Sunday, July 6, 2014
We wake up in a parking lot near the Wanderlust Festival. A nice woman had told us about the isolated lot in the mountains of Snowmass where no one would mind if we parked for the night. It was a peaceful night with a sky full of stars - until the dogs started howling. It sounded as if there was a doggy prison and at least one hundred dogs would start to moan and howl throughout the night. It turned out that it was a sled dog organization where dogs were kept, but man those dogs sounded so sad....my dreams were full of down doggies. And not the kind we find in yoga....
We pack up our van and decide to head in the direction of Steamboat Springs. We drive up and over Independence Pass, one of the most beautiful and green mountain passes I've ever been on. When we get to the top, we are over 12,000 feet. I'm really feeling it now...we get out to take a walk and I can barely breathe....my feet feel like lead and someone is sitting heavy on my chest. But it is truly magnificent. There is still snow and some people are hiking up (how?) to slide down on the crusty white snow.
We drop down into Twin Lakes and stop to check out the cute little historic town. We talk with the man in the visitors center and go see his wife across the street at the art gallery. I'm still feeling pretty dizzy and dopey from the drive and she gives me delicious hot tea. The grey sky starts to sprinkle some cooling rain and it feels so good. We drive on and end up in Frisco, Colorado where we spend the night. After a few days on the road, we decide it's time for a cheap hotel room, a hot shower and a good long rest.
Monday, July 7
We arrive in Steamboat Springs around noon, find a shady place to park and walk around town. We collect some visitor guides and Alex decides to get a haircut at a little barber shop. We find a lovely park next to the Yampa river, take out our chairs and sketch pads and spend some time drawing what we see. This has been a wonderful thing that we do on the road, and a great time to bring some artistic vision into what we are experiencing.
We go back to the main street and find a restaurant with excellent food and enjoy lunch outside while talking to some locals. They tell us about a wonderful place called Strawberry Hot Springs and tell us we must spend some time there. We head up the steep, windy dirt road and finally end up in the parking lot. We pay our $12 and walk down a steep dirt trail to the most wonderful water experience I might have ever had. Sweet little pools of varying temperatures, teepees, cabins and chairs surrounding them, and the best vibe ever.
We were graced by a beautiful sunset and as the sky grew darker and filled with
twinkling stars, we got even more relaxed. More people filled the pool and it felt like a dreamy playland. All of the sudden we were starved and went to the van to fix some dinner. After filling our bellies, it was time to sleep. But where? We couldn't stay in the parking lot so went to scout another location. A local policeman told us there was no overnight camping in the parks in the city limits so we tucked in behind the Comfort Inn and have a nice sleep. In the morning, we head over to one of the many parks along the river, make delicious hot coffee and scrambled eggs with peppers and cheese and enjoy the new day.
Tuesday, July 8
It's time to head back to Ogden, so we point the van in that direction. We drive on highway 40 through Craig, Maybell and cross the border into Dinosaur and Vernal, where we turn north to drive by Flaming Gorge, hit highway 80 at Rock Springs and are back in Ogden by 4 pm.
Another amazing adventure in the Dream Machine!
We wake up in a parking lot near the Wanderlust Festival. A nice woman had told us about the isolated lot in the mountains of Snowmass where no one would mind if we parked for the night. It was a peaceful night with a sky full of stars - until the dogs started howling. It sounded as if there was a doggy prison and at least one hundred dogs would start to moan and howl throughout the night. It turned out that it was a sled dog organization where dogs were kept, but man those dogs sounded so sad....my dreams were full of down doggies. And not the kind we find in yoga....
We drop down into Twin Lakes and stop to check out the cute little historic town. We talk with the man in the visitors center and go see his wife across the street at the art gallery. I'm still feeling pretty dizzy and dopey from the drive and she gives me delicious hot tea. The grey sky starts to sprinkle some cooling rain and it feels so good. We drive on and end up in Frisco, Colorado where we spend the night. After a few days on the road, we decide it's time for a cheap hotel room, a hot shower and a good long rest. We arrive in Steamboat Springs around noon, find a shady place to park and walk around town. We collect some visitor guides and Alex decides to get a haircut at a little barber shop. We find a lovely park next to the Yampa river, take out our chairs and sketch pads and spend some time drawing what we see. This has been a wonderful thing that we do on the road, and a great time to bring some artistic vision into what we are experiencing.We go back to the main street and find a restaurant with excellent food and enjoy lunch outside while talking to some locals. They tell us about a wonderful place called Strawberry Hot Springs and tell us we must spend some time there. We head up the steep, windy dirt road and finally end up in the parking lot. We pay our $12 and walk down a steep dirt trail to the most wonderful water experience I might have ever had. Sweet little pools of varying temperatures, teepees, cabins and chairs surrounding them, and the best vibe ever.
We were graced by a beautiful sunset and as the sky grew darker and filled with
twinkling stars, we got even more relaxed. More people filled the pool and it felt like a dreamy playland. All of the sudden we were starved and went to the van to fix some dinner. After filling our bellies, it was time to sleep. But where? We couldn't stay in the parking lot so went to scout another location. A local policeman told us there was no overnight camping in the parks in the city limits so we tucked in behind the Comfort Inn and have a nice sleep. In the morning, we head over to one of the many parks along the river, make delicious hot coffee and scrambled eggs with peppers and cheese and enjoy the new day. Tuesday, July 8
It's time to head back to Ogden, so we point the van in that direction. We drive on highway 40 through Craig, Maybell and cross the border into Dinosaur and Vernal, where we turn north to drive by Flaming Gorge, hit highway 80 at Rock Springs and are back in Ogden by 4 pm.
Another amazing adventure in the Dream Machine!
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