Two Reasons Why Colorado Might Be Where I Land If I Ever Stop RV’ing

 

Reason(s) Number One:

It happened literally the moment we crossed the Colorado State Line from Arizona…  

Goodbye Arizona, Hello Colorado. This horse was one of the first things I saw in Colorado. Horses have always been a cornerstone in my life. Was he wild or tame? I couldn’t tell. I like to think ‘wild’. (Sounds cooler)

SOMEthing… SOMEEEEEEEETHINNNG

about Colorado hooked it’s talons in me immediately. As SOON as the border was crossed.

It was crazy.

Was it the unrealistically beautiful snow-capped jagged mountains?

It could have been the lake which made me start to cry.

Maybe it was the sheer wildness of the place in general.

Or was it the childlike joy of seeing snow in the distance and knowing I could go TOUCH it at any time?

Whatever it was, I actually felt it BEFORE I saw these things.  It felt like….. a freedom, or …a ZING!!!

What’s a Zing? I dunno.

I just felt  …’it’.

It was a good feeling. Or maybe it felt ‘cool’ in a California dreamin’ sort of way. A ‘connection’ of sorts.

Hell, I don’t want to explain it too well in fear that everyone will start moving there and destroy that amazing ‘vibe’.

Heh Heh… I jest.  I only dream of having that many readers! 😁

Now, previously my traveling compadre Marshall, and I were at The Grand Canyon, a place that seeing once, for me, was plenty.

The GC. Cool, but not my bag.

Our two weeks came to a close in the G Canyon and so we traveled on to Durango, which I LOVED -immediately.

We stayed the night at the Durango Wal-Mart

There I noticed a very distinctive little Rv.

It was an OOOOLD tiny motorhome.

Anyway, I noticed it, and here it is, above.

(More on the little Rv in a later post)

At this Wal Mart, here were lots of transients  or homeless begging on corners. Which begged an intersting question- could we be considered ‘homeless’? ‘Transients’? Pretty much!  😀
The next morning we hit the road going North to Silverton- but this wasn’t just ANY road… we were about to hit U.S. Route 550, or the San Juan Scenic Byway!!!!!!

You might think to yourself, “What’s the big deal about that??”

The big deal is that once you pass Silverton going North, it becomes the  Million Dollar Highway, deemed a ‘Most dangerous road’, as well as one of the world’s ‘Most spectacular drives’.  (And, now, I concur) It’s gorgeous.

Uphill we drove. For a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.

The ‘tip of the iceberg’ of the scenic drive!

We covered two mountain passes and hit a peak of 10,910′, but we made it!

The best part?

-We were rewarded by scenery like this:

If you don’t see the beauty in a landscape such as this,  you are a moron.

Watch below to see how ‘edgy’ the Million Dollar Highway can be.

Some people are super freaked out by the road. There are drop-offs just past the white line and no guardrails. The video highlights the dropoffs more so than the scenery.

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Pure the ‘Sound Of Music’ scenery. Trixie is yodeling. She thought she was in the Swiss Alps.

This is crazy:

Just beyond Molas Pass,  this lake popped into view. As soon as I saw it, I started crying. (Just a few tears, really. Not to be melodramatic.)

This may be the first time beauty has ever moved me this way.

What an weird/interesting reaction, though not uncommon. I present to you the gloriousness that is:

Little Molas Lake. (There was more snow on the mountains when I first laid eyes on it.)

Ya gotta be kidding. That’s a campground down there- you can see the road. It is one of the few campgrounds I would pay to stay in!

We stayed at Anvil Campground just North of Silverton. This is definitely the most scenic boondocking spot I have been to so far! (Duh, it’s Colorado!)

I did not want to leave the place. Like, EVER.

After a few days, we were joined by friends who parked across the river. (Alicia and Jeff of Rvenegades.) Also, my friend Vicki was without her rig but she was nearby and came up to visit for the day. (I met her back in Quartzsite in January)

The best part about hanging with friends? I found out that the ‘Ol Slingshot CAN host parties after all!!!! Just look!!

