Hi Friends.
Week 15 had us exploring new areas we both have never been, and it’s been my favorite leg of Colorado so far. After Ouray, we made our way down to Durango. This town is so cool and such a surprise to me for how much we liked it. It was not only beautiful, but lively and not too crowded. We spent our days in a park, getting work done before taking time to explore. People were kayaking down the river, skating and riding bmx in a skate park, and walking their dogs throughout the park. While we were walking around ourselves, we stumbled upon White Rabbit Books & Curiosities. This was a small bookstore, that also had a major focus on spirituality. You know; the afterlife, tarot, crystals, and all of the things that make me excited to learn and read about. If you knew me well enough, you would walk by this store and be like “yup that’s a Lisa store.” Of course, I walked out of there with a new book on karma and rebirth. At night we walked along beautiful neighborhoods and into the main street section. It was full of restaurants and stores, so we stopped for a bite to eat.
Not too far from Durango is Mesa Verde National Park. We actually didn’t realize it was here when we came down this way – but we decided to check it out. It’s not a dog friendly park, so we dropped Pepper Jack off at a dog daycare (which he absolutely loved!) and then headed to the park. When we got there, we were told that all of the tours were booked up – but there was one section that was self-guided at the other end of the park. We made our way there and learned about the cliff dwellings and other structures that the Ancestral Pubelo people made for their society. On our way back to the car, we were truly blown away by seeing a pack of wild horses come across our path. There were about 5 or 6 of them, two of them young, running and playing with each other. I’ve never gotten so close to wild horses before and we did our best to give them their space as we made our way back to the car. It was just us and one other woman with them. It was quiet and really felt like a special, almost spiritual encounter.
This week we also dispersed camped by a reservoir. It was incredibly quiet. Only one other person was camping near the area – enough ways away where we had our own space. Getting out into the wilderness to do dispersed camping is such an adventure. You never know exactly how it’s going to turn out, but it’s been incredible. Being able to hike with Pepper Jack off-leash as well is such a great feeling. He absolutely loves it and has gotten so much better at coming when called. We spent a few days working out of Alamosa, Colorado which is this little town home to Adams State University. We loved walking around the campus during the morning with Pepper Jack before it got too hot. That has consistently been a challenge this summer – trying to beat the heat. Luckily going into the mountains helps quite a bit. The higher we go, the more the temperature drops.
Lastly, we ended the week at Great Sand Dunes National Park, to celebrate Pepper Jack’s 4th birthday! He is the best boy, and absolutely loves going on an adventure. We hiked all the way to the top of the sand dunes, which was an incredible experience. It was super challenging for me in particular, mainly because of my POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). Going up a steep section often affects me a lot harder than it would most people, and this was steep section after steep section. However, after a lot of breaks along the way up (and thanks to a super patient husband), we finally made it. It was dark and quiet when we got up there, but the moon was so full and bright that it illuminated everything below. We only saw a handful of other people in the distance, walking with their headlamps. I never felt sand so soft and fine before. We had our snacks and water that we packed with us at the top before heading back down to the van for the night.
One thing about being on the road is that you never know how your plans are going to change. Sometimes it can be exciting and lead us going through places we never would of thought to check out before (i.e. Upper Peninsula of Michigan), other times it’s frustrating and puts a damper on what you’ve been excited about.
Unfortunately, this time it’s a little bit of a bummer. Travis and I were really excited about heading out to the west coast and spending his 30th birthday and our first wedding anniversary in Northern California, but we have decided against it. With all the wildfires happening at the moment, it only makes sense for us to turn around in Colorado and head back east. We are now planning on hitting the remaining states this way (Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Oregon, Washington) early next year instead. Our route on the way back isn’t certain, but we are excited to get to visit some new areas in the middle of the country.
Thanks for reading.
Leece
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