Our poor car has taken a beating. Ludwig has had to bake in the heat in Arizona, handle cold nights at high elevations, and sit through some strong rainstorms. He’s battled his way across countless rough dirt roads designed for cars with far more off-road potential. He was forced to take some crazy steep, winding roads in Colorado (14% grade for 3 miles) that put so much stress on the brakes that it took days for the burning smell to subside. And of course, he had his window smashed in by some desperate individual who failed to give our precious vehicle the respect he deserves. Still, he continues to chug on.
Turns out is was the steepest paved and maintained road in the country: 2170 feet of elevation gain in 4.5 miles.
After licking our wounds following the break-in, we’re finally beginning to settle into a comfortable routine. Case in point, the last week or so:
1. On our way to a new climbing area, make sure to stop at notable sites:
On our way up from New Mexico, we took a detour well worth the added miles and stopped at Great Sand Dunes National Park. Let me tell you, climbing a 650 foot mountain is tiring as it is; climbing that height on sand is a much harder beast (which is why we were content to turn around when we got to the top of the first major peak).
Atop (or rather, above) the first major peak at Grand Sand Dunes National Park
John chilling in the river at the bottom of the sand dunes
Additionally, we stopped by the Royal Gorge Bridge, which is the highest bridge in the US, towering 955 feet above the Arkansas River. It was built in 1929 solely as a tourist attraction, and has grown to include zip lines, trams, and gondolas. We were content with simply enjoying the view.
The breathtakingly high Royal Gorge Bridge. You can also see the red gondolas crossing, and if you look closely, you can see two people zip-lining across.
2. Spend a few days enjoying the climbs:
Shelf Road was incredible! The rock quality is similar to that of our beloved hometown area, Reimer’s Ranch, except the climbs are harder, taller, and there are over five times as many of them.
3. Take advantage of a stable location by cooking, working out, relaxing, etc:
Now that we finally have a stove – and a more relaxing schedule – we can cook real meals! Breakfast tacos with scrambled eggs, potato, peppers, cheese, and salsa certainly get a day started better than dry cereal.
Since we weren’t spending each evening driving somewhere new, we finally started making a real effort to focus on fitness by going for a run each evening. Although we may have counteracted our healthy choices by binge watching our newest addiction – Orphan Black – afterwards. We were already halfway done with season two by the time we left Shelf Road (on our behalf, there are only ten episodes per season).
Rinse, lather, and repeat
1. On our way to a new climbing area, make sure to stop at notable sites:
On our way to Boulder to explore more climbing, we stopped at The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It’s an amazing city park, which is clearly only free because the original owner made a deal with the city that it must remain free and open to the public forever. It’s also open to climbers, although the description – crumbly rock edges that are ‘known to fail without warning’ and ‘fixed hardware that has been known to fail due to metal stress over time’ – was enough to keep us content with a casual stroll.
The Garden of the Gods
You can see a climber repelling down on a thin spire at the Garden of the Gods. Looks awesome, but I’m just not sure I would trust that rock.
2. Spend a few days enjoying the climbs:
We started exploring the local climbing by hitting up Boulder Canyon, a twelve-mile stretch of road with almost 50 different pull-outs for climbing along the way.
3. Take advantage of a stable location by cooking, working out, relaxing, etc:
We have been enjoying the great bike and pedestrian trails in Boulder and currently this place is topping our list for potential places to live once the trip is done. And we finished season two of Orphan Black… any suggestions for what to watch next?
Getting dejavu yet?
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