The Great American Road Trip: Day 3

Day 3 at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in New Mexico

Miles - 375
Time - 8 hours

Even just a few days in I can already see this becoming kind of what I hoped it would be, a chance to try and break away from my typical mentality of "I must plan out every detail and stick to it" (despite always leaving most of my planning until the last minute, I prefer to have fairly firm plans). My first foray into "seat of your pants" travel came yesterday as I pulled into Santa Fe without a clear place to stay. A few thoughts crossed my mind - hang around town and then ask Christie if I could come back for another night in Albuquerque? Camp out at a rest stop or camping ground? Getting a cheap hotel seemed to be the most logical idea (my car is comfy but a shower before you get on the road is nice), and on the review of a youth hostel someone recommended airbnb. I'd heard of it but never used it, so I logged in and messaged a few people who were offering rooms and couches available that night.

For those of you also living under a rock like myself, airbnb is a site where people offer places to stay to travelers, but it's set up to create a sense of community. They verify your identity by comparing your information to a photo of your driver's license or passport, and people who stay with someone then write reviews confirming that the person is who they say they are and the condition of the accommodations, and people that you stay with can also write reviews of their guests. I stayed with Sharon, a very welcoming lady living alone with a spare room, 3 adorable cats, and a great talent for quilting and cooking. We spent a few hours chatting and making granola bars and little muffin-shaped frittatas while I updated my blog and wrote a few postcards. It was so nice to have the company and to stay in a home instead of a cheap motel, I will absolutely be using the site again the next time I'm looking for a place to stay. They have hosts all over the world, offering anything from $10 camping in a backyard to $600 a night villas in Milan or $200 rooms in Paris, should you be looking for places to stay on your own travels.

The next day I enjoyed breakfast at The Pantry with a friend of a friend and we spent a few hours talking about NP programs and life in general. It was such a delight to finally meet her in person, and I set off in a really happy mood - finding someone who shares similar passions as you do is always a lovely start to the day. She recommended taking 285 instead of I-25 up to Denver, and since I wasn't in any rush I decided that driving through the mountains would be just the thing to make a good day even better. Every other time that I've gone on a road trip it has tended to be with the intention of getting from one place to the next in the least amount of time possible, often with 16 hour driving days and no time to stop for anything besides gas and coffee. This time I'm making a point to only drive 7-8 hours at the most, since it allows me time for things like a leisurely breakfast and spur of the moment detours.

Speaking of which, as I was driving along I saw the sign for Sand Dunes National Park! I think the one and only time I'd ever been was as a class trip in 7th (?) grade, and I was making great time, so off I went barreling down the narrow two lane road through fields and pastures towards the distantly visible tan line of sand at the base of the grey mountains. I could see a storm making its way down the ridge, but figured I could at least get a bit closer for some good photos. The rangers understandably wouldn't let us go out onto the dunes with the lightning storm overhead, but I enjoyed the visitor's center and learning about how the dunes formed.

Back on the highway after my little stop, I drove through a bit of the rainstorm which washed off some of the bugs on my windshield, then climbed back into the mountains. Watching the terrain change as I went along was fascinating, it made me wish I knew more about different climates so that I could better understand what I was seeing! As it was, it was a beautiful drive, every turn more stunning than the last, especially as I got within an hour or two of Denver and things started looking a bit more familiar. I came around one corner and spotted Camp Santa Maria, the ill-fated location of an 8th grade retreat that had left us all resentful (we had expected the "secret" location of the trip to be the same as every year - a local Discovery Zone-like play area where they climbed rock walls and made tie-dye t-shirts, but instead we got to hike up a mountain to a giant statue of Mary, play capture the flag in the woods, and cook lunch in tin foil over a campfire). Looking back I feel like we should have enjoyed it more - I know I would be thrilled to do something like that now! Perspective. As I drove past Conifer I thought of driving to see Papa's old house up in the woods, but the city has grown so much that I couldn't even figure out which exit to use - nothing looked familiar anymore.

I turned off the GPS once I got on C-470, amid a growing sense of oddity. I drove on that highway, took that same exit, nearly every day for most of my life growing up, and the combination of familiarity with subtle and not so subtle changes made for kind of a surreal experience as I drove to my old neighborhood and stopped just around the corner from the house I lived in from the age of 4 until I was 22. I was welcomed with open arms and happy barking - it's good to be home, even when home has become several different and beloved places!

The Day In Photos: