The Great American Road Trip Pt. 1: Colorado by velveteendream

travel · @velveteendream · Jan 13 '18 (edited)

$32.84

The Great American Road Trip Pt. 1: Colorado

@ghostfish, my daughter, and I, love the outdoors. Every year if our budgets allow, we try to take a family trip.

Last June, shortly after my kiddo's final day at school, we decided to depart from the prairies of Minnesota to head for much higher elevation.

We drove through the almost mind-numbingly long highway through Nebraska. (no offense, Nebraska!)
@ghostfish 's friend once remarked, "I can drive through the entire state of Nebraska using my knee!" I obviously do not condone unsafe driving but thought it was pretty funny anyway.

We eventually made it to Colorado after almost 13 hours of driving. After a pit stop in beautiful Golden, we headed for our destination: Twin Lakes at the foot of a 14er, Mt. Elbert.

![IMG_2054.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVmJikDWuDXqfJt88Z7xjx216v6UkodbNzuWjwjuKa9Am/IMG_2054.JPG)
Hammock life is the best life, especially with this view.

It was so cold at night as it was still early June, but we kept toasty in our sleeping bags with toe warmers stuck to our socks.

![IMG_5200.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNmGBDBAn8z8vHNxnibmV2MeECha5iG5wvjXCnVbaPoRu/IMG_5200.JPG)
Here we are at the trailhead at the start of our hike at 7:30 AM on our second day there.

![IMG_2045.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQ3BHuJgYV3nMZ5MxRwu8Mav1BASJkiDDzWbeD72QxZWG/IMG_2045.JPG)
A few hours later, we made it to 12,500 ft. It was a feat for me as I have never hiked up to that elevation before with my dessicated asthma lungs. It was also a challenge for my poor daughter. There were a few tears, but she's a tough little cookie and she plodded along. (I'm so fucking proud of her, and I think she was proud of herself too!)

We were disappointed that we didn't summit; there was too much snow and you could pothole and fall through in some spots due to it being so early in the season. Nevertheless, we celebrated being able to make it that far as noobz.

![IMG_2722.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPhWfrwfuZYo9hjdC7TDFqnHDK222WpFPHESXR6aHdyAk/IMG_2722.JPG)
Hammock life is the best life, part 2.

![IMG_2072.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYRid3vy8bdhSDDZNjDf2u4QasqB49EWQtST9gTEXKP3J/IMG_2072.JPG)
@ghostfish and I almost got blown off these cliffs. (This was shortly before the wind started picking up or after, I can't even remember.)

The wind was blowing so hard when we visited the Colorado National Monument.
I'm glad my kiddo opted to stay in the car, because I have never been so frightened. Good thing @ghostfish was a quick thinker and we jumped behind some rocks to get away from the wind. He held my hand tightly and reassured me the whole time, what a gem of a man.

My other hand was holding on to my only pair of glasses on this trip to keep them from getting swept away from my face. (I made a mental note to take 2 pairs next time!)

This was our last stop on our way to part 2 of the Great American Roadtrip, Utah.

Thank you for looking!

👍 kommienezuspadt, pfunk, purepinay, melodyrussell, vermillionfox, svamiva, hato, ghostfish, climbing-trail, lettieful, mamalikh13, hunter.smith, velveteendream, ubg, yeseniacda, vanarchist

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@mamalikh13 · Jan 12 '18 (edited)

$0.07

Man these places you two go to!@ghostfish
breath taking! <3

👍 purepinay, velveteendream

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@velveteendream · Jan 13 '18

There's so much of the beautiful world to see! I only wish I had more money, my friend. :)

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@melodyrussell · Jan 12 '18

This makes me want to skip out on work and head for the mountains!

👍 velveteendream

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@velveteendream · Jan 13 '18

Same!!! Minnesota has it's charms, but it sure is mostly flat. :(

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@purepinay · Jan 13 '18

OMG! Am so jealous! Soon enough for me, I will be in USA living in an RV for a year, able to see all these places you have such beautiful photos of. How long have you lived abroad?

And thanks for stopping by my blog!

Gilaine

👍 velveteendream

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@velveteendream · Jan 13 '18 (edited)

LOL don't be jealous! You'll be able to do it soon enough. <3 Dugay dugay na ko diri, since 2002. Pero wala gihapon ko makalimot ug unsaon pag binisaya. :) If you ever get to Minnesota, say hello! We have a solid bunch of Filipinos here. Happy travels in the future, and nice talking to you Gilaine!

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@vermillionfox · Jan 13 '18

You guys are such a cool family. I wish we could do more outdoors activities but the boys are not into nature. We went kayaking once and @guthrie had a meltdown after spotting a dragonfly. 😭

👍 velveteendream

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@velveteendream · Jan 13 '18

Thanks girl! Not as cool as your family! You guys are always on the pulse of sweet art and technology. <3 My daughter is the same way. Bugs are the bane of her existence LOL. I'm afraid of them too, but I go out anyway. I'm thinking that @guthrie will learn to love it as he grows older if you expose him to it enough. :D (On a side note, holy crap I can't believe he's so grown up now!)

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