Roadtrip of a Lifetime

June 17-21, 2010.

I am fully convinced Colorado is a dreamland.

Dan and I set off to go on a 4.5 day road trip to various destinations in Southern Colorado and Eastern Utah armed with the America The Beautiful National Parks Annual Pass. Little did I know, that for me, this would be a road trip of a lifetime.

We left on a Thursday night and headed for Colorado Springs, CO to set up camp at a KOA for the night so that we could have a full day on Friday. I had never been to 'The Springs' except for the Air Force Academy, so it was nice to check it out a bit. One of the themes of this trip was breweries, so we broke out my Brewery Map of Colorado (yes, they make those), and made it in to Trinity Brewing Co. as well as Phantom Canyon Brewing Companies before they closed their doors. With close to 120 breweries in Colorado, it is interesting to check out the different beer selections, as well as hear the stories as to how the breweries got started! Checking out different breweries is a hobby, not an addiction.

After a night filled with train noises and an early morning exploratory run, we headed out towards our first national park: Great Sand Dunes. If you have never been to Great Sand Dunes National Park, you must add this one to your list. It is seriously one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Here you are driving along, with a 14,000 ft mountain to your right and all of a sudden, boom! There is a gigantic sand field right in the Rockies, with dunes as high as mountains. As you approach the main sand dune area, there is an area where run-off from the mountains pools in the sand. A perfect opportunity for sand castles, or a great breeding ground for mosquitoes. Dan and I set out to hike to the top of the dunes, which are deceivingly high! But as we crossed the stream and started climbing, we were pelted by high winds and sand blown in the face. It was like getting a facial, but not nearly as relaxing. New plan, head part way up and jump off some of the smaller dunes to get some quality pictures. As we continued to get blasted, I realized that I cant jump worth anything, and Dan (pole vaulter extraordinaire) made me look like an amateur (although it was funny to see him get sand in the face and pretty much everywhere else sand can go). We hung out for a few, but didnt stick around too long. This trip was not about lounging around and was not for the lazy types. As we drove away, we noticed a huge forest fire had started in the background, but decided to detour anyways to take a short hike to Zapata Falls. We reached the falls after a half a mile hike with no problem, but could not really see them unless we navigated our way up the crevasse and waded into fast flowing 20 degree icy snow melt waters. I headed in to take some pictures, while Dan stayed back with a case of frozen foot.

From the Great Sand Dunes, we decided to alter our plans and make camp in Durango, CO. We stopped at a nice little place tucked back in the woods called Lightner Creek Campground. Although it didn't look to be all that spectacular, at least there were no trains around. Dan and I hit up a nice little brewery called Durango Brewing Company---where I had a great blueberry wheat with real blueberries in the bottom. We headed back to camp and got some shut eye---awakened to very cold temps (for the summer) and both headed out on a brisk and beautifully 6 mile run through the wooded surroundings at 9000 feet.

After a quick shower and loading of the car, we headed toward Four Corners USA, the only place in the US where four states touch (Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah). I made state name signs, while Dan drove miles upon end. We reached the four corners site, but to our dismay, it was not what we expected. The area was run down and supposedly under construction (I hope so). It looked as though a hurricane had passed through and destroyed the area. We took some sweet pictures which incorporated our B-plan with the signs and then quickly left, heading for Utah toward Capitol Reef National Park.

Our drive towards Capitol Reef opened my eyes to the terrain in Utah---red rocks, desert-like conditions, and not much civilization. In fact, there was one stretch where Dan and I drove for 120+ miles without seeing even a gas station (watch your gas, keep it above half way if you can). About 30 minutes from the park, we stopped at a random convenience grocery store for some food, and continued the trek onward. We reached Capitol Reef hoping to make camping reservations for the evening. Unfortunately, we failed to realize that this was a weekend day, and it would be hard to get a camping spot even weeks in advance. We made the choice to see Capitol Reef in a few short hours and then would have to head 1.5 hours toward our next park and closest town adding on to the driving for the day. Capitol reef proved to be smaller than we thought, as we hiked to the sunset point, saw the petroglyphs, and did a four mile hike around to pretty much see most of the park. We headed out early evening, satisfied by what we had seen, and made our way to a random area in the middle of no where called Green River. Luckily, we hit the jackpot, and there was a campsite available at the Green River Campground, more like a community park, than a campground but oh well! We had a great dinner with some Luna de Luna wine and naturally decided to do a little exploring. We took an evening stroll to the actual Green River and down the road toward town where we found a local street carnival going on, which turned out to be more of a high school rage than anything. I hadn't been to a carnival in years, but no joke, this thing was one of the worst I have ever seen. haha. Oh well, it was fun to people watch and watching Dan try to take a short cut and almost end up falling in a water channel that he thought was dried up.

The next day, Dan and I were eager to get to Arches National Park, so we headed out bright and early, and successfully, bright and early. Dan absolutely loves Arches and could not stop talking about it until we finally reached the place. I was awestruck at the beauty of the park and could see why it was considered Dan's favorite. Since we had to spread our time between Arches and Canyonlands, we made our way to Dan's favorite arches, balanced rock, delicate, and window. Two of the arches required decent hikes, and with desert conditions, which we naturally ran, leaving me parched, but it was totally worth it.

Following the arch sightings, we headed to Canyonlands National Park---a little over an hour away. Dan had never been here, so we were anxious to compare it to Arches. The park proved to be beautiful with it's vast canyon system that looked like it would continue on forever. We saw the park pretty quickly and following my episode of sitting on a cactus, we decided to head back to Moab for dinner and to set up camp. Canyonlands, although a spectacular place, was not nearly as beautiful as Arches in my opinion.

We made our way back through Moab and set up our dusty camp at the KOA on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately, the place reeked of trash and it was hard to keep the tent down because of the dust and 40 mph winds, but at least the showers were first class! We grabbed a bite to eat at the Moab Brewery, I got an awesome commemorative glass, and we walked downtown Moab for a bit. The downtown reminded me of a smaller Boulder, and had a great, friendly vibe to it.

After a windy, slightly uncomfortable night of sleep, we packed up and headed out on our trek back to Boulder. At this point, I was doing everything possible to keep Dan awake, since he had been doing all the driving (I can't drive stick), so we decided to make a stop at Colorado National Monument Park. We got to use our parks pass again (a plus) and surprisingly, this place was beautiful, with it's tree and rock formations. We took a bunch of great pictures, and headed out. A pit stop or two later in the mountains off I-70, we finally made it back to Boulder, CO. Exhausted, but totally worth it. Never in my life, had I been on a trip like the one I had just experienced. It was a great feeling, and even more gratifying to know that I had done it with my best friend.

4.5 days. 1300 miles. 5 national parks later.