An Ordinary Odyssey

{Disclaimer: because I haven’t been to any of these places yet, none of these photos were taken by me. I used only public domain photos credited all the photographers and sources to the best of my abilities.}

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Pretty soon I am embarking on a trip of a lifetime that will be full of so many firsts for me! Some of the most significant of those firsts include:

• My first completely solo road trip! 🚙 Yeah, I’ve done a couple long weekends in my little corner of the world, but they were not really what I would classify as a “road trip.” I usually just drove 5-6 hours to somewhere and plopped down to camp. Whereas this time I will be constantly on the move, driving across several states, and visiting many different places!
  
• Speaking of states, I will be visiting 5 new-to-me states! 🌅 Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wyoming!
  
• I will be visiting Rocky Mountain & Great Sand Dunes National Parks for the first time! 🇺🇸 It’s my first time buying an Annual America the Beautiful pass too.
  
• This will be my first time living out of a vehicle for a trip! 🧳 I’ve car camped a few weekends, but on this trip, I am spending almost every night in the vehicle. I have a few hotels in the big Colorado cities. But generally, I am sleeping in my car at free campgrounds, BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land, and a few parking lots. I’m as prepared as I can be, but I’m sure it will still be a steep learning curve!
  
• And then of course just an awesome number of new and exciting experiences! 📸 I will outline a few below.

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Now, I’m not going to share my detailed itinerary on this blog….yet. I know I don’t have many followers or anything right now, but it is still not a good idea to broadcast exactly where and when you will be traveling. Especially as a woman alone. But after my trip, I will be doing several posts that share the wonder of my trip but also give some travel recommendations and planning tools in case you want to explore some of these places yourself or just understand what all goes into a trip of this nature. It’s a LOT of work! But I’ve already done the hours and hours of research and I want to help others get a head start.

For now, let me just outline briefly some of the major points of interest that I am headed out to see, as well as some of the smaller places that I am super excited about.

First up, of course, is Rocky Mountain National Park!

This is a risky endeavor on my part, as I am choosing to go during the spring shoulder. The term “shoulder season” just refers to the time just before/after popular seasons for the park. In the case of Rocky, it is popular in both winter and summer. The shoulder season here for spring is April-June, when snowpack starts melting. People will come into the park for winter activities before then and the park becomes super crowded again through the summer. So hopefully going in the shoulder season will give a slight relief in the crowds. However, the main scenic road isn’t open in winter and shoulder seasons, as it is buried in 20+ feet of snow above the timberline (point of elevation where trees no longer grow). For me, going in June is a risk! The scenic road usually opens by Memorial Day, and it did this year. But that doesn’t mean the snow has melted. I’m packing warm clothes, ice cleats, and trekking poles and preparing to hike in the snow!

Great Sand Dunes National Park

This is another park that I am going to in the shoulder season and this time it comes with very different risks. Here at the sand dunes, the summer season gets HOT with the sand reaching temps of up to 170F! So you do not actually want to go to the park then! Peak season is still technically summer for the park, but a lot of people aim for spring and fall. Spring sees the seasonal creek running from the snow melt in the mountains, which is really cool (physically and aesthetically), but it also brings mosquitoes! So going in mid-June will be potentially buggy and hot. We’ll see what happens! I will be doing some hiking around the sand dunes and the foothills around the park, as well as renting a sled to go sand sledding down the dunes!!!

The Manitou Springs Incline

This is the one that just might do me in! This hike is in Manitou Springs (just outside of Colorado Springs) and is a popular training destination for Olympic athletes for a very good reason! The hike goes up an old railway track. In just .9 miles you gain 2,000 feet in elevation by going up 2,744 steps. 😳 I simply can’t drive through this area and not give it a try. They say it takes most people 2 hours to reach the top. I’m aiming for 4, and I fully intend to have at least two mental breakdowns during the ascent. It will be what it is gonna be. I really, really hope to complete it. But I’m open to the possibility that I might have to turn back.

Flatirons

The Flatirons are very distinct rock formations along the slope of Green Mountain just outside of Boulder. There are 5 flatirons and they are absolutely iconic and synonymous with Boulder. You cannot miss them! I will be visiting them in a couple of different ways. I will be hiking the trail right up to the top of the first two flatirons! This will be another steep and challenging climb, but nothing like Manitou Springs or even the elevation hiking up at Rock Mountain. A good way to test myself early in the trip! I also intend to do some flatland hikes in the various Open Space land around the city, for different vistas of the Flatirons. I’m hoping for some classic mountain and spring flower prairie photography. Fingers crossed!

SO MANY OTHER AMAZING THINGS PLANNED!!

I will be on the road for a total 15 days and whenever I travel, I love to fill up my time as much as possible. I’m not a sit and relax kind of vacationer. Other than chilling by the campfire in the evening or strolling around exploring the downtown areas of the cities, I don’t really have down time. It’s just not my thing. So my itinerary is filled with dozens of possible things I could potentially add in on my route. Here’s a dump list of some of my interests. I’m not gonna write about each, but in case you wanna know!

• Boulder Dushanabe Teahouse
• Scott’s Bluff National Monument
• Golden Spike Tower
• Garden of the Gods in Colorado
• Royal Gorge Bridge
• Novis Mortum Collection
• Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park
• Powell Gardens
• Chalk Pyramids
• Lake Scott State Park
• Bishop Castle
• Matthiesen State Park
• Lathrop State Park
• Bent’s Old Fort
• Pearl Street
• Cody Park Railroad Museum
• MeowWolf
• Denver Botanical Gardens
• Wildcat Den State Park
• Red Rocks Arena
• Holy Family Shrine
• Penny Arcade
• Alpha Omega Labyrinth
• Plus all the state capitol buildings in the states I am driving through, tons of street murals, and all the local grub I can lay my hands on!

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Let me know what questions you have about road tripping, visiting national parks, planning out hikes, or anything else! I’ve done hours and hours of research and would love to share what wisdom I’ve gained after my trip is done.