Holiday Road Part 3

Elk near stream
Photo by Jessica

I awoke early on day three...not the 4am of the day before, but around 6am as the sun started to come up. I was very happy to feel the sun's rays start to warm me and the surrounding area as the previous night had been miserably cold in the tent. We pack our gear and I am amazed at how clean Rocky Mountain National Park is. Of course when you check in, they read you the riot act about picking up after yourself and leaving no trace behind when you leave. I always try to do this when I camp and have heard this from other campsites, but this is one of the few times that I have actually seen it followed so closely. No one was leaving garbage or even the smallest human trace behind, it was nice to see people taking pride in the park. It was nice to be able to hike in a clean nature environment without seeing small pieces of paper, bottle caps, and plastic littering the area. We did find a pair of used panties by the mountain stream (I think someone got lucky) but that was the only human trace to be found outside of the campsites themselves.*

Mountain Stream
Photo by Jessica

After packing, we went hiking...mostly to the same places that I went the previous day due to limited time, but slightly different paths which changed the experience quite a bit. One thing that I really wanted to do was wade in the mountain stream. I dipped my hand in it the evening before but with the sun setting, I didn't think it would be wise to wade in as the current was swift and drop-offs on the stream floor could be sudden and deep. In the morning, I tossed off my shoes and waded right in. It was cold, really cold but was still fun. Where I was wading there was a super soft sand creek bed with a few boulders strewn here and there. I only waded in to depths just over my knees, but I wished that I had been wearing my swim suit or that a change of clothes was more easily accessible (everything was already packed in the family truckster) because I wanted to dunk myself in the freezing water and maybe float a short way with the current. I was tempted anyways, but am glad I didn't as I forgot that Shelia was in my pocket. Eventually it was time to hike on and pack up and leave. I wish I would have taken a drink of the mountain stream, just to see what it was like.

After hiking back to the campsite it was time to checkout. I would have loved to stay for a while longer, head up to Bear Lake, or drive Trail Ridge Road, but I knew we had nearly 8 hours of driving ahead and with the way my fellow travelers take breaks (nothing shorter than 40 minutes, even if it is a quick "bathroom stop"), I knew we had to get going. We stopped to get gas right outside the park and realized that we forgot to throw a couple small bags of garbage away before we left. As we were filling up, we tried throwing our garbage in the garbage cans at the Conoco gas station. The attendant stopped us and told us that we had to throw the garbage away in a dumpster on the other side of the (quite large) parking lot behind two other businesses. It would have been one thing if he was congenial about it and asked us if we wouldn't mind tossing our garbage there instead, but no the cranky old attendant was accusatory and basically called us idiots for not disposing of our garbage in the park. I guess since we just bought $70+ dollars in gas that it entitled us to either the use of the facilities or at least a little courtesy. I'm sure it doesn't affect you, gas station attendant, but you left a bad enough taste in our mouths that we decided not to eat at the restaurant or shop at the market contained in your little National Park Village area. I'm sure they would not be happy that your gruff attitude cost them business. As always, thanks for being a doucher.

Colorado River near Hanging Lake Trailhead
Photo by Jessica

Finally back on the road, we head south to I-70 and towards Utah. We tried to stop at Hanging Lake but it was closed for construction. I am more disappointed now than I was then as I think it would have been well worth the time and the climb to see. Instead, we ended up playing in the Colorado River by the rest stop for a while. Personally, I didn't think it was a big deal as I had already played in the source waters earlier this morning, but since we stopped it again took us almost an hour to get back on the road. On our journey, we even drove past Country Jam outside of Grand Junction. We weren't sure what was going on, but could tell it was some kind of big music festival...I was tempted to stop and check it out a little bit, but was really trying to limit our number of stops for any reason...plus I would have been disappointed that it was country and not some awesome rock show like Coachella. Every time we would stop, I would groan at how far back our estimated time of arrival had become. Our ETA started the day at 6:15pm but would be 10:30pm by the time all stops were accounted for.

I guess when the sign advertises
"Fax Machine," that you shouldn't
expect state of the art technology.

