewpoint. 

We did a lot of hiking on this day and with the altitude, we were pretty tired.  We planned on staying in a hotel, but we couldn't find a good one, so we camped again.  We found another really nice place - this time right on the Rio Grande River.  It only had about 5 campsites and it was only us and another couple.  Lots of time to sit on the riverbank, sip hot coffee, and enjoy the scenery.

Friday morning we headed out on a leisurely drive, stopping all along the way to see waterfalls, great views, etc.  We are always on the move on our vacations.  Our motto:  It's not about the destination...it's the JOURNEY!

This waterfall is right outside of Creede, Colorado:

This is Lake San Cristobal outside of Lake City, CO:

We made it all the way to Montrose, Colorado and decided we needed a hotel  - Holiday Inn Express.

Saturday we rode the Montrose section of the "rails-to-trails" called Ucompaghrae trail.  Although this is in town, it runs through some pastures and rural areas too.  We stopped at a Ute Indian Museum which has an entrance along the trail.  Phillip and I both enjoy learning about the Indian Culture.  After returning to our starting point, we decided to hit the trail in the city park.  I am so jealous of the all the bike trails in Colorado!  You never need to drive on a street.  We rode on a trail that went up a very steep hill and back down.  Phillip is not scared of speed, so he goes faster downhill, but I'm a little faster uphill :).  Lots of fun!

This is Phillip.  I think this area is for skateboarders, but no one was around, so we used it....

This is me:

We're in one of the teepees at the Ute Indian Museum:

The view from the top of the hill:

After biking, we headed north to Glenwood Springs.  Although the drive is only about 90 miles, it took us several hours because we stopped often to see the sights along the way.  On Sunday morning we went out to eat a big breakfast (need the energy for biking) and headed to the trail along the River.  This is supposed to be a 32 mile trail (out and back), but a section is closed because of high water (spring thaws) so it is probably around 20 miles.  This trail was awesome!  The water was running with such force and the trail was right next to the water most of the time.  We actually discovered this trail last year, but didn't have bikes with us.

This is a video of the river:

After biking we headed to Independence Pass through Carbondale, CO and Aspen.  This is the two of us having a picnic at a park in Carbondale. 

Although the drive up the pass is beautiful, it is a little scary on the Northern side.  Notice all of the snow still on the ground up here.  We were going to hike a trail, but snow was covering so much of it you couldn't tell where to go.

We thought we might camp in Buena Vista where Miranda and James Alan usually camp, but we decided to drive to Salida and stay in a Hotel.  We're heading out in the morning and a good night sleep will help us on that long drive back.