Between a hectic holiday at work, having a bunch of trainees, and working on the garage for Brian's nieces moving in with us, it's been kind of an overwhelming couple of weeks. I've felt like I have a lump in my throat and have needed to cry for a solid week, but can't get anything out. My toe has been bothering me and limits my trail running to about 5 miles, so between trying to get out before the heat and my arthritis, I haven't felt like I've gotten in many great workouts lately and I've just been sluggish and blah mentally and physically. It's been hot and busy and my anxiety has been off the charts for some reason so it seemed like the perfect weekend to get out of town and clear my head. I was hoping that Brian would join me but he's trying to keep his head above water with everything too and couldn't leave town. It turned out that he was violently ill all weekend, so I think that was his body's way of telling him he needed a break as well. As much as I would have loved for him to come along, it was really nice just being alone, doing my own thing without much of a plan, working out my own thoughts and feelings, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed.
The problem with Crested Butte is that it's kind of far from anywhere...right in the middle of a mountain range that you have to drive around to get to. When I first decided to go, I found an affordable ticket from Prescott to Grand Junction but by the time I was ready to book, the price had gone sky high. I was also thinking that Allegiant flew into Colorado Springs from Mesa, but apparently that is no longer a thing. I could have driven up but it's 10 hours away and I don't think I have enough self-control to drive through Ouray and Ridgeway without stopping. So, I booked a cheap flight into Denver (4 hours away) and hoped for the best. I had a morning flight so I assumed that I'd be perfectly fine getting there with plenty of time to explore.
Last time I flew into Denver, the rental car process was ridiculous and I waited in line FOREVER and then still had to drive to my condo in Keystone in the dark. Well, this time was possibly worse...I waited FOUR hours for my rental car and then had a 4 hour drive to Gunnison - that became closer to 5 hours with traffic.
I'd taken off the day before to just enjoy doing my regular day off activities. I'd just finished up a 68 hour work week and worked earlier in the week on my usual days off because of the holiday and covering for my shift lead, so I just condensed my days off into later in the week. I woke up early and ran and then went to the creek. There was a guy there in teeny tiny jockstrap who asked if it made me uncomfortable and I said no, because it didn't and I sunned myself in my spot and soaked in the creek and minded my own business. But then he started inching closer and trying to talk to me and I finally looked in his direction only to find him completely naked standing kind of close and then I became uncomfortable and ended up leaving after about an hour. So I went to lunch and went home and cleaned and did laundry and packed and enjoyed having the house to myself. Then later on, I drove to Anthem and stayed with Brian's parents and they took me to the airport bright and early the next day.
The flight went off without a hitch and whole rental car mess worked out in the end. Denver was having all sorts of crazy storms rolling through with tornadoes and hail and there had been a big storm while I was waiting in line, so that worked out I suppose. Once I hit the road, the sky was black but the sun was shining on the hills and they were so bright green and lovely. But I70 had about a foot of water on it so everybody was driving really slowly because it was splashing so much and there were piles of hail on the sides of the road. It was really beautiful but I couldn't really enjoy it because I was white-knuckling it through the next hour of driving. Once I got onto the 285, I was up above the clouds and it was sunny and lovely and warm. The drive was so beautiful...over mountain passes and through vast valleys and I loved every minute of it. Then I came upon an accident just on the back side of Monarch Pass. Something bad involving a truck and 5th wheel. We sat there for 1.5 hours waiting and in that time I developed a horrendous migraine.
I hadn't eaten a single thing except for a bagel 12 hours prior and I was so upset with myself that I didn't get anything on my way out of town. There are only 2 things that will ease a migraine - either Excedrin or sleeping it off and it was too late to take an Excedrin. I finally pulled into Gunnison at 8 pm...NINE HOURS after I landed in Denver. I found a brewery for dinner and ponied up to the bar next to the two loudest, most obnoxious Colorado bros that grated my very last nerve. I tried to not cry as I sat and ate my antipasti salad and chugged water like there was no tomorrow. Then I got to my cute little motel for the night, checked in, and began puking my brains out for the next hour straight. I'm not sure that I'd even digested the salad that I'd eaten...it was awful. But, I slept hard and woke up at 6:30 the next morning feeling like a million bucks. I had breakfast at my motel and then hit the road into Crested Butte to check a few hikes off of my list, starting with the Lupine Loop. It was 40 degrees when I left but I wore shorts and was perfectly comfortable.
Something about summertime in the mountains and the warm sun and flowers and crisp air and I just feel euphoric. I had no intention of trail running but couldn't help myself and took off up the trail. I did take my arthritis medication, but it was one of those days where I'm not hungry or thirsty or sore or tired and I just can't get enough and feel amazing and don't want to stop.
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| Can you spot the buck in the field? I saw so many deer (including tiny babies) on my hikes! |
I hiked for about 4 hours and then made my way back down into town to see what I could find for lunch. I ended up getting Thai food and sitting outside under a red umbrella and watched everybody walk by. I got a Thai iced tea with boba to go and walked through town where they were having their Sunday Farmer's Market. Then I made my way to my next hiking destination along the Schofield Pass that connects Crested Butte with Aspen on the other side. I hiked another 5 hours that afternoon and only saw one other couple the entire time.
The next morning, I got up nice and early, had breakfast, and then drove back into Crested Butte for another hike. I wasn't sure where I was going this time, so I just drove around and found a dirt road that looked like it went somewhere pretty and found a trailhead off of it.
Being my final day, I had to leave around lunch time to drive the 3 hours to Manitou Springs.
Everybody that I'd told I was going there questioned why but I actually thought it was the cutest little town. The main street is packed with little "dive" motels that aren't really dives but have the neon signs and the little pool and are just so quaint and cute. I stayed at the Silver Saddle and it was darling. It was literally 3 minutes from Garden of the Gods so I went there and explored for a couple of hours before going back to my room and taking a bath and then I went back for sunset.
Finally, I walked through the cute little downtown area and grabbed dinner before calling it a night. I did a little hike through Garden of the Gods in the morning and then drove to Denver for my flight home! Now it's back to 100+ degrees for the next 6 weeks until I go to Italy! See you then!