The rest of the day's driving was relatively uneventful, it was fun winding through the mountains and then a nice change of pace on the flat, straight, and empty roads of Utah in the evening. Actually, I really liked speeding along US-191 S under the full moon...really peaceful. I thought it would have been nice to at least drive through Arches National Park, but it was getting too dark by the time we hit Moab. Finally, we arrived at Monticello - our random stopping point when we planned the trip. We stayed at Cayonlands Motor Inn. For what we used it for - a place to crash for the night - it wasn't a bad place. But if you were expecting much more, you would have been disappointed. I guess to me the term "motor inn" reminds me of the 1950's and just seems outdated. So did this place. Corners just seemed to be cut - no handles on the sink or shower matched (i.e. - the hot and cold knobs were completely different), the lid for the toilet tank was not correct (the tank was square but the lid was trapezoidal), everything except one light and the TV were unplugged (sure the room had a mini-fridge and a microwave, but you had to reach around and plug them in to use them and wait for the fridge to get cold), forget about a hot shower (I took a luke-warm shower and then everything else was ice-cold), and although they had "free wi-fi," once in the room there was not a strong enough signal to get reliable service (or any service really). One thing that threw us was that Orbitz had listed this as a "Pets OK" hotel but when we checked in there was a sign that said "No Pets, No Exceptions." Since we were travelling with a cat, we just decided to sneak it in. Sorry, motor inn. Once inside the room, there was a small sign that said that if you got caught with a pet that there would be an additional $10 cleaning fee. $10? Most hotels that allow pets automatically tack on $25 or more...I felt comfortable taking the risk (especially after the cold shower). I think we paid $50 for our stay, since we included the cat ourselves, I didn't feel ripped off but might have been a little disappointed otherwise.

The Truckster's cracked and bug splattered windshield...
oh and mountains, valleys, and rivers. Nice drivetime scenery.

All in all, day three was pretty boring as it was mostly driving and I was not tired enough to be hallucinating...but even only being driving, at least it was driving through some amazing landscape.

Day 3: ~460 miles driven, ~10 hours drive time (stops included)

Too be continued...

*Normally, I would have picked up any garbage that I found in a place like this and disposed of it properly...but I really didn't want to hike around for the next couple hours with someone else's used undies.

Holiday Road Part 2

Rodeway Inn - Estes Park, CO

At the end of Day One, we stayed at the Rodeway Inn in Estes Park, CO.  A decent enough place and cheaper than I would have guessed...it was no Stanley Hotel, but then again I wasn't paying so I could hardly suggest a hotel that cost 4+ times as much.  Actually, I wasn't aware that we were so close to the Stanley until later, but we did do a drive by when I found out. The Stanley was the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining (and part of the 1997 mini-series was shot there).  Following a 40+ hour day - A day  in which we drove 12 hours and I had a good start to a trucker's tan. A day in which I said "I hate you...so much" more times that I can count. A day when at one point I was so tired while driving that I thought "Why can't I remember where the 'match speed' button is?" not the cruise control, the 'match speed' button allowing you to perfectly match the speed of the car in front of me...it took me a few moments to realize that this button was in the early 90's PC game Tie Fighter, not real life.  After this day, you would think that I would sleep in a little.  However, both you and me would be wrong.  Having fallen asleep around 11pm, I proceeded to wake up at 4am.  WTF?  I tried dozing for the next couple hours but my body and brain were having none of it and around 6am, I finally got up and started the day.  Of course, Ex-GF-Unit and Ex-Kinda-Kid were still sleeping, so I quietly packed as much of my things as I could, showered and then watched TV for the next 3 hours until they finally awoke.

