Buena vista, CO
It was very hard to top my wonderful trip to Florida with my mom this year, but I have to say that my trip to visit Sierra in Colorado was really an amazing experience. Not only was I able to see some beautiful sites, but I stayed true to my new lifestyle and got a chance to do some things I would have never done by myself.
Though the drive down was a whopping 10 hours, Coco and I made it in good time, showing up right when she was getting off work. We went straight to her camper, which sits on a large lot of land owned by a rancher for seasonal workers, and is rightfully named "Little Cambodia". Completely off grid, the site has no running water or electricity and houses around 50 different campers- most of which also work as seasonal temps for the whitewater rafting companies around town. The weather is pretty neutral throughout the day, dropping a bit at night, but is perfect for the camp style living. The ratio of dogs to humans in Little Cambo is about 1:1 so Coco was elated once we arrived. I finally was able to keep her completely off leash and didn't have a single issue! After we got settled, we went into town- which is about as quaint as the living quarters.
We stopped at the Deerhammer Distillery on the main block, which is a whiskey distillery with a nice sized patio they share with a delicious food truck. Next stop was the Asian Palate which has kind of a combination of Japanese, Korean, and Indian cuisine- I had to treat Sierra to a late birthday dinner since she had turned 30 the week before. After that we just headed back to camp and sat and drank a few beers while catching up. All in all it was an awesome welcome to such a beautiful town.
Day two proved to be a bit more adventurous with a six mile hike and a trip to Valley View. We hiked [mostly uphill the way there, mind you] with the pups for 3 miles to a pass on Mt. Antero, where we got to see an amazing waterfall. The trek back proved to last longer, seeing as how my ass was burning already, but the dogs really had a blast and we got to see such incredible scenery the whole time.
Then on to Valley View, which is a conservation area with hot springs and a lack of concern about clothing. Yep, Sierra took me to a nudey resort, or a nudey campground considering we set up tents the minute we got there. It took me a little to get comfortable because it was clothing optional and family friendly, but once you get over having your lady parts out around kiddos, it's a piece of cake to relax. |creepiest thing I think I've ever said|
Valley View was pretty relaxing but also extremely cold at times considering we went during monsoon season and got rained out within the first hour. And then we made friends, got a little tipsy, and made our way back to camp to sleep it off... only for me to realize the zipper on my tent was open and everything was soaked. So Coco and I slept in the car. Either way, we all had a blast and left the next day after a few more naked soaks and beautiful views of the valleys around us.
The next two days, one more than planned thanks to the car overheating and keeping me there for an extra 12 hours, we spent "duckying" down the river, which is kayaking in a giant inflatable tandem kayak along the route for family whitewater rafting tours. That may have been my favorite part of the whole trip: just floating down the river, enjoying a beer and some conversation, and being part of nature. It was an wonderful trip.
I left after dinner that night, although hindsight I wish I wouldn't have. It took everything in me to stay awake on the drive home and that probably wasn't the safest move. I tried to pull over about 4 hours outside of KC to sleep at a rest stop but apparently I am more terrified of rest stops than the great outdoors because I couldn't shake my fear of getting murdered. So on Coco and I went, the full 10 hours overnight, getting back in to KC at 6:30am and promptly falling asleep on the couch for a solid 10 more hours before work.
A short but sweet trip, I wouldn't have done any differently. I miss Sierra dearly, but I truly understand why she had to leave the city to live the life that she wanted. I could fall in love with the mountains and the rivers out in Buena Vista and never look back. Until next time, I will just have to find some adventure here at home :)