Slingshot can hold 5 or 6, but yeah, I had to crawl under the table to get out to take this shot. I’m cool with that. Fellow nomads @Rvenegades, Marshall and our friend Vicki.

Yup, this place does it for me. I love the look, the feel, the outdoor activities that abound and there’s BARELY any mosquitos, no fire ants, no sweating, no humidity and there’s nothing Florida about it!! The people were great as well. Leading me to the SECOND reason I may end up in Co…

Reason Number Two:

Michael.

After a few days of work and a little exploration, one lonely night in Silverton, I decided to check out the dating app, ‘Tinder’. Why not? I am into meeting new people and this was the perfect way to do so while traveling.

So I chatted on the phone with Michael for a couple of days before we decided to meet up in Silverton.

We met, then we proceeded to spend five hours together in the quaint Colorado town. He brought his Border Collie, Ethan. As you can see below, we hit it off!

We got E out of the car after a drink or two at a bar, then went down by the river and threw the frisbee for Ethan and just talked.

It’s been about 4 months, and we are dating… It’s a bit alternative as we are away from each other a lot, but hey. I am not getting off the road yet.

He’s definitely a mountain man. Together, we have been rock climbing, slacklining, rafting, hiking, boating, fishing, shooting, ‘almost’ skinny dipping, and mountain biking.

Now, any relationship pretty much has to be a long distance relationship if I want to have one at all. I’ll visit him and he will visit me when distance and situations allow.

Meanwhile, while staying in Silverton, I was amused by this little scene- an old couple pulled in across the river. They decided not to stay and tried to turn around, but a fire pit ended up in front of their left front tire.

For whatever reason, instead of backing up, they MOVED THE ENTIRE FIRE PIT. Maybe they needed the exercise.

Huh.

Here is a crappy photo of the old couple in action. I found it quite amusing and texted Marshall what was happening. We laughed and watched from our Rv’s, perplexed.

“Hey, Marge. Get out here and help me move these boulders.”

Speaking of meeting new people, one night at a bonfire with @Rvenegades, I noticed a girl in a tent all alone, staying on their side of the river.

I have had more than my share of being and feeling left out as a kid, and also as an adult. So I can NOT stand seeing someone else being left out.

I didn’t want her to feel that way, so I asked Alicia if they would mind if I invited her over.

They didn’t mind at all!  🙂

Anya  (@anj_a3) accepted our invite and we had a great night around the bonfire that night.

The next day she was gone, but she left us with this sweet note:

How many friendly notes do you get from your sticks and bricks neighbors????Or even get-togethers? Pfff.

I love this rv’ing life!!

I barely got to know her as I kept having to run across the river for supplies, but the note was so sweet!

Thanks, Anya! I keep up with her now on Instagram.

During our stay, I got to spend some time with Michael at his cabin in Bayfield, and he came to stay with me in the Rv as well.

Ethan is lurking around somewhere out of frame, desperately waiting for someone to throw a ball or a frisbee or please God, SOMETHING!!!

And just like that, seemingly faster than usual, I and Marshall’s two weeks in our camping spot was up, in my opinion, way too early.

We had to leave Silverton (and Michael) and move.     😦

How do you leave a place like this??

However, right before we had to leave, I had a family issue come up and I needed to get to Austin, Tx. I also had to find a place to store my rig.

Michael immediately volunteered to let me stash my rig at his place, though he only had known me for just over a week. (Awwwww!)

(P.S.- His driveway is maybe a 10% grade, loose gravel driveway. That giant debacle is a story in of itself!)

So, for the first time in a few months, Marshall and I went our separate ways, though just temporarily. I have to say, Marshall was crushed. (A joke.)

Actually, I shed one little  tear. For about 10 seconds. (Wuss.)

Pulling out of the most beautiful boondocking spot I have stayed at to date, on my way to Bayfield. (Michael’s)

I spent a few days at Michael’s before departing to meet up with family in Austin.

Michael even flew to Austin to visit me.   🙂

And that’s enough for now…

Thank you for reading about my little slice of life!

Coming up next: RvChickadee tries to pull an RV up a 10% (or more) grade gravel driveway with a 2WD Tundra. 😬