Archive for April, 2013

Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

-John Muir, Our National Parks, 1901

Evening in the desert

Each time I go out into the world, I feel peace as the sun warms my skin. I feel the freshness of the winds and the energy of the storms. Even in the harsh climates of the desert, where the wind will scour you with sand, and the storms will rock you to the core.

Last weekend, we went looking for some sun and peace in the desert of southern Colorado. We packed up our bikes and trailer, and snagged a campsite in Lake Pueblo State Park. The desert sun and desert winds were there for us to enjoy.

Our Campsite at Lake Pueblo State Park

This was my first time in this state park, and I was surprised at how much there is to do here. The park has miles of exciting single track for mountain bikers. Some trails run along the ridge lines of eroding sandstone bluffs, others wind through narrow rocky canyons, thick cholla forests and dry desert arroyos.

Wanna ride?

G even got in on the mountain biking on this trip. He took his strider out on the Conduit Trail and took off! We were a little worried about his control when surrounded by hazards like cactus and steep hills, but he stayed right on the trail and had a ball.

The lake is the other major draw for this park. The marina and ample fishing make this a big local recreation site. The lake winds between sandstone bluffs, a little like Lake Powell, making a fun place to explore by kayak or canoe as well.

Playing in Lake Pueblo

As the sun set on our day of adventure Saturday, I watched Kelvin-Helmholtz waves appear in the sky above our campground. It made for a beautiful sunset, but as an atmospheric scientist, I should have known what those clouds meant.

Kelvin-Helmholtz Wave Instability

Around midnight, the wind kicked up hard. We had sustained winds of 50-60 mph for two or more hours. Our trailer is all hard-sided, so, thankfully, we didn’t have flapping tents or swaying popup supports to deal with. But it was scary enough in our trailer for us to all huddle together in bed. G slept through the whole thing. Mark and I stayed wide awake, ready to grab the kiddo and take off if needed.

Dusk and Breezy

On Sunday, the winds had calmed and the sun was out. Mark and I each took another loop of riding, and we each found a new beautiful spot hidden back in the canyons. I found a windless and sunny gully to bask in for a few minutes. Mark found a canyon filled with cairns along a trail named “Stonehenge.”

Cholla Canyon

We headed home, noting the swirling dust and sand in the desert north of Pueblo. And then we hit a road-block, as I-25 north of Pueblo was closed due to a sandstorm. We drove off the shoulder of the Interstate onto the outer road, dragging our little trailer through the weed and trash filled ditch and over a small embankment. Then we hit a dirt road next to the interstate and plowed through the sandstorm like we knew what we were doing.

G slept the whole time.

The winds howled down a mountain valley, filling the air with yellow dust and reducing visibility to nothing. The trailer rocked the entire truck when it was slammed by the gust. Mark kept a calm head and drove through maintaining his speed. I squinted into the dimness and prayed that nobody was stopped in front of us.

G snored.

The kid loves camping!

And we made it home. Later than we expected, but otherwise fine. We were sun burnt, wind burnt, scoured, dirty, sweaty, tired, and happy.

The First Pancake Phenomena is well known. You always throw out the first pancake. Your pan is too hot, or too buttery, the pour was too big, the flip was too small, for whatever reason, you always throw away the first pancake.

The same rule applies to trying just about anything again for the first time in a long while. Your first time back is going to be rusty, painful, and generally disappointing. You just have to get through that first time to find your rhythm again.

Red Rocks west of Denver

Last fall, we finished up the camping season with three great trips to Vedauwoo. Then the trailer went into storage, and I went into work mode, and the months passed. But as the sun started staying up longer, and the snow started melting, we knew it was time to get back outside.

Last weekend we had our First Pancake (aka Shake-Out) camping trip of the year. It’s almost guaranteed to not go according to plans, so we try not to make many. We are almost guaranteed to forget something important, so we camp close to home. Things are almost guaranteed to go terribly wrong, so we try to keep it simple.

On a short hike… is that a snake?

This trip, like so many other shake-out trips, had some wrinkles…

… We ran out of propane as I was packing up the trailer, but didn’t realize it until we were ready to leave. At that point, it was after 6p on a Friday night, and we couldn’t find a place that was open to fill the tank. Since it was going to be very cold on Friday night, I did not want to head out without the ability to heat. So, we decided to stay home Friday night and leave first thing Saturday morning.

… We got lectured by the staff at the campground, specifically one lady who decided since we were “clearly new at this” that she needed to explain everything to us. Granted, we have never been very good at the whole RV gig. And her complaints about our propane tank being held on by only a bungie cord were completely valid.

… Since we did not camp on Friday, I brought all of my bathroom stuff into the house. And did not realize I had forgotten it until about 8p on Saturday night. All of my prescriptions were back at the house, so I drove home on Saturday night. Happily, it was only a half hour trip.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Even with all of these wrinkles in our first pancake, we still had a really fun weekend. We toured and hiked around Red Rocks Amphitheater. We wandered around downtown Golden, running through parks and throwing rocks in the creek. G had a great time playing around the campground, and slept really well in the camper. And we made it through our first pancake. On to a summer of good rhythms and great adventures!

Onward!