Our love for Colorado

Joe and I love Colorado. We've loved it ever since we first vacationed there in 2001. Still in college, we had some extra time one weekend (or maybe it was at the end of summer break). We rounded up a few friends, and drove down to Durango in Joe's 1976 Jeep Wagoneer. The Colorado Trail was our destination. The Colorado Trail (CT) is broken up in 20 mile sections. Joe and his brother Mark were going to ride a section, and then my friend Jessica and I were going to walk the next section.

The first day, while Joe and Mark were riding, the rest of us (Jessica, and maybe Soquel too) drove the Jeep 14 miles up a 4x4 trail. At least..... that's what I think happened. But at the same time I think maybe Joe helped set up camp first, and then we dropped them off to ride. Anyways..... As Jessica and I were waiting, and waiting, and waiting... we were getting kind of nervous. It gets quite cold at night at 14,000 feet altitude! Finally, after dark, Joe arrived, alone. Mark was having a hard time, and they were both getting hungry and cold, so Joe rode ahead to get some supplies. After assuring us he would be extra careful, Joe drove back down the trail to find Mark. Mark had wandered off the trail a little, and was huddling against the cold, but luckily they had CV radios. It wasn't until about 11pm that they finally made it back to camp.

The next day, we were supposed to move camp, to the next section. However, when Jessica and I had been trying to get a hold of Joe and Mark with the CV radio, we had somehow "broken" the Wagoneer. Being stuck at 14,000 feet with a broken truck, we did the only thing we could think of: hitch hike. We were lucky it was hunting season, and to find a ride down in a pickup truck. We made it to the auto parts store, and back to the beginning of the 4x4 road with the help of a cardboard sign that said: Purgatory (the name of the ski resort, plus a fun play of word)

Making it the next 14 miles to camp was a little more difficult. Some good samaritan in a Jeep offered to help. We flew up that mountain so fast, I was certain we would fly off the side of the mountain! Back at camp, we tinkered around with the new auto part, only to find out that we had bought the wrong part! So next it was Mark and Soquel's turn to hitch hike down the mountain. At the end of the day we finally got the Wagoneer running again, and were set to go.

Being 4 months pregnant wasn't going to stop me from hiking 20 miles at the top of the mountains. Jessica and I had a great day walking, and singing, and freaking ourselves out about mountain lions. However, as the light started to fade, we started getting really tired. The peaks we had to scale just kept coming and coming. There seemed to be no end. And to make matters worse, I started having (what I now know) Braxton Hicks contractions (at 4 months!!) And then it started to rain as well. Luckily Joe, and Jessica's friend had started to get worried about us, and were walking towards us from the end of the trail. That night we tried to cook in our tent, and almost set it on fire.

This trip is one of our favorites to think back at, probably because of all the mishaps. We love the scenery and the weather. It's where we'd ultimately like to end up living.