DAY 4: COLORADO

I got in a few minutes of Netflix last night before I fell asleep. For better or worse, that is one experience you usually (hopefully?) don’t have in a tent. This morning was definitely for the better when I got to wash my hair for the first time in a few days in one of those corner “pod” showers that always reminds me just a little of a space ship.

It was early morning, 5:30ish when I woke up, but we were bound for Colorado, one of my personal highlights for this trip, and so we needed to get on the road. I did have the foresight to fit in a quick morning yoga before we loaded out -- and I am thankful for that this evening as I write to you.

It was wonderful, slipping out of the hotel parking lot this morning, past “Romantix,” and right on to I-80. On our way before 7am. It was still dark, very dark and this time of year just boggles my mind. How long it took for “sunrise,” which I realized early on that I was not going to experience. Instead, it was a gradual turn from dark blue/black to grey through shades of blue as if someone was adding more and more white paint to the pot...slowly.

But, we were on our way. Colorado or Bust! Ever since my first trip to Colorado with Dad in 2016, a return has been on my mind. Today was the day. The playlist was playing, another breakfast on the go from my food box. Starbucks canned coffee, an apple, RX chocolate banana bar, and additional snacks as needed. I’ve failed to post a good description of my food supply so far. One of my best decisions for this trip has been to forego any cold food -- no worries about ice or keeping things cold! If you’ve been there, you know. My food supply is a selection of sweet and savory (fresh and dehydrated fruits, jerky, pretzels), energy bars (RX, Clif), dehydrated camp meals (Heather’s Choice, Good To-Go, and Mountain House -- thanks, Beth!) , and treats (chips, candy, etc.). Plus coffee, tea, beer, a flask of whiskey...hmm.

Breakfast on the road put us in a great position, getting us about halfway through our drive for the day by 9:30am. Amazing. Now, we’re really getting into the part of the trip I’ve been looking forward to. It’s not really the “more exciting” destinations, because I’ve really enjoyed every moment of it so far. This is the part where the slow and subtle terrain and vegetation changes really start to stand out. As I drive, I’m watching each transition as I go. Today’s drive was all golden and earthy, with fields and fields of yellow-tan corn, hay, farmland, equipment, and those sprayer spider things that make crop circles. Lots and lots of those.

The drive went smoothly today -- no dramatic weather changes, but a general warming throughout the day. We stopped only twice, and listened to music and are midway through my second-ever attempt at an audiobook, The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman.

It was amazing when we reached the Mountain Time Zone and got to time jump another hour back! That put us at our campground at Saint Vrain State Park in Firestone/Longmont, CO right on time for their 1pm check in (not planned). I’d heard from my friend, Sean, last night that there are some fires in the area that are causing smokey conditions, and that’s what I saw as I drove into the Rocky Mountain region: no mountains. A lot of haze.

When I pulled into St. Vrain State Park, the pelican loop, so named for the many pelicans that fly in and stay at the many ponds within the park -- even if it is just next to a noisy freeway. That was the biggest surprise to me, but should it have been? In my research I looked for parks that were not so out of the way that they became inconvenient, so this one was maybe a little too convenient.

The area is pretty with the ponds, ducks/waterfowl, and fishing opportunities, but I’m now writing at almost 11pm and the traffic noise is still VERY loud. So, when we arrived promptly and completely unintentionally at 1pm, I set up our campsite and we headed out toward Boulder. As we got closer, the Rocky Mountain range came into view and the flatirons. We passed the incident base for fighting the fires and could see the place where plumes of smoke were lifting into the sky.

I was hungry, and remembering these amazing bagels served at our hotel on my trip with Dad back in 2016, I routed a stop at Moe’s Broadway Bagel in Boulder. It was as good as I remembered, but my first experience with their custom menu of lunch sandwiches. I got the “Rocky” Balboa, their version of an Italian sub on a bagel, and, in fact, their everything bagel is called Italian. It was phenomenal and I devoured it before heading out towards the Chautauqua Park area of the Flatirons in the Boulder Open Space area, and was surprised by the free parking during this “off season” time of year. It was definitely still busy with many people taking professional photos for various occasions like weddings, engagements, individual, family photos, etc.

