Some journal excerpts…

On the drive from Ft. Collins to Carson National Forest, outside of Taos, NM:

“Passing through the San Luis Valley right now, passing one breathtaking view after another. Surrounded by rolling or flat meadows with pretty bluish, sage-y southwestern scrub, sometimes cattle OR snow capped mountains OR forested summits folded with valleys OR stunningly dramatic cloudcapes of every sort – billowing, heavy and dark, sometimes rain sweeping down.

Southwest of Pueblo, CO, we’ve only passed through towns that look to be on the brink of collapse with three shuttered or falling down businesses for every open one. Only now as we get closer to Taos have things starting looking up. Of course there are occasionally big houses on mountainsides that look down on it all.

It was HOT as we passed through Colorado today. Even Ft. Collins was supposed to reach 95 degrees. There’s been a lot of rain in the region recently – Uncle Greg said ~25/30 days they’ve gotten rain. So everything looks surprisingly lush and vital even pretty far into arid desert areas, but the heat and dryness today are a reminder of the harshness of this region, despite its beauty. Ryan and I agreed we wouldn’t want to be trying to survive out here in pre-modern times. Really excited to get out and camp here though, give then ‘safety’ afforded by our privileged modern lifestyle!”

On finding our camping spot:

“Fun/stressful pulling over alongside the mountain road just inside Carson National Forest, running up steep embankments to look for a semi-flat spot, not visible to the road. We’re in a rush to make it to our dinner plans with family friends from Nashville who live here now. One spot we almost selected got vetoed because we realized it may be the camping spot of a bear – found spine, elk jaw, and fur all nested down into a cozy little bed. Decided to pass on that area and look further for an an unoccupied spot. Lots of room here, no need to encroach on a bear nest – Ah!”

On a good night’s rest, Terry Richardson, peeing in the woods, and a perfect little trail:

“Had a fun dinner with Susan and Carolyn. Really neat ladies with a good sense of humor. They bought dinner – generosity of our hosts so far has truly been unparalleled. 93% sure that the celeb photographer Terry Richardson walked in to the restaurant we were eating at. Random.

Our log marker along the roadside worked well and we found our way back to our ‘campsite’ without any trouble. Found a flattish spot and got our tent set up by headlamp without a hitch! An owl hooted to welcome us (or tell us to get the hell off his property, but I prefer interpreting it as a welcome).

Ryan fell asleep with me reading to him ~10pm and we both got a good night’s sleep. Woke up to lots of birds chirping around 5:45am and got up to pee – leaves for t.p. since I forgot a plastic bag to put used t.p. in. Dozed on and of til 8 and later wished I’d just gotten up when I first woke up. I was perfectly comfortable overnight. I think Ryan got a little cold in his shitty sleeping bag when the temp dropped a little late night.

We packed up the tent and stopped a little ways down the mountain for a short hike. Just a mile in (and up), but oh so worth it! The trail (Yerba Canyon Trail, I think it was called) followed a lovely stream and was tree covered so it was cool and damp. Beautiful flowers were everywhere. Little light purple flowers and delicate yellow and white baby’s breath-like flowers. Mini bluebells when we crossed over the stream. I felt like Cinderella and maybe the flowers were popping up as I walked through leading the way along the trail. We were slow on the way in to the trail because we kept stopping to photograph the next beautiful bunch. Sometimes just one delicate flower, sometimes a small meadow full, but they were everywhere on both sides of the trail. It was fun crossing back and forth over the stream in our waterproof boots. As we got higher up, we started seeing lovely aspens. Spent the last few minutes trying to speed hike, which was fun, skipping over roots and giggling as we tried to race each other. So glad we took the time for this short hike.

Made our way back down the mountain through Taos. It turned quite suddenly from  mountain forest to high desert. More amazing vistas now on our way to Santa Fe. Stopped by the Rio Grande and picked up some trash left by careless visitors. Totally different fauna as real desert climate sets in. Stunning mesas, lush green trees snake along the river, and elsewhere red rock, set off by blue-ish mountainscapes in the background, still flecked with snow.”