Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The Road to Colorado: Part Two


In January 2008, I traveled back to Colorado for the second time.  T. and his brother J. came to pick me up early one morning and we set off on our journey from the Greater Rockford Area out to Colorado.  As it turned out, J. lived in Boulder and had been home for the holidays; T. decided that he would drive him back and they invited me to come along.  I was delighted for the opportunity.  My older brother was also living in Colorado again, up in Fort Collins, so we made plans to visit with him as well.

It was a fantastic trip.  There is nothing quite like winter in Colorado--I think it was sunny every single day--and we had so much fun.  I remember so much about that trip… passing through the “140 zone” in Nebraska; being so enamored with my surroundings; adventures to nearby mountain towns and drives up and down winding roads with occasional vast drop-offs; playing Radiohead’s In Rainbows on my iPod as we drove around the metro area; walking around in Boulder and exploring Pearl Street; hanging out with his brother and with mine; listening to one of the Presidential Debates as we fell asleep; leaving the Rockies listening to the White Stripes and wishing we didn’t have to leave.  This trip to Colorado inspired The Centennial State Series, a collection of poems I wrote while traveling.

I’ve been back to Colorado only briefly since that trip.  In May 2010, T. and I took a road trip out to Las Vegas with our dear friends and neighbors J. and C.  That trip was another one for the books, too…  I had just graduated from NIU and we had only been engaged for a few weeks and we had a beautiful time out in the desert.  We drove through Colorado on the way out, of course; I actually had the portion where we were driving through the mountains, late at night, and we encountered snow which made the adventure all the more exciting.

On the way back home, we decided to stay in Grand Junction, Colorado.  We got dinner at an Applebee’s and stayed at a cheap hotel for the night.  I hadn’t been feeling great even before I fell asleep, but by the morning, it was evident that I’d come down with something.  Needless to say, by the time we hit the Denver metro area I was feeling pretty miserable and had never been happier to see my bed once we finally made it home.  Though I hadn’t really been able to enjoy it, I really loved that we got to traverse through Colorado.

So… that brings us to today.  In just a few weeks, T. and I will be embarking on our first vacation since our expedition to Costa Rica in March 2012, to… Colorado!  A road trip around the great state that will include national forests and hot springs resorts and running in the mountains every day.  I am so looking forward to it!  I’m planning on documenting the trip through words and photographs, as usual, and I can’t wait to experience everything Colorado has to offer.

Only seventeen days.  I cannot wait!

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