Sheila

Looking back, pretty much all we did at the hotel was sleep...so staying at the Stanley would definitely have been a waste but still cool...especially if we were in room 217 (and then I would have an excuse for redrum).  Getting my fellow travelers motivated in the morning is difficult...it is always a struggle but eventually Jessica did take a shower and went to get us breakfast at the continental breakfast buffet.  You may say that I was being lazy as I could have done this earlier...but you do not realize that sometimes these people are two of the most indecisive and pickiest people on the planet and I have long ago decided it is better for my mental health to try not to make food decisions for them.  While Jessica was busy getting breakfast, I put the remaining destinations for the trip into Sheila. ^(TM)  Sheila was the Garmin Nuvi GPS unit borrowed from my brother.  If you have never used a GPS navigation unit for a long trip you are missing out.  Never again will Google maps or Mapquest be sufficient...the adaptability, change on the fly, and the location (gas, groceries, restaurant) finder make it all worthwhile.  It made the trip so much easier and spontaneous (even if Shelia often had to "recalculate" because we took a lot of detours...sorry Shelia).

Pizookie
(White Chocolate Macadamia Nut with Vanilla Ice Cream)
Photo courtesy of queenkv @ flickr

This day was mostly about me.  If I have to take a week off of work to help somebody move across country, I am atleast going to do some things that I want to do.  I had made plans to have lunch with Amanda (the First).  Yes, I guess it could make me a jerk that I planned to see an ex-GF while driving another ex-GF across country.  In my book they are equals - both friends...and as long as I am in the neighborhood (a neighborhood that happens to be 12 hours drive from my regular haunt), I am going to stop in and say hi.  Still being a little sick of driving, I made Jessica drive...this was probably not a good idea as at one point she became angry/jealous and was driving the family truckster way too fast through the curvy mountain roads while blasting angry chick music (Evanescence).  She calmed down enough after about 5-10 minutes that I no longer felt that death was imminent.  I understand the anger/jealously a little bit...but my mind says "Seriously?  It was 10 years ago...and I never drove across country with her, deal with it."  We finally arrive in Boulder, CO to meet Amanda at BJs Brewhouse.  Amanda had wanted to try a Pizookie for quite a while (and they did not disappoint).  I had a good time catching up with Amanda and I don't think it was nearly as awkward as I thought it might be.  I think even Jessica had an OK time once she relaxed a little.

Hell - photo by dema @ flickr

BJs was in the pedestrian mall of Pearl Street in Boulder.  I liked the Pearl Street area (although ) even if was a little bit hippie for my tastes.  Shelia did try to tell us to turn onto the pedestrian area and mow down a crowd of people (I think she hates hippies too).  Even worse than hippies was the fact that the devil had opened a store right next to BJ's...Crocs' flagship retail store was right next door.  I hate Crocs, always have.  I think they are the ugliest shoes ever...even worse that Birkenstocks (and that is saying a lot).  In the past couple years I have realized that Crocs probably do have a use at the boat ramp, pool, or beach...but too many people still wear them at inappropriate places (AKA In a Public Setting).  Anyhow, do you know how a pair of new Crocs smells?  That sickening plastic chemical off-gas smell?  Now imagine that multiplied by 20,000.  I had an instant headache from just walking past...I can't imagine anyone actually having to work there all day without permanent brain damage.

Street Performers
Photo by Jessica
click to embiggen

Pot Flyer: Never Pay more than $54.13!
Photo by Jessica
click to embiggen

Luckily, there were much hippie activities to keep me entertained and away from the Crocs.  At the pedestrian mall were vagabonds, panhandlers, guitar & banjo players, various performers, skate boarders, etc... basically a stinky hippie fest.  We watched the hula-hoop gymnasts for a while.  They were just starting to work out all the kinks in their act, but they were fun to watch anyways.  Plus the guy had "white-guy dreads."  Let's see: not working on a weekday, asking for money/handouts, dreadlocks...I would say hippie even if they were more physically fit than most.  I calls 'em likes I smells 'em.  I also really enjoyed all the pot flyers posted throughout the pedestrian area.  "Bring in this flyer for a free 1.2g joint."  I got a flyer just in case...you know for medical conditions.  Hey Colorado, if you are so progressive, where is your Same-Sex Marriage?  Iowa has you beat there!  I was a little shocked at all the people smoking in Boulder.  I am used to most people I know not smoking or rarely smoking and seeing it in public even less...but there were many heavy chain smokers on Pearl Street - high class and hippie alike.

