Colorado and back.
Last month I led a four-day retreat for work outside the little town of Meredith, Colorado. The whole family was able to join. Rather than dealing with the logistics and honestly the hassle of flying with two small kids, we opted to drive there and back. We have a van, after all. So we packed some things and hit the road five days before we needed to be there.
Unlike our big trip last year where we drove 4,858 miles, this was more of a get-there-and-get-back kind of trip. We haven't installed a heater yet, it was the middle of October, and the route we were traveling was going to be cold.
Our first stop was at a state park near the Oregon-Idaho border, Farewell Bend, named for the fact it was there the Snake River bent northward and disappeared into Hells Canyon.
We blew through Idaho, stopping only just outside Boise at the 'Roller Slide Park' for S. We went there with friends last year and he loved it. This trip was just as much for him as it was for us and we wanted to make sure he had fun, too. There was a quick stop in Twin Falls for coffees and a birthday pie for K before plowing into Utah, southbound for the turnoff of Highway 6 in Provo.
Our stop for the second night was at the northern tip of Great Salt Lake. It was pouring rain, just above freezing. K and I were reminded of how much we love our van listening to the rain pinging on the roof all night. We'd be reminded of this again on the way home. Warm and cozy inside, we sang happy birthday to K.
The next day we woke to cold and cloudy. The snow level was just a few hundred feet above us as we jumped back on the highway. Before crossing Soldier Summit on Highway 6 and entering the desert world of Utah, we made a stop at Publik Coffee in Salt Lake City. The avacado toast was just as incredible as we remembered, the espresso wasn't, and maybe the most awesome part was how I parallel parked the van like a pro. It was my first time.
We also saw a cool van in the color we're thinking of painting ours.
We were headed back to San Rafael Swell to hike and camp again. We stayed there last year and it was one of our favorite spots. The sun and warmth felt nice after the rain and gloom back in SLC, only two hours away. We found a sweet spot under some crisp golden cottonwoods.
After settling in a little, we took off for a hike into one of the canyons to find autumn color and petroglyphs.
Back at the van, K prepped dinner while S and I ran up a nearby hill to watch the moon rise. Also, to make goofy faces together.
The next morning, we all climbed a ridge overlooking one of the canyons. I carried H so she'd get a little nap.
Then we were off, through Moab to southwestern Colorado for a visit to our friends outside the town of Ridgway. The route between those two towns was sometimes windy, sometimes straight, and always narrow.
The view from their property was pretty nice.
After a fun evening with them, it was only a few more hours to the retreat. We were there Thursday through Sunday, me working and us hanging out together. It was a nice, quiet spot. Between the time we arrived and the time we left, it felt like the seasons changed from autumn to winter. We were excited to get home.
Then, as we were leaving the retreat, I grabbed a zuchini banana muffin. An hour and a half later, we flipped a U-turn on I-70 back to the town of Rifle so I could check into the emergency room. I was having an anaphylactic reaction to something in the muffin (it turned out the walnuts were somehow cross-contaminated with peanuts).
While I was getting pumped full of epinephrine and steroids, K found a park nearby for S with clocks and gears! They also got to watch a helicopter land. Not necessarily how we planned on spending the afternoon, but I was fine and we headed to Grand Junction.
The next day was a big driving day. After grabbing coffee at Kiln Coffee Bar, we blasted through Utah and back into Idaho to find a tucked-away spot to camp for the night just a bit off I-84. It was rainy again in SLC and into the night. We made dinner inside the van.
When we were designing our van, we opted not to install a permanent cooktop or stove. The reason: despite having a cozy van, we're still camping. The reason we go camping is to get outside, so we figured we'd cook outside, too. However, we also knew there would be times when the weather wasn't awesome and we'd want to have the option to cook inside. We designed that countertop to fit our stove.
That night, the wind relentlessly buffeted the van at what was forecast as 30mph gusts. It didn't let up in the morning, although the sun rose bright and beautiful. Again, we had camped just beneath the snow level. As we headed out, we thought maybe we could make it home that day. Ultimately, we decided to camp one more night in Oregon rather than pushing through and showing up at midnight.
The last morning was wet and cold. The larch trees were golden. We made coffee quick before buckling in and pulling back onto I-84, north and west toward home.
Mid-morning we came upon I-90. It didn't escape me, that spot. Had we still lived in our old house, we'd have turned left to cross the Columbia and head over the Cascades. But we didn't. We live in Wenatchee now. So we didn't cross the river, instead heading north alongside it. I smiled to myself.
Finally, we crossed it one final time as we came into town. Our beautiful little city and our beautiful little home.
As it always does returning from a trip, it felt really good being home. This one was a little shorter than the last. We only drove 2,632 miles. About half the distance even though we made it further east. T1ntin did great. Blew two windshield wiper fuses, averaged about 24mpg, and took the trip in stride. We really will have to do some work on him this next year, as well as finally install a heater. For now he'll hibernate. We'll clean him up and hook him into some power to keep the batteries happy. We'll settle into the change of seasons, hopeful and excited for winter, reflecting on another wonderful trip and time spent together. This time, all four of us.