I was so enchanted by the amazing view - the straw colored fields of rolling hills leading up to the Flatirons, that I set us out on the wrong arm of the trail for just a few minutes. We doubled back and headed for Royal Arch, the first part of the trail on a shared loop that was wider and more well maintained/groomed with facilities along the way. The Royal Arch Trail was listed as the most difficult of the three that were recommended routes on the map, but I’d found it on All Trails during my research. It was beautiful, very rocky after the end of the groomed trail, and very much working aggressively uphill. We did well for probably two-thirds of the route, passing amazing views and seeing some crag climbers up on the flatirons. We passed another dog and folks from Austin on our hike and they told us the rest of the route wasn’t too far.

We reached Sentinel Pass and started to go downhill, as the Austinites had explained, but there was a rock scramble there that was pretty technical and, even when I let him off leash, Portland wouldn’t figure out his own route down. I didn’t want to try to lift or force him, so with less than a half mile or so left out to Royal Arch, we doubled back and added some of the other trails like Bluebell and Chautauqua to our route. We hiked a little under four miles through rocky mountain trails and pine forests and fields. It was beautiful and just speaks to your soul when you’re in a space like that. The area leading up to the park, the historic Chautauqua Park neighborhood of Boulder was one that I would aspire to live in, if I lived here. Very beautiful and perfectly situated close to town and these amazing trails. I don’t want to guess the price of real estate there.

I wished we could stay and hike for longer, but the daylight was fading already in the fall early evening, and so we routed ourselves out to Longmont once we got back to the car. I had plans to catch up with my friend, Sean, who had moved to Denver from Pittsburgh somewhat recently. Dog friendly breweries, open patios, and open during the early week (Mon. - Tues.) are tricky, but we met at Oskar Blues and it was the perfect spot, with a great view of sunset on their patio with twinkle lights. I’d actually missed stopping here on my first trip to Denver, but who doesn’t love Dale's Pale Ale?! As we ate on the patio, little flecks of ash floated down through the air from the fires, and there had been a slight dusting of ash on my car after my hike.

The one critique I have of Oskar Blues was the lack of brewery/tasting room exclusives. Their draft list was made up of beers that I could pick up pretty much anywhere in Pittsburgh, but they also featured beers from other local breweries. I don’t think I ever tried their G’Knight Red IPA, so that’s what I went with -- good like all their others. Their food was pretty spot on, too, following my hike in the Rockies. I had the “OB” Burger with beer cheese, bacon, mushrooms and jalapenos and a side of sweet potato fries. So needed. Of course, Portland, The Mostly Patient, had a few bites. Tomorrow he’ll get another canned food, but he ate a bit better today. I was glad that Sean ordered the pulled pork bbq sandwich, because that's what Dad would've chosen; one of us had to get it!

We grabbed a second beer, and I tried a prickly pear sour from a local brewery called Sanitas, and we talked and I let Portland lay in the car since I know he was tired and getting impatient.

After dinner, we headed a mile or so over to Left Hand Brewing Company where there were so many unique and good choices that it was hard to make up our minds. In the end, I chose the White Russian Nitro Stout and Sean got their anniversary stout, which was something like 15% alcohol.

It was great catching up with a friend I haven’t seen in months, and even greater after a few days on the road alone. I’m hoping we can catch up again on my way back through town in a few weeks -- we’ll see!

For now, I’m back in the tent, Portland warm and sleeping next to me, the traffic from the freeway right next to this state park just roaring away. Hope it doesn’t keep me up - we have another long drive tomorrow with an interesting destination!

Still so glad to have you along on this journey with us! If you have any questions, please be sure to share them and I’ll try to get an answer out to you soon. Until tomorrow, Live Wildly!