Rocky Mountain High
And no, not because of the dispensaries, but dang Colorado has you covered if you’re in need!
A piece of my heart will always live in Colorado. ❤️
I’m going to split this post into two sections because I know some people are curious about the travel stuff, and some people are mostly interested in the details of any mental breakdown I might be having. So read on if you’re interested in both, or just skip to the section that interests you the most!
Travel:
So, our original plan was to head up through Utah and then across Wyoming, but COVID closures had us scrambling to reassess our situation.
Oh, did I forget to mention that we are en route to Minnesota? The first stage of the Stark travel plan is to hang out with Brent’s family for for a few weeks, which is basically like being at summer camp. We usually visit for at least a week in the summer, but we always wish we could stay longer. We’re a lot to handle, and we recognize that, so we usually try to scoot home when it seems like the Stark 5 may have overstayed their welcome. But now with Bucky the Bounder, we have no problem dropping in on you and staying indefinitely, because we will happily retreat to our home on wheels when you’ve had your fill of us! So watch out friends and family, if you have a long driveway or street legal parking, we’re coming for you! While in Minnesota we’re going to assess what is happening in this crazy world and make decisions from there.
So, back to the beginning, as we were driving north out of Vegas and realized our original plan was being thwarted, we decided to stop in Beaver, UT for a night to reassess. Because of campsite availability, we made a game time decision to head through Colorado instead. If you know me, you know a piece of my heart lives in Colorado, so it’s possible that some personal preference may have influenced this decision… *wink*wink*
State and National Parks are hit or miss right now depending on the state and their individual plans, so we signed up for this app called Harvest Hosts which has a network of farms, wineries, breweries, museums, etc. They will allow you to park on their property for one night for free, and in exchange just “request” that you return the favor in some way, like buy a bottle of wine or something from their farm. It’s a pretty cool program and has already been a lifesaver for finding our first spot to stay in Colorado. If you’re ever in Palisade, CO (just outside of Grand Junction), make sure to stop by Sauvage Spectrum Winery for a tasting! Patric, their winemaker, is putting out some really tasty bottles of bubbles, and the vineyards were a heavenly surrounding. We really enjoyed Palisade and needed some more time to trip plan (can you tell that we seriously slacked on that part before taking off on this adventure?), so we ended up moving over to Palisade Basecamp which was an awesome little spot to spend two nights. Pro tip, the RV sites are nice, but if you’re a tent camper you have to check this place out. They have a little cluster of tent camp sites that are right on the Colorado River and it was pure heaven, especially at dusk. Lots of bike riding and a chance to catch up on laundry and logistics.
From Palisade we drove through the Rockies and spent one night at Golden Gate Canyon State Park near Blackhawk. This place is a serious gem, our only regret is that we couldn’t spend a week there. Believe me, we would have, but we could only get a spot for one night. We squeezed a lot of fun into 22 hours, and will definitely be back.
There is a beautiful loop trail that you can hike or mountain bike, so we split the difference and Brent took Sam on his first “serious” mountain ride, while I hiked the loop with Will and Olive. It was Olive’s first time hiking without the option of riding in the pack, and she was a total trooper and almost made it to the end. The trail was no joke. Brent and Sam took off ahead of us, but we ended up catching up to them about halfway through because there were so many steep, rocky climbs that had to be walked. I was so impressed with Sam though, there was a lot of terrain that I wouldn’t have felt comfortable tackling on a bike, and that kid just went for it and had a ball.
The only hiccup was the misprint on the sign at the trailhead stating that the entire loop was 2.2 miles. When we met “halfway” through, at around 2.3 miles, Brent and I looked at each other with the “ruh roh Raggy” face and consulted the leaflet map which had the correct mileage printed.
4 miles later, these kids were TUCKERED, but the complaining was actually (shockingly) minimal. Possibly entering a new phase of hiking as a family? Fingers crossed.
I couldn’t resist, I navigated our departure from Colorado via a back road down the Boulder Canyon. With the state of things, we didn’t really feel comfortable trying to plan any visits and also, finding anywhere to stay around Boulder/Denver proved impossible (sorry CO friends, I love you and we’ll catch you the next time through, xoxo). So we settled for a quick lunch stop in Boulder to give a wave to the Flatirons and my alma mater CU, and then headed back on the road.
