Day 4: Summit County Summits

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We were in good favor with the weather gods today. After a night of sleep-disrupting thunderstorms, we woke to unseasonable snowfall, allowing us to picture our little home on Main Street, Frisco (at the Snowshoe Motel) in its Christmas season glory. But by the time we hit the Moonstone trailhead in Breckenridge, the clouds had parted, and the dripping trees added a melodic rhythm to our initial (panting) ascent. It was an out-and-back mountain climb that fulfilled all expectations, and made us hungrier than we anticipated.

Inspired by the views
Breckenridge ski slopes and town from Moonstone Trail

Good thing Breckenridge below was teeming with hungry tourist destinations. And with, you guessed it, Candy Shoppes. Once refueled (and the teenage hangry monster re-caged), we could properly explore the buzzing downtown and its t-shirt shops, door-swinging saloons, and artisan gift shops. I bought an old-lady souvenir (a Christmas ornament- really?!) from a shop owner who raved about New Morning Gallery in Asheville. Felt like a proud mama, like I had hand-made all its inventory myself. But the clouds were rolling back in, and Frisco was calling us home.

The true purpose of the trip, Bonding with Teens, and apparently, Candy

Once back in the motel, the weather gods said “Thou Shalt Nap!” by torrentially down-pouring again, only to wake us with a misty afternoon that said “Thou Shalt Hike Again!” And I know this was divine intervention, because the kids both agreed. So we ambled along a nearby trail up to Rainbow Lake, looking for the elusive moose and preventing Ben (with much difficulty), from practicing his lumberjack log rolls on the water. It was wet, and beautiful, and I got to wear my new North Face rain jacket.

Aw yeah, in Breckenridge wearing North Face. That’s me.

Again, we could have stopped this day halfway and I would have been satisfied, but it just kept on giving. There were moments when I thought What the heck will Day 14 be like with these people? but those moments always passed for another conversation, silly joke, or arm around the shoulder (and not always parent on kid.) And if we hadn’t seen the day all the way through, we would have missed the epic game of Pass the Pigs at HighSide Brewing, where Bob lost all his points not once but twice, causing our raucous outburst to join with the other game-playing patrons who were escaping the rain. In the end, a win for us all.

Day 3: Colorahhhhdo

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Today can be summarized in geographic segments: Boulder, Loveland Pass, Silverthorn, and Frisco. Or it can be summarized with the popular cliche’ of mountain towns: “It’s not the altitude, it’s the attitude.” As an Asheville girl and an eternal optimist, I agree with this, and yet… 5-12,000 feet does something to you.

Views from Loveland Pass

We had some good old fashioned good attitudes today, I must admit. But something freaky was going on too. After spending the best part of an hour in a collective trance with the kids at an AHHHmazing puzzle shop on Pearl Street (I want to marry you, Liberty Puzzles!), Ben asked to sit on the promenade and “take in the happy vibe”. I know, right? Between Boulder and the climb through Clear Creek Canyon, Lia was annotating her summer reading book with diligence hoping it might land her a scholarship to the University of Colorado. And even though all my toiletries exploded on me when I opened them, and the whole family had the altitude wobbles atop Loveland Pass, we kept looking around us gleefully saying, “I love it here.”

mesmerized by the tactile art of puzzles in Boulder

Bob’s love for this place was obviously different than our wide-eyed, oxygen-deficient tourist grins. He accommodated Lia’s and my demands to stop on the shoulders of various highways for a photo of the Flat Iron mountains or the rapids of Clear Creek. He was patient as we ambled through the shops in Boulder and Frisco’s quiet village, but his remembrances of old landmarks from his youthful days in Summit County were classic “past-meets-present” kind of magic. The kids would ask, “Tell us about what it was like when you lived here? Was Grandma upset when you left college to come here? Is this you favorite place in the world?” And it led to many awesome conversations about choices, and priorities, and even touched some times on destiny. Like I said, there’s something freaky in the thin air here, and I don’t mean what comes from the dispensaries.

Revisiting his Silverthorn home in the valley of Buffalo and Red

If we flew home tomorrow I would say “what an awesome vacation!” Inside jokes, hotel room dancing, curious map reading, not to mention a good microbrew in the sunny shadow of the Rockies. But this is only Day 3 of this adventure, with more mountain air to help breathe it all in tomorrow.

Day 2: Seriously, Kansas?

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This was the most exciting thing we did in Kansas. All 10+ hours of it! I mean, I felt pretty amorous towards the rolling expanses of green land at first, impressed with how–after Kansas City and Topeka– there could be so much America without anything but flat, far fields. The kids and I were playful then, at the beginning of this day, teasing a Clock-Watching Bob about our plans to divert him to Corn Palace, Eisenhower’s Birth Home, and the world’s largest ball of twine (thanks Lee!) Perhaps another day, kids, with Aunt Jenny, and Grandpa’s picture on the dashboard….today, we spent ALL DAY in Kansas, and all we got was this photo:

Well, I did snap a couple more. To capture the day, of course.