On the way back to Estes Park

After lunch and a little strolling around, it was back to Estes Park and into Rocky Mountain National Park for some camping.  Just looking at a computer map it is hard to know which camping site in going to be a good one...but I figured being on an outer loop would at least have one side open to the wilderness.  We really lucked out.  We had a great view of mountains and foothills from our campsite as well as a view of a mountain stream and small grassland.  I think it was one of the better campsites in the whole Moraine Park Campground (well at least as much of it that I was able to explore).  After checking out a bunch of other campsites while hiking, most had one of these sites, but ours was one of the few that had all of them.  It might not have mattered to someone who was camping for a week and hiking all the trails but for someone who had just one night and the morning of the next day it was a great campsite.  A short 10 minute hike from the campsite and I came to a place where I could see no one else and was surrounded by mountains on all sides.  Anyone who thinks Rocky Mountain High by John Denver is about drugs has never experienced this isolation, beauty, and wonder at nature...it is intoxicating.


At first, it didn't seem like we were really in the wild...the campground was closer to the park entrance than others and we had campers to the left and right.  I didn't think there was much chance for seeing wildlife but after a short hike and then back to the campsite herd of elk walked about 20 yards from our tent, later we would find a dead elk about 30 yards from our tent...that was maybe only a week or two deceased.  Bear?  Wolves?  I don't know, but something had definitely been eating it.  Although we didn't have a chance to see it, a bear was spotted near another loop of the campsite that was about 1/3 mile away.  No bears, wolves, or big horn sheep were within our sights though.

10 minutes from our campsite
Photo by Jessica
Click to embiggen

After campfire roasted hot dogs and marshmallows while sitting under a gorgeous full moon and star-filled sky it was time for bed. It should be obvious, but it gets cold in the mountains at night...really cold.  Owing to the fact that I was flying back to Iowa, I did not bring a sleeping bag...I didn't have room in my suitcase and didn't want to pay $45 to check another bag at the airport.  I had emphasized this point to Jessica and demanded that she must bring some kind of blanket for me to use when camping.  She did, but it happened to be a very light summery type blanket.  I don't know if she didn't realize that it gets cold at night in the mountains or didn't think of it since the preceding week had been 90 degrees all week...but the blanket did not do a lot of good. It was a very cold night with chattering teeth and all with wolves howling in the distance at 3am.

Day 2: ~80 miles driven, ~2 driving time, -5 miles toward goal

Forest Fire = Not Me
Photo Courtesy of Estes Park News

I know what you are thinking - "Can it be a coincidence that a forest fire started in Rocky Mountain National Park around the same time that I stayed there?  After all, didn't your hotel catch on fire last time you were in Vegas?  Wasn't there that one incident when you were a kid that involved fireworks and a hayfield?  This sounds pretty suspicious."  I would agree it does sound suspicious but it is all coincidental (at least as far as all the evidence can prove).






To be continued....

Holiday Road Part 1

This past week, I was on a cross country trip to help ex-GF-Unit Jessica move to Arizona.  I am still not sure of all my reasons why I agreed to do this.  Part of it has to do with me liking her as a friend and wanting to help her be happy, part has to do with wanting her far away so we can go get on with our lives, part of it has to do with wanting to see the Grand Canyon, part of has to do with her families horrible sense of direction, and partly because I am stupid...and a bunch of other reasons too.

The plan was to leave at 6am on Tuesday morning.  That way we could get to our first stopping point, Estes Park CO, in plenty of time and enjoy the some of the sights like Big Thompson Canyon.  I stopping in at Jessica's on my lunch hour on Monday to see how packing was finishing up.  It wasn't.  To my frustration, she wasn't nearly as packed as she could have been.  You would think for knowing about a cross country trip for about 10 months that you would have time to prepare.  But this has always been one of the reasons that we weren't compatible.  I would think  I would be used to it and not surprised...but I still was.  I went back to work, finished up what I could and then headed over to help pack.

