THE TRIP
It all started when my friend and I were off-roading and one of us had a marvel idea… “Wouldn’t this be fun to do in Colorado?” So it begins, I mention that I have a cousin that lives in Colorado, and that we could stay with him and his family. We planned the trip for August 10th. Turns out this will be the most liberating and most independent event in my life.
Thursday, August 10th rolls around, we get and start loading the jeep, and hit the highway. Just knowing that we were on our own was such a big challenge for us, never in our lives have we gone on trip with out the financial support and guidance of our parents. As we approach the first big city Omaha, I have to guide him and tell him which exits to take and when we got out of there it was such an accomplishment.
After Omaha we had to fill up the tank for the first time. Never in my life have I argued with my best friend about the stupidest thing. Who, is going to pay for the first gas fill-up? After about 10 minutes of arguing we finally decided to flip a coin to see who would pay. Turns out there are some rules about coin flipping that I didn’t know about. We just had a mutual agreement to alternate who pays for gas. That was only the first major delay in our trip.
As we start on the long stretch of nothingness people refer to as the Nebraska highway, I realized that a box shaped automobile isn’t the most aerodynamic car in the world. Turn out this is going to be a 16-hour trip to Gunnison Colorado instead of a 14 hours. Just one more delay on our trip.
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed, like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? That’s kind of how I felt, when trying to direct my friend through the city of Denver. It was one of the most challenging things to try and explain to someone else what I see on the map and how to get through the Mixmaster’s of Denver. We only ended up stopping and asking for directions about every other exit. Just one more small delay in our trip.
As night falls the Rocky Mountains rise, right into our path and get to my cousin’s house we had to travel through Monarch Pass which is probably one of the hardest ones to drive due to the lack of lighting and curves.
I had stopped working after our daughter was born to be a full time stay at home mom, so it was just going to be me and her 24/7 for the next two weeks. For weeks leading up to his trip it was all I could think about and it kept me up at night. My husband had been in the Navy for almost 8 years at this point and had been on two Middle East deployments in our marriage so I was no stranger to being alone, but this time was different, this time I had another tiny human being that I loved more than anything in this world to keep
I never predicted this beautiful trip ending up as a nightmare in my existence. I drove for approximately 40 minutes and my partner shared the driving for an additional 40 minutes. We were driving my friend mom’s brand new Toyota Camry XLE; one of the most comfortable cars I had ever been in. We enjoyed the elongated ride with new hit music, and air conditioning set to an exact temperature that met our necessities. On the way to the beach some doubts about going there started to circle around our minds, but the fact that we were about half way there made them a...
The warm Wyoming night started with Patricia and I warming up our horses. Patricia is my age and has a bubbly personality, making her fun to be around. As we were riding around, we talked about everything and anything in order to stay calm and not become nervous. Once the grand entry started however, I went to the roping arena and Patricia went to the goat tying arena. The announcer said the Cowboy Prayer which was followed by the Australia, Canadian, and the United States National anthem. After that, I tied my string on and it was time to rodeo. As I was waiting in line to rope I met these awesome people. Taylor Marshall was a girl I met from Montana and I also talked to Lauren Conkwright from Kentucky. I was the first up out of the three and we all wished each other luck.
It was a cool, June morning, I had my bags packed and ready to go, and just like that I was on the road to Niagara Falls! We started by getting up at five O'clock in the morning.I remember waking up to the smell of french toast, bacon, and eggs. We packed our bags in the truck, then hit the road!
It all started on June 2nd, 2022, It was summertime and I had just turned eighteen. Finally, my parents would let me go on a trip all by myself! I had been
Aspen, Colorado, the town I grew up in. The town where I first learned to speak, swim and do many other things. Life in Aspen is perfect. Skiing on the powdered slopes during the winter, hiking grueling mountains during the summer and exploring it’s majestic beauty any season. Aspen’s captivating beauty is also filled with fond memories everywhere that take me back to my childhood: seeing mom bears desperately reaching for the tart crabapples to feed their young, playing volleyball with my brother on the scorching sand, and getting frustrated because I could never hit the ball with enough force to make it over the net, watching the crystallized ice charging to take over the last bit of green left. I had it, the mountains, the snow, the house, I had it all. Although in the summer of 2012 everything changed.
