Colorado Bound

We are the kind of couple that inherently will never leave when we say. When I said I wanted to roll out at 4:30 in the morning, Amanda said, “OK, 4, so we’d actually be on time!” This is our first road trip in our new Yukon. It’s an XL, so long like our Suburban. It’s a good thing because I had it stacked solid from behind the second row to the back hatch, not counting a hefty snack bag and snack cooler bag that was within reach from the front seats.

Just as on our last trip this way, Amanda bedded down before the Pecos High Bridge and didn’t wake up till Starbucks time in Pecos, our first stop about 4 hours in. They say opposites attract; that’s the case with us. I had my cooled seat on while Amanda had her “hot butt” on while she slept! She may have stirred a few times while I grumbled over other drivers. My serenading of 90s county may have also been noticeable while I struggled, though that just before sunrise tiredness. 

We were much more perky after our coffee kicked in. Our friends called us to check where we were. They had left 30 minutes before us but were from Bandera and thought they’d be ahead of us. We ended up staying about 45 minutes ahead of them the whole way. Although I think they wished we’d have been closer, so we could have taken the boys with us for a bit!

Amanda had wanted to do her nails before we left, but we were too busy. She’s pretty much a nail professional by now! I told her why don’t you do them on the road, we’ll have plenty of time. She said we do have a plug; she needed her UV light to cure them. So she busted out her setup just before Roswell to find out one of her base coats was bad. We stopped in Roswell to pick some up, and then it got too bumpy to try. We finally hit a newly paved patch, so I was like, now’s your time. She did a fantastic job for road trip nails, I approved of the color. 

We hit Clines Corner, a small travel stop at the intersection of I25, around 12:30. I called our good friend and pastor. I knew he’d be impressed with our time, telling him I thought I’d found us a new route for the Native American mission trip. We talked till our service dropped in the mountains. This area is where it starts to get pretty and only gets better the rest of the way. Our car console crudité lunch unfolded soon after  

Santa Fe was our next stop. We needed a pick-me-up, so it was an afternoon StarBs run. It’s a good thing we cash our points in on trips! We’d pushed past Clines to make it, so it was definitely potty time. When we got out of the car, we noticed the Spanish-Pueblo-style Starbucks was not inside and had no public bathroom. So we did the pee-pee dance while we waited for our coffee!

Our next stop was Pagosa, but we ended up at a farmers market-type stand in Chama. We’d stopped here last year, and they had good produce. The guy who checked us out commented on how it looked like we’d be having a good dinner! I told him my plans for what we got, and we chatted about the area. We hit some hard rain shortly after we made the turn east out of Chama. It didn’t last long, but it almost sounded like hail hitting the car. 

We pulled into our cabin around 4:30, just shy of 13 hours from departure, counting for the time change. It was really not a bad drive, and we enjoyed it. Our Yukon is so comfortable, making the trip much more enjoyable than last time. We quickly unpacked the kitchen set-up and groceries to avoid judgment from our friends. We pretty much packed the kitchen sink and then some!

Our companion family was only about 30 minutes behind us. They didn’t look to have had as good a trip as we did in our quiet, non-kid-hauling car! John looked ragged after their 14-hour trip, ten more hours than the longest they’d traveled with the boys before. He said he threatened a lot of push-ups if anyone spoke during the last hour of the trip! It worked, and there was peace and quiet for the last push-in.

Our unpacking to avoid judgment didn’t work when they saw the pantry and asked if we had brought all that! We caught up on each other’s trip and unpacked the rest of our stuff once we figured out which rooms everyone would take. I got a prize for being the one-trip chef and planner, a Star Wars sun visor for the car! It looks like you’re looking in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon cockpit with Han, Chewbacca, Luke, and Obi-Wan! Amanda didn’t see them give it to me, so we all had the same idea: put it on the Yukon before seeing it; we all knew she’d disapprove. I was busted before I could even get it up!

We unwound for a bit, and then I started preparing dinner. The girls had to make a grocery store run because Brittany forgot the Axis venison meat they would bring for our first meal. We’re not vegan, so I have no problem cooking or eating meat, but I wanted to make sure they had some each meal. 

On the menu were Mediterranean bowls consisting of falafel (fried ground chickpea patties) and kefta (Mediterranean spiced football-shaped grilled meatballs) with tons of veggies and brown rice. We had roasted multi-colored potatoes and cauliflower, asparagus, oven-fried artichokes, sautéed zucchini, roasted red bell peppers, cucumber pico de gallo, hummus, and baba ghanoush with tzatziki and tahini sauces and whole wheat pita. It was a spread with tons of food! I made extra for our lunches the next day; we’d make pita pockets for an on-the-go lunch to take with us. 

I completely overestimated how much they would eat as a family and how much meat would be needed. I’m a little rusty on meat portioning! I’m sure the leftovers will get eaten, though. I did enlist help with dinner. John helped form and grill the kefta, and Amanda made the tzatziki while I fried the falafel. 

It was good to hang out, talk with everyone, and pester the boys. After dinner, we just caught up. John and I don’t speak as often as we used to years ago, but no matter how long we’ve been apart, we just pick right up like it’s been no time. He was jokingly judging my planning; he didn’t know I had an itinerary and wanted to review my notes. He said he wasn’t surprised I’d do something like that but was pretty impressed. We talked about a few things in the itinerary, and he mentioned some hiking distances might be too far for the youngest. With Amanda’s health, I’m not sure we’ll make any of the hikes over 2 miles anyway. 

I adjusted the schedule for tomorrow based on what we discussed and their suggestions. The first thing on the agenda in the morning, well after coffee, is hot air balloon chasing. I figured the boys had never seen one, and to be honest, Amanda and I liked watching them land and take off. After that, we’ll do a short waterfall hike, see where that takes us, and gauge everyone’s hiking abilities and gumption!