I am proud of us. No one really lost their temper for more than a moment. The kids took turns sleeping in the “middle section”. Bob interspersed his Yardbirds, John Mellencamp, and John Prine eclectica with some actual 80’s Alt/Pop. I think he was trying to cheer me up for working on vacation, but I kept looking up to see Flat Kansas, and felt like I had the better deal.

Then, something happened:

We watched the hazy outline of mountains form in the distance, something we are used to when returning home to Asheville from anywhere, only as the cloudy tops came into view, the far-away ones were covered in snow and the near ones among us were were craggy plateaus. Denver came–“look, kids, Infrastructure!”– but we passed on through to a night stop in Golden, where upon disembarking for a refresh, Bob became a new man. Like a man falling into the arms of a long lost love. I mean really, I was like, Guys, are you aware that we might be driving back east without him? Maybe he was just happy that Back-up Driver was now On Duty. Either way, thanks Bob, you deserve a sigh and a smile! And Kansas, no hate, I promise!

Day 1: Adolescents with Air Pods

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A good way to start this adventure, after spoiling teens with technological surprises, was to mix up Day 1 with driving and exploration. In Nashville for lunch and St. Louis for dinner, we launched this road trip with curiosity and a good appetite. Even though I was told emphatically by the children , “No, mom, no. Travel blogging is so cringey“, I persist in documenting our successes (and bumps in the road) because of the motivation I got when hearing a follow up, “I liked this day.”

Nashville delivered its promise of a gritty get-down music scene, where even the local Mellow Mushroom offered the ambiance of a kid-friendly honky tonk. Lia was intrigued, but thought the vibe of Broadway was sketchy–and this was at first shift, daytime hours– so we praised her instincts and found a price-per-pound candy store to stock up for more driving.

They are still kids when they want to check out every candy store.

Then on to St. Louis and the Gateway to the West! Another 4.5 hour drive was marked by episodes of The Office (Lia), Indiana Jones movies (Ben), cringey blogging (Annie) and Phish channel on Sirius radio (Bob). We did fit in a good round of Superfight, a game of intentional arguing over what absurd characters would win in a show down. (Preemptive argument tactics, this. Make it silly. Brilliant.)

And then we reached the Arch. A lovely green park surrounds its base and the murky Mississippi encroaches onto the streets nearby. There were no lines for the weird little capsules that take you up to the 630 foot top, and just enough minor thrills for the acrophobics of the family. There was also an expansive view through a series of tiny (why so tiny?) windows.

Dinner in the Delmar Loop near Washington University was, according to Ben, “worth the 9 hour drive”. That says a lot coming from the guy who was suggesting that we turn around after a successful candy store shopping spree a mere 5 hours in. I guess the key to traveling with this tween is finding a steady stream of junk food. He was the only one who ate my sliced cucumbers in the car though, so there’s that. Me, I ate Toasted Ravioli because, St. Louis!

Bob was patient as I fulfilled my duty of Clock-Ignoring, but only to a point. Man is on a mission to get to the Rockies, and wants to be well-rested for the drive. Yay, Day 1.

Heading West with Half-Growns

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And so begins our travel from Asheville, NC to Colorado and the Four Corners area of the Southwest. This long-awaited trip will take us down many miles of highway, through gorgeous national parks, and deep into the wild lands of family time with teens. Meet the companions:

Bob: husband and dad, inspiration for this epic trip thanks to his past life as a hippie who fell in love with Colorado and our beautiful country back during his “gap year(s)” as a Deadhead Snowboarder. Also the Default Driver, the Clock-Watcher, and the Brewery-Finder.

Lia: 14 year old daughter and sister, classic generation Z girl who loves traveling and adventures almost as much as her friends and photo ops. This is a long time to be away from her Bae (cherished sisterhood) and a long time to sit next to her little brother, but of all of us, she’ll be the last to lose hope in the epic possibilities ahead of us. Also, trip photographer, souvenir spender, and helpful eye-roller (*eyeroll*).

Ben: Almost 12 year old son and brother, homebody and game boy, skeptically hoping the payoff of adventure is worth all this time in a nauseating car. Well-stocked with brain games and peppermints, however, he’ll be our trip map-follower, budget counselor, and comedy-relief.

Annie: wife and mom, channeling her late-father’s love of American highways and awe-inspiring vistas. Enthusiastic ambler and memory hoarder, this trip is also a “thank you” to Bob for the last few years of holding her up, and a “holding on” to the moments with Lia and Ben, before they start traveling their own roads. Stocked with her work computer, a hotspot jetpack, and a Game of Thrones tribute magazine, she is also the Back-up Driver, Clock-Ignorer, and Cucumber Slicer.