We woke up early to drive Trail Ridge Road without traffic. This road cuts across RMNP and is the highest major highway in North America, climbing to 12,183 feet. It is currently under construction and we were warned that traffic can be backed up 30-60 minutes this summer. Our early start paid off – there were very few cars on the road and we saw some wildlife eating breakfast (including the biggest elk we’ve seen – he was huge and right next to the car!). We made our way along Trail Ridge Road and left the park. We were excited for the day, as we were going through Boulder and Vail (2 places I’ve always wanted to see) and were eventually making our way to see Deven’s longtime friend, Katie, in Aspen. We drove through Boulder and stopped at Costco (had to re-stock the Sprinter with a few goodies), stopped in Vail, stopped at Starbucks (thank you Howard Schultz for putting Starbucks everywhere in Colorado!), and finally made our way to Aspen. Today was a big day for a few reasons. #1 – we passed 3,000 miles for our trip so far. #2 – we finally have music! We went nearly 3,000 miles without music, can you believe that?! We have radio reception, but the music is not exactly what you’d want on a road trip. Deven has a brand new stereo to hook up (one of the many projects she brought to complete on the trip!), but it hasn’t been installed yet. I have music on my computer, but it’s not quite loud enough while we’re driving. So, today at Costco, we bought a portable player for our iPods and we don’t even know what to do with ourselves. From Vail to Aspen I made Deven play Name That Tune, as I scanned the 10,000 songs on my iPod. She knew everything – from Earth, Wind, and Fire to Busta Rhymes…she even got Patsy Cline! That made our drive go quickly and soon we were in Aspen. Deven was excited to be returning after living here 14 years ago. We drove into downtown, walked around, and had a nice meal. #3 – we ate at a real restaurant! We had dinner and margaritas and it really felt like vacation! I loved Aspen – it’s one of my all-time favorites! We made our way out of Aspen to go to Katie and Kipp’s house in nearby Basalt. #4 – interaction with other adults! We visited with Katie, toured her amazing property and beautiful home (surrounded by red cliffs and hillsides on all sides), played with her dogs, and even tried her new slack line. #5 – we also had real showers and were able to sit on the couch and chat and relax. It was a great night and we had so much fun catching up with Katie. We looked at Katie and Kipp’s wedding photos and look forward to meeting him in the future! Thank you Katie for an evening of civilization, your kind hospitality, and a long overdue visit with Deven!