I took a trip to Colorado In July of 2015 it was the best week of my life. The best part of that week was the day that I got to spend in rocky mountain national park. It was a great experience with beautiful scenery and wildlife everywhere you looked. This trip changed everything I thought about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do when I am finished with my schooling.
One Sunday morning, early, I’d say around 5:00am or so I was laying in my bed sound asleep in my nice, cold, dark room all snuggled up in my blankets and about 8 pillows surrounding me. I was woken up by my mom and with a voice so soft but with a hint of excitement she says, “Sarah time to wake up, we have to be at the airport in an hour”. I moaned and groaned because I stayed awake most of the night just so excited about what the day had in store for me replaying situations in my head over and over again! Soon enough me and my mom are in her car driving to Kansas City to get on a plane to West Palm Beach, Florida. Our car is packed to the celling of all our bags filled with clothes, shoes, blankets, some kitchen ware, bathroom stuff and other essentials and that’s when it hit me, wow I’m leaving Kansas City. Or more like I’m leaving all my friends, family, my dog, and the house I grew up in for most my life. I took my last looks of Missouri and with every emotion running threw me I didn’t know if I was exited or scared or both to be moving to a different state!
We loaded the van, and then we set off to go home. The trip home was pretty quiet. We stop a few times and my Mom always says “We’re almost there, guys.” I’m so glad I did. Well, after many, many grueling hours, we finally arrived home!
We made it to Calgary and decided to stop at a pub. The place was full of cowboys, and they decided they didn't like our hippie dress. Within minutes they began jeering and threatening. We bolted for the door. They were right behind us, pelting the van with beer bottles. What a horrible experience! After the monotony of northern Ontario and the prairies seeing the Rocky Mountains was fantastic. The poor old van labored valiantly and steadily (as) we carried on.
You don't have to plan an extended road trip just to get your thrill on, which saves you time and money. We are just 15-minute easy drive east of Colorado Springs along Spencer Road. Enjoy the lush scenery as you travel down the scenic road towards an adrenalin-charged day of
It was May 25, 2001. What was clear however, was the fact that I was soon going to be on my own in a country where I did not know the language or the people that I would be meeting there and staying with. The adrenaline rushed through me as I packed the last of my things and ran out of the door. I closed the door to my house and jumped in the car.
I had studied German for three years, so I felt capable enough holding a conversation or navigating my way around a city. Oh, how wrong I was. Over the first twenty-four hours, I learned just how much I didn’t know, but also learned how much I could comprehend if given the chance. Having sleepily shuffled off the runway, I was promptly confronted with public transportation which, overwhelming enough on a normal day, was simply too much for my brain to handle. Posted signs in German caught my eye, completely unintelligible conversations danced around my head, and the foreign smells and sights and sounds swirled together to overwhelm my senses.
My sister and I, avid Twenty One Pilots fans, wanted to hit up one of their shows in Colorado. Partnered with a handful of other thoroughly enjoyable bands, Twenty One Pilots were guaranteed to put on the concert of the year. With no hesitation, we presented this idea to our mother and she backed us up. AFter much anticipation, it was decided, our 2014 summer vacation would take place in Colorado to enjoy mountains and exceptional music.
One of the most enjoyable things in life are road trips, particularly to the Colorado mountains. Getting to spend time with your family and friends, while being in a beautiful place, is irreplaceable. The fifteen-hour road trip may feel never-ending, but gazing at the mountains from afar makes life’s problems seem a little smaller and causes worries to become a thing of the past. Coming in contact with nature, untouched, is a surreal experience. My family trip to the Colorado mountains last summer was inspiring.