COLORADO FUN
Sunday, April 20
“Wake up, you sleepyhead!” My dad said as he shook me awake. We had to wake up sooo early, at 5:30 in the morning, which felt like the middle of the night. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and we ate a quick breakfast that wasn’t that great. Then we drove about forty minutes to Logan Airport. At the airport, we did all the boring-but-important stuff—gave our bags away, showed people our passports, and went through security (the line felt like forever). Then we found our gate and waited for our 7:40 flight to Denver. The plane ride went by pretty fast. I read a little, looked out the window, and hoped they’d bring snacks. Next thing I knew, we were already landing in Denver at 10:20!
I was half tired, half bouncing-in-my-seat excited. We picked up our rental car at Enterprise and zoomed off toward the HUGE mountains. The road was called the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway. Everywhere we turned, there was another giant mountain staring at us with snowy tops like they were wearing hats. At about 1:00, we grabbed food really fast, then we rolled into Rocky Mountain National Park, which totally felt like we were entering a magical kingdom. On the way, my brother crashed and started snoring.
I tried to nap too, but my stomach was all wobbly, so instead I stared out the window, watching the mountains get bigger and bigger, while the radio played some songs I knew. After sitting in the car for so long, we went to a stop called Sprague Lake, where the water was so still it looked like a mirror. Walking around the little lake felt super nice. Then we went to Bear Lake, which was totally frozen—even in April! Standing there, I felt tiny because the mountains around it were huge, and you could kind of see their reflections in the ice. We wanted to hike up to Dream and Emerald Lakes, but the trails were still snowy, and I didn’t want to slip without those spiky shoes. We saw so many animals—elk hanging out in Moraine Park and mule deer sneaking around in the trees. The Alluvial Fan waterfall was crazy loud, and freezing cold water was rushing everywhere. After that, we made it up to Many Parks Curve, but the road ended because of the snow. Still, the view was amazing—the mountains looked like giant waves going on forever. By the time we drove back to Longmont, the sun was setting, and it felt like the end of a super full day. After we checked in, we went to the pool. It was no ordinary pool; it had a HUGE water slide! My brother stayed for 15 minutes because of his itchy foot, and I got to stay for an extra 15 minutes. After, we showered and went to sleep.
Monday, April 21
In the morning, we went to Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Whoa! The rocks were HUGE and so red, like giant walls. After lunch, we had to drive forever. Glenwood Canyon looked like cliffs shooting up into the sky and a river right next to the road. The road twisted so much it felt like a roller coaster, but in a car. Then we went on the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway. It was like being on top of the whole world! There were so many trees and lakes that I lost count. I rolled the window down, and the air was freezing, but it smelled so fresh, like nature gum. By the afternoon, I was soooo tired. We finally got to our hotel, the Best Western in Clifton. We ate dinner, and then I just wanted to flop on the bed and not move after all that driving.
Tuesday, April 22
This was the day I’d been waiting for— Arches National Park. The drive from Clifton was like an hour and a half, and then BOOM—red rocks everywhere! They looked so crazy, like we were on another planet. The road through the park was awesome. Huge arches went across the sky, and giant rock towers looked like castles. The rocks were glowing in the sun, and I couldn’t stop staring. We stopped a bunch of times to take pictures. My mom and brother went to Double Arch, and Dad went to see another arch that I don’t know the name of. When we went to Landscape arch, I was all ready to take the famous picture… but then I dropped my camera! It still worked a little, but it couldn’t print anymore. At least I got some good photos. We also climbed a long hike to even see the delicate arch! We thought about going to the Colorado National Monument that night, but everyone was tired. Resting felt way better.
Wednesday, April 23
We gave back the car in Grand Junction and walked to the train station. We waited for what felt like a hundred hours, and then we were like, “Forget this!” and drove to Denver instead. When we finally got there at 6:27 PM, all the sparkly city lights made it feel like we had landed on another planet after being in the quiet mountains. Our hotel felt so tiny after seeing all those HUGE mountains. We dropped our bags and went to get dinner. The food tasted extra good because we were so tired, and I was happy to just sit down. The next day, we went exploring downtown Denver. My mom lost my dad (oops), so we had to go find him somewhere else. We walked past cool shops, old-time streets, and big squares where people were hanging out. It was loud and busy, but kind of awesome—like a whole new kind of adventure after all the natural world. That night we had one last dinner, and then it was time to go to the airport for our flight back to Boston. While I was sitting at the gate, I kept thinking about the frozen lakes, the giant red rocks that looked like castles, and the endless mountains. I felt super thankful we got to see all of it.