We were set to leave early because we knew that the drive
today was long, about 7.5 hours not including stops. We had survived long
drives like these before but today was a 545 mile trip with some unexpected
traffic delays. We figured that even if we left early enough that traffic
wouldn’t affect us, the good thing was that there was so much beauty on this
drive and we wouldn’t have a lack of scenery throughout the drive – through the
Rockies, the forests, the mountains, the exceptional beauty. I remembered the extreme
beauty of this route from 5 years ago with Sarah, except we drove through when
there was fresh snow surrounding us. This time, Doryn and I were surrounded by
green, mountains and huge rock mountains.
We headed on the freeway towards Idaho Springs, Colorado, a
road we had traveled on with my family the day prior when we went to visit
Indian Hot Springs. We continued on the freeway, after making a stop for gas
and continued on the mountainous roads. I cannot even begin to explain the vast
beauty that surrounded us, which is why I have included photos. We decided to
stop at a viewing area for Bighorn Sheep in Georgetown, Co. This was such a
cute town surrounded by mountains. But due to the lack of signage we were
unable to find the big horn sheep viewing area so as we headed back to the
freeway, we looked to our right as we entered the onramp to see a group of what
looked like baby Big Horn sheep. We pulled over quickly and put on our hazards.
Doryn and I stepped out of the car and walked to where they were and they ran
up the side of the hill. We actually got some remarkable videos of them and
some photos as well. Had we not taken this detour, we wouldn’t have spotted
them – talk about a sight!
So we headed back on our route, I believe it was the I-70 and
we approached some traffic, ahead of us we could see the miles of traffic. We
were locked in with no other road to take, until we saw a possibility. We knew
that we would be driving on the 6 freeway in about 200 miles and saw an exit
for the 6 west and another road, we exited to check it out and found ourselves
at LoveLand’s ski area. I pulled my large atlas map from my backseat and
searched for where we were to see if this alternate route would work. I looked
for our location and searched for the alternate route we had found.
Unfortunately it didn’t look like it would have worked, so we headed back on
the freeway in the traffic that was stopped. I searched on my phone and found
out that there was an accident in the tunnel ahead of us, the Eisenhower Tunnel
and we’d have quite a wait. I’m not sure how long we waited for the traffic to
clear, but it was quite a delay. Eventually we were on the move through even
more beauty than what we had seen before. Curvy winding roads through vast amounts of
mountains filled with trees, we could see a river running through the beauty
that surrounded us.
We continued on the road for a little over an hour and then
made another rest stop in the town of Eagle. They had a cute tourist welcome
center that was close to the river we had passed throughout the ride. We
stopped and walked down to the water, throwing rocks and just enjoying the
simple things in life. Doryn got his free coffee and I picked up a gift for
some of our clients for our return. We stayed for a few minutes and then got
back on the road.
I was so thrilled to have found a way to take videos and
photos on the trip with my camcorder without me touching it while I drove.
Doryn had fallen asleep and I started the camcorder up to catch the beauty
around me as I continued on the drive. I drove for hours before I stopped to
switch drivers and have my fella drive. Doryn drove the rest of the way through
hills of green and flatlands till we arrived in Utah. We didn’t get to
Farmington till late, but were so glad that we did. We pulled up in front of
Nikki’s home and walked to the door. It was beyond wonderful seeing her, after
so many years had passed and her kids had grown. Her only daughter was getting
married at the end of the month. The kids helped us with our bags, Doryn and I
took a bath and then he went to bed as I spent some time with Nikki. Luckily we
don’t have an early morning tomorrow and we get to sleep in and spend some time
with the family before we go head out to Salt Lake and Vegas tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment