Road Trip

Taking a road trip sounded like a good idea, a throwback to my younger days when it was just me and my cat traveling around the West. Taking a road trip with a toddler was a whole different experience. 

Overall, I'd give Jacob an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being the best. It was mainly the 50 minute scream session we endured between Moab and Ogden, UT on the 5th day of our trip. After that, Fraser told me he didn't want anymore children. But really, for a child who is almost two, he did great. He read books, coloured with those fantastic markers that only draw on their own special paper; he played with little trucks and trains, beads, played his kazoo for us, fed his baby doll bits of bagel. Some toys took his attention longer than others but every minute helped us get further on our journey.


We left Boulder, CO and headed to Glenwood Springs. The hot spring pools the next morning were a big hit, and we hoped to tire out the boy so he'd sleep in the car. This is not is forte and this trip did nothing to improve that. You'd think being on the road for ten days would help a kid learn to sleep better in the car. Not so much. Twenty minutes. Like clockwork. So, from Glenwood Springs to Telluride, we stopped several times, sang a lot of Wheels on the Bus and looked at the changing aspen. Even through the occasional bouts of screaming I could enjoy the beauty of autumn in Colorado. The aspen were starting their shift from green to brilliant gold, shining on the hillsides as if lit from within. I've lived in Colorado for 7 1/2 years, and it still makes me stop what I'm doing to stare.

Telluride was an interesting visit. We were feeling very displaced having just left our home and having only our carload of possessions with us. Movers had taken all our other things on to Portland. It was great to see some old friends and familiar faces. And the visit also reminded me of why I didn't chose to go back and live there when I was younger and had that chance. It's a great town: beautiful, friendly, fun. And small. That has benefits and drawbacks. It was nice to visit. I will visit again in the future. There is a magic to that place like no other I've experienced. And it was nice to feel that I'd made a good choice all those years ago when I went to Boulder instead.

So we went on to Moab. It was hard leaving Colorado. It seemed somehow more final as we left, stopping at the state line to take pictures and say a little goodbye. Sure, we can always come back. But there's no way of knowing where life will take us here in Portland, how long it could be or if we ever really will make it back. We love Colorado: snow, mountains, sunshine. Very hard to say goodbye to paradise. 














The drive through the desert was hot, red and expansive. Beautiful in a stark way, daring you to let go of everything you know and just trust your heart, the only thing you can hear in the silence of that vast space.

From Moab to Ogden was also our first long day. Five hours total in the car. And with only an early twenty minute nap, there was bound to be a breakdown.