I know I keep posting that I've seen over the past week, some of the most beautiful and awesome places in America (please pronounce that with a Presidential accent), but our final destination outside of Denver, CO, could not go without mention either. The magnificence of Mt. Evans could not have been a more fitting end to the Reverse Oregon Trail because we viewed it's majesty on America's (are you keeping up with your accent?) Independence Day.
So. Amazing.
We drove... and drove... and drove... to get to Denver where we checked into a super rad hotel that is both dog-friendly and LGBT-friendly, so we knew we were guaranteed supurb service and excellent decor. Indeed, they had the freaking fuzziest cow blankets strewn across the ends of the beds which perfectly complimented the twenty-foot tall curtains accenting the subtleties of the carpet pattern. Lord.
AND, they had doggie treats and water sitting outside the front door of the hotel which Sophie slurped up every time we walked in and out.
That was on July 3rd, Grandma Mary Maker's 90th Birthday. After some extensive research on dog-friendly outdoor adventures (remember we'd been burned by Jackass Hole), and after about four episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race on TV (where has this been all my life?!), we packed the car and headed out the next morning for our July 4th Festivities.
Unfortunately, so did everyone else.
But the destination was totally worth the inch by inch, mile by mile, slowness with which we edged along towards the base of Mt. Evans. Because on Mt. Evans is a paved road which winds and winds and winds up to the peak. Upon these rocks one can climb and eventually stand and see, indeed, the whole state of Colorado, the miles and miles of Rocky Mountains, and the unique tundra found only up there and in the Arctic. It is brilliant. And extremely difficult to comprehend. And if you forget your phone in the car, you will have no way to remember it's splendor except in your mind, and quite frankly, and iPhone camera wouldn't do it justice anyway so it's just as well.
I could have sat up there for hours. It was that sacred.
Here's a few pics that we did snap along the way up into the heavens:
My heart was filled with gratitude so many times during our Reverse Oregon Trail that I often felt weepy. While I love the natural world, it's no secret that I'm not a hiker, runner, climber, jogger, cyclist, swimmer, rower or anything like that. I bike to bars, coffee shops & friends' houses during the winter months in Austin (for the love of God, do not expect to see me on the streets in the hot summertime), but only if there aren't any hills along the way. I like yoga and dancing, but don't expect me to run on a treadmill or use some life-threatening weight-lifting device. But Lord, how the fresh air and the solemn greatness of the natural world will break your heart and melt your soul. It is unclear how anyone from the states of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming or Colorado could vote against more generous legislation or more life-giving public policy. How could you deny vulnerable children healthcare, reject medicinal marijuana for suffering patients, reduce funding towards education, force people who are different than you to pray your God's prayers, or leave the environment to the demise of industrialization and lazy people? I was so filled with gratitude while traveling through these wondrous places; it was overwhelming.
The next day we sighed, and left Denver and set our sights on St. Joseph. Because this required driving through Nebraska and Missouri, you will receive no more posts of the grandeur of God's creation or the wonders America ('Murica) offers tourists and locals alike. Truth be told, I don't even remember leaving Colorado because the wicked Doctor and Aerialist decided we should get an early start and arise at 4am. "That's still yesterday," I tried to explain to them. "The bars are just now turning on 'Closing Time,' and kicking out the drunks." They just rolled their eyes. I rolled out of bed and into the backseat of the car. Sophie the Wonderdog and I slept for the next six hours, dreaming of Crater Lake, the Grand Tetons, and Mt. Evans.
Such sweet dreams...
So. Amazing.
We drove... and drove... and drove... to get to Denver where we checked into a super rad hotel that is both dog-friendly and LGBT-friendly, so we knew we were guaranteed supurb service and excellent decor. Indeed, they had the freaking fuzziest cow blankets strewn across the ends of the beds which perfectly complimented the twenty-foot tall curtains accenting the subtleties of the carpet pattern. Lord.
AND, they had doggie treats and water sitting outside the front door of the hotel which Sophie slurped up every time we walked in and out.
That was on July 3rd, Grandma Mary Maker's 90th Birthday. After some extensive research on dog-friendly outdoor adventures (remember we'd been burned by Jackass Hole), and after about four episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race on TV (where has this been all my life?!), we packed the car and headed out the next morning for our July 4th Festivities.
Unfortunately, so did everyone else.
But the destination was totally worth the inch by inch, mile by mile, slowness with which we edged along towards the base of Mt. Evans. Because on Mt. Evans is a paved road which winds and winds and winds up to the peak. Upon these rocks one can climb and eventually stand and see, indeed, the whole state of Colorado, the miles and miles of Rocky Mountains, and the unique tundra found only up there and in the Arctic. It is brilliant. And extremely difficult to comprehend. And if you forget your phone in the car, you will have no way to remember it's splendor except in your mind, and quite frankly, and iPhone camera wouldn't do it justice anyway so it's just as well.
I could have sat up there for hours. It was that sacred.
Here's a few pics that we did snap along the way up into the heavens:
My heart was filled with gratitude so many times during our Reverse Oregon Trail that I often felt weepy. While I love the natural world, it's no secret that I'm not a hiker, runner, climber, jogger, cyclist, swimmer, rower or anything like that. I bike to bars, coffee shops & friends' houses during the winter months in Austin (for the love of God, do not expect to see me on the streets in the hot summertime), but only if there aren't any hills along the way. I like yoga and dancing, but don't expect me to run on a treadmill or use some life-threatening weight-lifting device. But Lord, how the fresh air and the solemn greatness of the natural world will break your heart and melt your soul. It is unclear how anyone from the states of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming or Colorado could vote against more generous legislation or more life-giving public policy. How could you deny vulnerable children healthcare, reject medicinal marijuana for suffering patients, reduce funding towards education, force people who are different than you to pray your God's prayers, or leave the environment to the demise of industrialization and lazy people? I was so filled with gratitude while traveling through these wondrous places; it was overwhelming.
The next day we sighed, and left Denver and set our sights on St. Joseph. Because this required driving through Nebraska and Missouri, you will receive no more posts of the grandeur of God's creation or the wonders America ('Murica) offers tourists and locals alike. Truth be told, I don't even remember leaving Colorado because the wicked Doctor and Aerialist decided we should get an early start and arise at 4am. "That's still yesterday," I tried to explain to them. "The bars are just now turning on 'Closing Time,' and kicking out the drunks." They just rolled their eyes. I rolled out of bed and into the backseat of the car. Sophie the Wonderdog and I slept for the next six hours, dreaming of Crater Lake, the Grand Tetons, and Mt. Evans.
Such sweet dreams...
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