Colorado Or Bust

"Okay."

"Do we have everything?"

"Yup."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."

"Okay then, here we go."

Driving out of the little not-so-quiet-anymore town of Murphys up Highway 4 toward Ebbetts Pass with our entire lives in the back of a truck.  We've got our bags packed, gear stowed, sleeping nook made up in the truck bed (with too many blankets...or so we thought) and some yummy snacks for the way.  We're leaving familiar territory and heading out toward the grand state of Colorado for a 5 week long adventure to explore, have some adventures, meet new people and scope out some new places.  

Why you ask? (we've been getting this question a lot, from a lot of different people) 

The answer is pretty simple actually: there's no time but the present. 

We are both twenty four years old, do not have many major responsibilities (ie mortgages, kids, pets, businesses, etc), are able-bodied, adventurous and are itching to explore the world around us.   

We've taken leaves from work or quit jobs altogether, saved up and geared up for what will prove to be one of the best adventures so far in my life.  Who's excited?  Meggan is!!  

Now that you've got some background as to what we're up to, back to the story....

As we drove up and over the pass, I was surprised to see the aspens had not quite turned colors yet (this was Sept. 28th), another week and they would have been perfect.  With a bald eagle soaring overhead ('Merica!), we continued our journey east into a land of straight roads...Nevada did not win me over on this one and extra terrestrial highways where nothing outlandish happened...I was hoping for some bright lights, or flying cows or something to get my blood pumping, but nay.  We slept our first night somewhere out of Alamo (not THE Alamo, but Alamo, NV) (I'm as surprised as you are) and continued on to Zion National Park (pre gov't fit) to explore some canyons and red rocks.

And let me just take a second to tell you, canyons, wow.  I have never canyoneered before.  I've been into canyons in California and even in Utah before, but I have never been IN canyons where my only way out was rappeling down slick faces, through waterfalls (minor waterfalls this time of year), and wading through ice cold water through narrow canals of carved stone.  We were fully committed to these canyons once we decided to descend our first rope.
We ended up running two canyons in Zion- the Narrows of Pine Creek was my first canyon and Subway Canyon the next day.  The longest rappel was 100ft and what an experience- I felt like a little spider on a web descending into a whole new world (queue Aladdin music) where time was going by but I was just there, fully, in the moment.  It was incredible.

Before everyone gets on the horn and yells at me for being reckless-know there were permits required, we weren't just jumping into a gully somewhere without anyone knowing about it, there were time limits, emergency contacts listed and lots of gear involved that made the trips run smoothly and successfully...aside from my boots which gave me blisters the size of small station wagons.
We were fortunate enough to stumble upon the Zion Canyon Music Festival, were granted free entrance (I'm still not sure how this happened) and drank wine while listening to great live music from multiple great bands-all within a hop, skip and a jump from our home away from home...ie up the road on a level plot of dirt.  We were out of Zion the night before the gov't shut down, so we were not affected by closures yet.

Next to Moab, Utah!  

We ended up staying three days in Moab mountain biking all three days- Kane Creek, Slickrock (crikey!) and Gemini Bridges (where I proceeded to blow out the rear shock on my bike half way through a 14 mile ride...for the win).  G9, the Moab Mamma, was our amazing local guide who chatted with us about the Moab happenings, shuttled us to Gemini Bridges (what a lady!) and was a friendly face who gave us fresh tomatoes and many laughs!  What a cool town!  We'll definitely be back sometime soon!  We were unable to jump into Arches National Park due to closures, but will definitely go back sometime to experience the gorgeous rock.
After our stint in Moab we headed out toward the Colorado state line.  We were greeted by torrential downpours, low temperatures and lightning!  Luckily the storm passed through the night and the trails were surprisingly dry the next day for our rides in Fruita.  A film screening of Bicycling Dreams in Grand Junction the next day (all about people who race across America on bicycles in under 12 days....!) and a day of trails in Grand Junction to follow.
The adventure continues to Westminster and Boulder to hopefully do some climbing, make some new friends, explore some new places and get my bike fixed.
Happy times from Colorado!
To be continued....

-M.

~Life is like riding a bicycle.  To keep your balance, you must keep moving."- Albert Einstein

Take off from Murphys- the set up

View from our sleeping spot in Zion

More pictures to come...