I drove from the flat land of the Texas Panhandle, where one can see for mile and miles, heading to the northwest for a weekend escape, my copilot, my wife of 11 years, sitting shotgun in the ‘Baru. She had already dosed off, still sleepy from a late night of packing for the trip and an early morning wake up call to “head for high country”.
A couple of hours later we were cruising north, having broken the plane that divides New Mexico and Colorado, and catching a glimpse snow capped mountains and blue grey peaks rising above the land. Pushing further we could see the Spanish Peaks, Greenhorn Mountain and in the distance Pikes Peak. Having done some research on Colorado 14ers and Great Sand Dunes National Park, I knew as we passed through Walsenburg that an hour and a half to the west sat Blanca and Crestone Peak. I could imagine them towering above the arid desert with their peaks draped in fine white snow, tickling the underbelly’s of clouds as they floated passed.
A couple of hours more and we were racing toward the cabin, weaving through tree lined roads with the west side of Pikes Peak watching our every move. Granite formations dotting the landscape as we ooohed and aaahed our way to the mountain retreat.
Over the next couple of days, we would sit on the moist soil in the shade of tall pine trees breathing in the breath of wolves as they made certain we were worthy of staying in their protective mountain home. Scratching them under their chins as their powerful bodies moved passed. We would hike through thick forest; scramble up granite slopes and breathe deep the warm scent of spruce as the warm wind whipped through the valley. Topping out on the granite peak, I sprawled out on a rocky bed as the sun warmed me to the core as my wife took in a panoramic view of the Rockies that glistened white and grey in the distant west. We would wade through sand dunes as tiny grains of time were hurtled by the wind, stinging our legs and faces as the massive Great Sand Dunes loomed overhead. Finally, as we headed back our home, I would snap one last sad photograph of one of Colorado’s 14ers in hopes that in the near future, I could snap one from the top of it.
Thank You Colorado for an amazing adventure, and for the inspiration of many more to come.
