TWO HAPPY CAMPERS

White River National Forest, Colorado //

By 9 am, all our possessions are cleared out of our Airbnb and loaded back into the camper. Having a place to stay for the busy work weekend was great, but I can’t count how many trips we’ve made from the camper to the condo and back to grab one thing or another. It’s not like we travel with suitcases and simply have a bag or two to move around. Instead, we use all the reusable grocery bags we have on hand to pull things from our cabinets and migrate them into the condo. It’s far from efficient, but it gets the job done.

As is typical for us, it isn’t until we are in the truck and ready to drive away that we start discussing where we are headed next. With only four days until our next wedding and next Airbnb reservation, it only makes sense to stay in the area. I propose heading 30 minutes north to Williams Peak, an expansive area of both BLM and National Forest land, and also our old stomping grounds. For many years, we lived in a rural neighborhood a couple of miles away. Several days a week, we would take our dogs hiking on Williams Peak Road. In the winters it was our sledding hill.  This road is the first dirt we ever drove our truck on and is where we spent our very first night in our Four-Wheel Camper back in 2012. The number of memories made on this road are impossible to count. In other words, nostalgia fills the air anytime we return, and today is no different.

Given that we have the time to do so, we decide to drive all the way to the top of the ridge line. Over the course of about five miles, we climb three thousand vertical feet, topping out at 10,500’ in elevation. Thanks to no maintenance that is done to this road and rocks of every shape and size embedded in its surface, the journey takes us a little over an hour. With only a couple of dispersed campsites to choose from, we go with the one that offers a small amount of protection in the trees for the wind is absolutely howling. We can’t act surprised though; we chose a destination that also serves as a launch area for paragliders and hanggliders. Wind is practically a guarantee thanks to the exposed west-facing ridge.

My motivation for seeking out this particular spot has everything to do with the panoramic views of the magnificent Gore range. Unfortunately, wildfire smoke has reduced visibility, but the wildly rugged mountains that I come for still look as impressive as ever. Standing on the edge of the ridge that overlooks the Gore range, Green Mountain Reservoir, and nearly the entire length of the Blue River valley, the nostalgia comes rushing back. With each direction that I place my gaze, another memory surfaces in my mind. The number of miles driven, hiked, run, and paddleboarded in the valley that lies before me is impossible to calculate. To the north, I can see our old neighborhood, and for a moment, I feel the slightest tinge of homesickness for what once was an incredible life nestled in this breathtaking valley deep in the Rocky Mountains. Luckily, all the reasons why we choose to leave still hold true. And the amount of life we have lived since leaving never could have been had we not fled our nest. But the years we have here are special, and I’ll forever be grateful for the impression this valley made on our lives.