From the Wintery Mountains to Warm Virginia

Hello world!

It has been a while since we've given you an update on our travels. Sorry about that.

We had a busy couple of weeks travelling around the tremendous mountains of Colorado. After a friendly neighbor at the Great Sand Dunes campground help us jump-start the car (after too much party music blasting from our car with the engine off, apparently) we set out westward towards Durango. We got our first taste of alpine Rocky Mountain environs as we crossed over the freshly snow-covered mountains of the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests. Here, spectacular rock pinnacles erupt from mountainsides dotted with evergreens, and the mountains loom over verdant pastureland in the valleys.

We reached Durango in the evening and checked into a dirt-cheap hotel room, since it was way too cold to be camping. The next day (or what little sliver of it the daylight savings shift seems to leave for us) we explored the historic downtown district of Durango. Despite housing thoroughly modern stores, the downtown area retains the look and feel of its frontier-town ancestry.

The following day, we awoke to flurries of snow falling outside the hotel window. Trying to ignore the bad omens, we drove northward into the mountains, heading for Ouray. As we crested the first of several mountain passes, we could tell that the weather was worsening. The third (and final) mountain pass was also the highest, around 13,000 feet. We made it up the mountain by following a snow plow, but the way down the north slope was up to us. Hard blowing snow made it nearly impossible to see the winding road ahead, but we managed to remain on track by following the ruts made by a previous car. After a few scary hairpin turns, we inched our way down into Ouray. By this time, the sky was darkening and the snow was showing little sign of letting up. After talking to our Couchsurfing host, we decided that we couldn't make it to her house, which lay some distance down an unpaved road. So, we decided to check into another cheap motel, then relieve some of the day's stress at the newly founded Ouray Brewery.

This is what we drove through.

By the following morning, temperatures were rising, the snow was melting, and the roads were clear. We hopped in the car and drove northward towards Montrose, intending to reach Crested Butte that evening. East of Montrose, we noticed a sign for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. On a bit of a whim, we decided to check it out. Nothing could have prepared us for the stunning views which awaited. It's hard to tell exactly how deep this beautiful canyon is until you throw a snowball over the edge and watch it disappear from view long before it hits the bottom. We spent the entire afternoon exploring the many established viewpoints overlooking various sections of the canyon. As the sun dipped low, we decided to stay in the park's free (however snow-covered) campground, rather than continuing eastward. We set up camp, cooked dinner, and decided to head into Montrose to avoid the cold. After Christy washed our dinner dishes in a Target bathroom (she keeps it classy) we aimlessly wandered the gargantuan store, happy to be out of the cold wind.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

The following morning, we drove to Crested Butte. Crested Butte is an unbelievably cute little ski town nestled between high mountains. We wandered the downtown area, with roads still blanketed in the previous night's snow, until late afternoon. After our Couchsurfing host, Sunny, got home from teaching preschool, we headed over to her house. We were ecstatic to find a warm cottage and a soft bed waiting for us. The next day, we did a but more wandering around town. After climbing a small hill which gave us a nice view of snow-covered Crested Butte, we heading down into the village. Christy found a fantastic winter coat in a thrift store, something she had been needing for a while. Later, we stroll for a couple of miles along the Lower Loop trail, a public multi-use trail built primarily on land reclaimed from a closed heavily-polluted coal mine (surprise, surprise). Thankfully, the land is now put to much better use by dog-walkers and mountain bikers.

Crested Butte

Frozen pond in the reclaimed mining area

Following our second night in Crested Butte, we drove westward to Colorado Springs. The landscape rapidly changed as we drove towards the plains of eastern Colorado. Exiting the high mountains, we headed through South Park (yes, the South Park), a vast expanse of gently-rolling grassland, used primarily for pasture. It's the perfect place for an imaginary town. As the sun dropped behind our car, it illuminated the red-orange rocks of the "front range". We soon arrived at our hosts', Tom and Mary, house. Tom was Christy's father's college roommate, and he and his wife Mary graciously agreed to host us for a few days.

Over the next few days, Mary and Tom led us on several hikes through Garden of the Gods park, an area of of towering red sandstone formations directly behind their neighborhood. We also did a bit of exploring in the city. First, we looked around Old Colorado City, which was the hard-living, seedy counterpart of refined Colorado Springs in the 19th century. Today, Colorado City is the hip shopping and entertainment district of Colorado Springs. We checked out a world of miniature sculptures at Magic Town before heading towards downtown Colorado Springs. On Tejos Ave., the Springs' main downtown strip, we found an expansive costume shop. Apparently Christy looks awesome in a fake beard (a la The Soggy Bottom Boys).

A very sunny day at Garden of the Gods Park

After spending a less-than-restful night dozing on the couch in the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, we boarded a jet at 6 AM and flew home to Virginia on Monday the 22nd. Until January 5th, we'll be enjoying a relaxing holiday season with our families. The Subaru awaits us in Colorado Springs when we return.