I want to also add a note about how surreal it is to be traveling right now, and how different the vibe is depending on where you go. For most of the trip so far, we have really had almost no contact with other people. In the campgrounds, everyone is giving friendly waves from a distance, but not attempting to socialize in any way. It is all very cordial, but still very different from our normal camping experience of chatting it up with our neighbors, finding out where they are from, etc. It feels like everyone is on pins and needles, not sure how to act, not sure how others will respond if they try to engage. We’re not even sure if we’re allowed to pet each other’s dogs. I suppose it feels like that in a lot of places.
Coming down into Boulder was actually a little jarring. It was our first time in a town since we started traveling, and really it’s the first time we’ve taken the kids into “civilization” since March. We went into a restaurant for the first time since all of this started, and it happened that they had just opened that morning (every State is so different, it’s hard to keep up). Everyone was wearing masks, and we were all seated very far apart. The waiter was friendly, but definitely kept his distance. Pearl Street was a ghost town, as almost everything is still closed. It’s normal for Boulder to empty out a bit in the summer, but not like this. It made me sad. And it made me want to run back into the woods and live in our little bubble for a while longer.
So, off we go, back to nature. From here we’re headed up through Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, then Minnesota… at least that’s the plan.
Possible Mental Breakdown:
I’m not going to sugarcoat this you guys, we might be fu*king insane.
But also, it’s amazing and I’m so grateful to be making these lifetime memories!
And also, everyone needs to get the F away from me for 5 (or maybe 700) minutes.
And then, oh my gosh these gorgeous views, isn’t nature glorious!
And also, “If you let the freaking cat out one more time we are just going to leave him here and hope he is able to fend off the mountain lions.”
But, oh the joy of watching our precious children frolicking in nature!
But then also, WHY IS EVERYONE SO GASSY.
So it’s basically this roller coaster on repeat every day.
Quality family time starts to feel overrated, especially when it’s sliding off the backside of a two month pandemic quarantine.
Honestly though, we’re finding our way. I feel like we’re in a phase of detox from our former life. The kids are DEFINITELY in a technology detox, and the withdrawal symptoms are ROUGH. But every day is a little better, and I can see the screen glaze gradually fading from their fried little retinas.
Collectively, I can feel us all settling in to needing less. There is no room for extra things here, and it’s amazing how quickly you realize the excess of how we normally live.
Do we really need so much space?
Do we really need so many things?
We all know the true answer to those questions, but we rarely get the chance to actually experience how much more full life is when we have fewer distractions, fewer options, less noise.
On the subject of too much noise, I have been CRANKY. Everything is getting on my nerves. I’m snapping at every little annoyance. Everything, and everyone.
And somehow, I completely forgot about the tools I have at my disposal, which is the height of irony as I am the poster child for self care. I PREACH self care to anyone who will listen. I will not shut up about the importance of meditation, finding the stillness, holding space for yourself, blah blah blah.
And here I am, completely oblivious to the fact that I have not adjusted my needs to this new situation. And as a result, I am making everyone miserable.
When we meet new challenges or have to adjust to new circumstances, it’s amazing how quickly we slide into old habits. Old versions of ourselves.
If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.
So I took some time today to remember my true self.
I laid in bed early this morning while everyone was sleeping and fed my soul with the beautiful story of a strong, empowered, real woman.
On the hike with the kids, I set the intention of happiness and patience, and allowed myself to fully absorb the grounding energy from our surroundings.
During the drive today, I threw on my favorite meditation playlist, closed my eyes, and let myself have stillness while the world zipped by.
I remembered that trying to control the unknown is always a losing proposition.
I remembered that surrendering to the flow of life is the path to joy.
I remembered that happiness and peace are not dictated by my surroundings or circumstances; they are always inside of me, patiently waiting for me to come back.
Damn it feels good to be back.
On to the next adventure, my friends!
In Joy, Truth, & Love,
~Lisa
