Martin and I just returned from an amazing adventure in Colorado, which starts the final three week countdown until I move to Honduras. Staying true to how we typically travel we didn't have lodging booked or an itinerary. We just packed up our camping gear, the dog, and some beer (cider for me) and started driving west on I-70. Eleven hours later we were in Evergreen, CO testing out this theory Martin has about his Reverand Horton Heat hat being a people magnet. He claimed that people will come up to him and strike up conversations about the band whenever he wears it. Sure enough, after we ate lunch and were headed back to the car a guy complimented him on his hat and they started talking. Oddly enough this guy and his friend were also Jayhawks. The guy was a local so we asked him for some travel advice and that is how we began one of our best vacations yet. He recommended we start in Buena Vista and head up Independence Pass. Along the way we found the most amazing views in Colorado, we camped in free camping that overlooked isolated lakes, and the hat theory worked again. This time when we stopped to explore a cave a climber complimented Martin on his hat. We got to talking and it turns out he had the same back surgery I did. He recommended that I take a few Pilates classes before I leave and try paddle boarding and rock climbing once I get to Honduras in order to keep my core strong and prevent any more injuries. This guy was in amazing shape (think Magic Mike abs), about 40 years old and still doing all the adventure sports I've always admired so I'm going to follow his advice. On our way into Glenwood Springs, just outside of Aspen, we had about five minutes of 3G service that I used to try to find us a place to eat on Yelp. The service cut out before I could go back to the search page, but I briefly caught a glimpse of the name Hunter S. Thompson and Woody Creek Tavern. At almost that exact moment we saw a sign for Woody Creek, took a hard right, a windy road and ended up at a shack surrounded by trailers and bicycles that looked like it belonged in Key West not 10 minutes out of Aspen. It turns out that Hunter S. Thompson lived in Woody Creek until his suicide in 2005 and did a lot of his writing at this tavern. He is one of my top three favorite writers so needless to say I was delighted by this accidental find. The food wasn't bad either. Our journey continued after some fish tacos and a couple of Coors. We found amazing camping again along a creek at a little place outside of Glenwood Springs called Elk Creek Campground but we didn't spend much time there. Instead we headed to Breckenridge early the next morning where we found a great, dog friendly motel about five minutes from Main Street. We spent the day hiking and ended up running into a guy and his two dogs on the trial. He was headed up to the Hallelujah Hut, a warming hut off a jeep trail and the alpine trail. We decided to go for it too even though we could hear thunder in the distance. The guy we met on the trail decided to turn back but we kept going and ended up in a one room cabin used by people snowshoeing in order to warm up. We waited out the rain there and headed back down the mountain for dinner and some hot tub time. The only downside to our trip was the next day when we went to the Royal Gorge. It was over 100 degrees there and costs way too much money to walk across a suspension bridge. If you want to white water raft it is perfect for that or if you'd like a crappier version of Branson, MO. If you want to hike, camp, and enjoy a view, not so much. We ended up leaving there shortly after we got there, driving through Colorado Springs, up HWY 24 and back into the Denver area that night finally finding a place to put up the tent in Coal Creek Canyon on a friend of the family's land. The next morning we drove into Nederland (Ned), down through Boulder Canyon, and took a stroll down Pearl Street before reluctantly climbing back on to I-70 at 10 am.
So now I'm back in Kansas City and I have exactly three weeks before I move. I'm doing homework all day and trying to come up with a packing list of everything I need to take to Honduras. I was going to just pack but after a trial run I realized I'm going to need a list. I'm not sure it would be wise to treat this move like Martin and I treat our vacations. Although, sometime this move feels like it is going to be an extended vacation, I don't think it is wise to approach it that way. I don't exactly know what to call this move if not an extended vacation though. I wonder if I will still feel like the house Martin and I have lived in for the last year, and he is going to continue to live in, is my home. I guess I could look at it as my summer home. I don't want to really tell people I summer in Kansas City though. I don't plan on residing in Kansas City for more than three months a year ever again in my entire life so I guess it isn't going to be home anymore. When I put it that way I have a little nostalgia based sadness, but you wouldn't be able to tell because I can't keep the giant smile off my face. In three weeks I won't live in Kansas City anymore! I've waited over five years to say that.
