So let's start with the plan: we had a vague one. We knew we were driving to Glenwood Springs, CO. We knew we were splitting it up into two days. We knew that at some point we would do about the same to come home. Plan set.
Saturday/Sunday - We decided to leave Saturday morning and drive to Kearney, NE (how exciting!), stay overnight, and continue our drive to CO on Sunday. Saturday went off without a hitch: we drove, saw a whole lot of gross gas station bathrooms, saw a lot of corn (Mid America at its finest), and were subjected to the opinions on feral kittens by a woman at Cracker Barrel. We got to the hotel, watched the fourth Harry Potter movie, and got up bright and early to finish the drive. We drove through a lot more nothing, past a manure farm (I still have nightmares), and finally, BAM! mountains. We decided to extend our suffering (jokes) and drive an extra two hours through Estes Park in the mountains, which was both beautiful and terrifying. We finally got to the house in one piece, settled, and went to dinner for my brother's birthday, commemorated by mostly sitting in close proximity to his favorite sister.
Monday - Monday was our settling day/figure out what to do with the next week day. We got up, had a lovely picturesque morning of news and coffee (the only thing we had in the house - priorities), and went shopping. We decided that, because we rented a house for seven adults, it made the most sense to plan on eating most days at the house to save big on food, which can be pretty costly. I had planned meals in advance and made my list, so four of us headed to Target and City Market (one of the grocery chains in CO), one went to the gym, and the kids (not really - 16 and 17 are pretty self-sufficient) explored downtown Glenwood. I did a bit of meal prep for that night (chicken fried rice - yum!), and we decided to go to an amusement park on top of a mountain, aptly names Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, for the afternoon. We drove the five minutes over, and took the gondolas up to the top. We started with a cavern tour, and then our four most adventurous people went on a ride that swings erratically over a cliff. I don't do rides, so I took pictures and laughed a lot (so. much. screaming.), and then they did a few more rides, like the roller coaster, zip ride, mountain cars, and we did a quick game of laser tag when it rained (and got snacks in a restaurant with an awesome view). We finished in the giant maze, and headed back for dinner and board games. The park wasn't that big, but perfect for an afternoon of fun.
Tuesday - Tuesday was our early day, as we were hiking up to Hanging Lake. Everyone told us to get to the lot by eight because it fills up quickly, and they were right. So we all loaded into the van with our pre-prepped breakfast burritos and headed off. It was nice and cool when we arrived and we were all ready and confident on the trail to the mountain, but that quickly ended. This hike is pretty much a vertical incline, and we rested about every 30 feet, not because we're all unhealthy, but because MOUNTAIN AIR IS THINNER THAN TISSUE PAPER. It was so hard to breathe, especially coming from the Midwest, where you drink air like a milkshake because it's so thick. It took us about an hour and a half to climb up the 1.3 mile trail, which is about average. The view was incredible, but I didn't last very long because I have a squirrel bladder and staying hydrated takes its toll on me. So I just about ran back down, but it was beautiful. (I highly recommend going early though, because it gets really hot really quickly. And beware of critters. I don't know what I was expecting, but we saw lots of chipmunks and a snake.) When we got back to the house, we had lunch, showered, and then some went to the Iron Mountain Hot Springs, which are a series of pools with water pumped in from the natural hot springs at varying temperatures, and they smell like rotting eggs because of the sulfur. I opted out of this, mainly because I don't like hot tubs or rotting eggs, but also because Bachelor in Paradise was on. As per usual, the night ended with dinner (crockpot Italian sausage) and games.
Wednesday - Wednesday morning was very relaxed because we were set to go rafting that afternoon. We took our time getting ready, eating baked French toast, watching Lilo & Stitch, and then we went for ice cream around lunch because it was near the rafting shop. Unfortunately, my cousin was sick this day, so we rebooked the rafting for the next day and went to Aspen instead. My mom wanted to go to the John Denver Sanctuary, so we did that, and then walked around downtown. There were lots of dogs and lots of fancy people not working on a Wednesday afternoon. We went home, had dinner, and played the most uncomfortable round of "Cards Against Humanity" I've ever played.
Thursday - Rafting was the thing I was most excited and most nervous for. We had an earlier time slot, which was good, but it was raining, which was also good but not great, because then it was cold. We went through Glenwood Adventure Company, and they ask that you arrive at their store to get fitted with lifejackets, helmets, etc. and hour before your raft time. We did, and then we went through the whole safety lecture and were assigned to our guides. No one in our group had ever rafted before, which was fine, and we were on an intermediate trip, which was also fine. But no one asked my 17 year old cousin and me if we were okay with having the cutest Scottish guide at the company while we looked like weenies in our helmets. It was not fine, but we managed. We boarded a bus to the launch point about 10 miles up the Colorado River. We launched in the rain and drifted a bit, practicing our paddling and following our guide's calls. Not long after, we hit the rapids, and I was immediately soaked and cold. That shock lasted all of 20 seconds before we hit more rapids, and I think that's when we were all hooked. It was the most fun I've had in a long time, and I highly recommend it. We were on the river for about two and a half hours, and we stopped at the real hot springs when we were almost done. They had a photographer stationed in the mountains as we went through the rapids, which calmed down after the first hour or so, and we were able to buy the pictures, which were hilarious. We pulled our raft out of the river at then end and rode back to the store, and then reality set in that we were cold and wet and had to walk back to the house. We ran. Everyone showered, and we got ready for birthday dinner number two of the trip, for my cousin's dad. We did a little souvenir shopping on the way home, and faced the sad reality of packing for the long drive home. (Note: for the photo, I've blurred out everyone except me, only because I don't know if my family wants to be on the Internet in this way, and I will not be making that decision for them. I want you to get a feel for what we did, I just need to respect their privacy in doing so.)
Friday/Saturday - Friday morning, we packed up, and went to Sweet ColoraDough for breakfast (the best sandwiches and donuts I've ever had). We all sadly loaded up and drove 13 hours (you can imagine our pain) to Kansas City, KS to stay the night. Saturday morning, we got up, and headed to the WWI museum in Kansas City. The monuments and displays were very interesting, but honestly, at this point, everyone was done and just wanted to get home. We had about eight hours to home, so we did just that. We arrived home Saturday night, and I've been missing CO ever since. I'll definitely be moving there after school, and we've already decided to go back in 2018.
Until then, CO, I wish you all the best,
Erin
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