I'm currently sitting on a couch in a strangers' house listening to my sister sleep. Doesn't that sound creepy?
Fear not, I met these people through couchsurfing. All is legit. Try it out yourself. (Don't you wish real life would give you free stuff like it seems to for celebs just for mentioning stuff? That would be great.) Seriously though couchsurfing is great!
Today Leann and I met up with our dads in Colorado Springs. They have been her for two days and they are head of heels in love with the place. In fact, rumor has it Dad has been picking up local real estate magazines. haha...oh boys...
Getting to Colorado Springs (dads) wasn't easy.
First up, we had to leave Vegas. That was hard. Perhaps a little too hard. No one ever wants to leave but seriously only a day there is such a tease. I never got to swim with the sharks. I didn't get to see pirates fight at Treasure Island. Leann never got to go to giant M&M store. ah, such is life.
Secondly, we had to drive to the Grand Canyon. Have you ever done that? Not a horrible drive unless, of course, it's the opening weekend/WALKthrough for the new Hoover Dam overpass. Then, if that's the case, you get to wait 45 minutes to go 4 miles. Thank you 17,000 people who decided to walk over the new overpass on Sunday. (Btw, word of advice, never try to recreate the scene in "Fools Rush In" by throwing a quarter out of the window while passing the state line. You may end up hitting an unexpecting person. I didn't but I came awfully close. oops) After we got past the Dam, it wasn't too bad. It was just another 4-5 hours. We arrived and it was dark. It got dark at 5. We had left Vegas around noon. oops.
Thirdly, we had to sleep. in a tent. in a forest. full of mountain lions. near a giant canyon. Okay, maybe we didn't have to do that to get to Colorado Springs but it sure was a happy perk. :) I loved it. Leann is a camping pro. Good thing because, as this math equation points out: darkness + new tent + rain + no real flashlights + no food except instant potatoes and PB&J = challenging! Now I should point out 2 things. 1. This was not supposed to be a new tent by now. Mom and I were supposed to have used it in Yellowstone. And the girls and I were supposed to have used it in the Redwoods. neither happened. 2. We had cellphones (our Droids are bright!) for light and, after the tent was raised, I remembered we also had lanterns.
After our tent (and fly!) was raised and we had had our fill of potatoes, there was nothing to do but sleep. Well this is about the time I got just enough phone signal for all the texts/FB updates started coming in warning me about mountain lions. Thanks guys. Honestly, it got me a bit shaken, but there as no way I was tearing down that tent after all the struggle we had just put up! Mountain lions or not, I was sleeping outside! (Also, I looked up info and found out how to fight off a mountain lion. Bring it on...)
The sleep itself was pretty good except for the onslaught of rain that continued to hit our tent. However, we were dry. We were cozy. And, most important, mountain lions aren't going to come out in the rain.
When morning came there was a lot of work to do. More than I had even expected or even had the energy for. Instead of doing the things I absolutely needed to do ie: make breakfast (oatmeal & jelly toast), tear down our tent, fold our tent (the worst thing ever!)..., I decided to completely repack our car. I took everything out, laid it on a dry tarp, and set to work. To be honest, I felt a million times better after that. Sometimes a girl has just got to organize.
The fourth thing we had to do before reaching Colorado Springs was take in the Grand Canyon. Oh, take it in we did. I would love to talk in great detail here about the "giant hole in the ground" as I affectionately call it. Sadly, the Canyon is something that needs to be seen. I have some really beautiful shots. We stopped at 3 different viewpoints before heading to our next destination. Perhaps one day I'll upload some shots, until them find them on FB if we are friends.
The final attraction before meeting up the dads was 4 Corners. That sadly, is another story for another day. (because my laptop is dying...)
Goodnight friends. :)
--the nomad
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