The family truckster may have once looked
like this...now it was a little rusty, covered
in dings, dents and scratches.
Our family truckster started out looking as
bad as the Griswold's looked at the
end of the movie.

We packed from 4pm to 5:30am.  I was very angry and just wanted to get on the road...but Jessica had to pick up some items from family so we missed our original start time.  With the family truckster (2002 Kia Sedona - You think you hate it now, but wait till you drive it) finally loaded we ended up leaving about 9am.  It felt good to finally be on our way, but it didn't last long.  We made it almost a whole 10 minutes on the road before our first problem - many electronics including the radio, the clock, the temperature gauge, etc... were not working.  Although it was going to be a long trip, I was prepared to go without, just to get going.  I happened to check the windshield wipers and they were also not working.  This was not good news as several storms systems were scheduled to cross our path.  We pulled off the first exit into the old downtown area of Waukee to get it fixed.  Luckily it was just a blown fuse from someone trying to charge their cell phone with a cord that did not go with the cell phone.  Being very frustrated after being awake over 24 hours and with an 11 hour drive ahead of us, I made Jessica drop me off in the old town square/park or Waukee while the car was getting fixed.  It didn't take too long, but with the detour and the fixing it added a little over an hour to the trip already.  Jessica has no idea how close I was to just walking off and saying "Well....see ya" at this point.  I was SO close...if the repairs had taken much longer, I probably would have been gone.  Everything was pointing to this being a horrible trip, and often times when stuff continually goes wrong, I take it as god telling me not do this...I sort of had the feeling that I would be eaten by a bear.

It looked nice from the road but was abandoned
photo courtesy of wikimedia commons

I stayed with it, and finally, a little bit after 4 hours behind schedule, we were back on the road...again.  The next 12 hours involved, driving for a couple hours while Jessica rested before switching places.  It was a long day...mostly driving and not much happening.  One of the strangest things to happen was stopping in Sedgwick, CO.  Sam (Jess' son) needed to go to the bathroom and this was the nearest stop.  I was a little scared because the sign said "Population: 191" but it also said there was a gas station.  We didn't need gas at the moment but would need to stop in the near future so we thought we might as well fill up while we are here.  There was a nice looking gas station right off the ramp...but unfortunately it was closed and abandoned.  There was a smaller, older gas station just down the block.  It was pretty bizarre...out of 8 pumps, one pump worked...the others were missing hoses, missing nozzles, or taped down with "out of order" and "not working" signs on them.  You might say "Well they just don't get that much business to need all those pumps."  Which might be true, but the 20 minutes that I was there there were 3 other cars waiting to use this pump...so another might have been nice.  It has been a long time since I have used one of the vintage 1970's gas pumps with the rolling slot machine style numbers and had the clerk come out and check the pump for the dollar amount.  Other great things about this gas station - door knobs on bathrooms did not work, had to use a sliding bolt lock to keep door shut, and they "just got a machine to run the credit cards a couple weeks ago."  It was pretty obvious that no money had been put into this place in 30 years.  It is not the most hilly billy place I have ever been but it is probably in the top ten.  Sorry I don't have a photo...but I would suggest trying to avoid Sedgwick if possible.

Seeing the mountains come into view was like a godsend.
Sunset on the Mountains...Picture by Jessica.

We finally made it to Estes Park and our hotel around 10:30pm.  You have no idea how happy I was when the mountains finally came into view...it gave me my 28th wind of the day(s).  It did make me laugh at the "stupid" GPS when we only had 32 miles left and it was still saying about an hour and a half drive time.  The GPS was right...the canyon curved around so much that it did take much longer than I would have guessed...when you plot out an 11+ hour trip...it looks much straighter than it actually ends up being. Hadn't really eaten much all day and every place was done delivering...but sleep was much more important than food, so I flopped on the bed and was asleep within a couple minutes.  I was disappointed that we didn't have more time to enjoy Big Thompson Canyon...it was dark when we drove through and the driving is a little tense.  Mostly the entire day sucked but it felt good to sleep after being awake 40+ hours and on the road for about 12 hours.

Day 1: ~700 miles, ~12 hours drive time

To be continued....