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Another Big Bite

Another Big Bite

Tag Archives: nature

Congress Blows Goats. So Let’s Go on Vacation! (Part 1)

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by anotherbigbite in On the Road Again, Out of Doors, The "Joy" of Parenting

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Tags

black canyon, camping, colorado, family, government shutdown, gunnison, monarch pass, nature, ouray, outdoors, park, road trip, rv, rving, Travel, traveling with kids, vacation

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Like nearly a million other people, we found ourselves with some extra time off last week.  Never one to pass up the opportunity to hit the road, we decided to get out of Dodge again.

After toying with (and sadly abandoning) the idea to truck out to Arizona to see my dad, we decided to stay a little closer to home and check out Ouray, Colorado.  Ouray is the ice climbing capital of the world, apparently.  Since it is past Labor Day, and nowhere near ice climbing season, we figured it would be a good time to visit.  And whoo-hoo, we were not disappointed at all.

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We took our time getting things together on THursday, and consequently only made it two hours to Buena Vista.  Since we had such a great time when we went there a few months ago, we decided to check out the same “free” campsite we had found.  Not surprisingly, there wasn’t a soul around for miles and we backed in around midnight.  When we woke up the next morning, the rain I thought I had heard was actually snow…  Finn was mighty pleased and was thrilled to be back at the same campsite.  Writing your name in the snow with your own pee may have had something to do with his excitement.

After breakfast at the Brown Dog Coffee Company in Buena Vista (seriously the best raspberry scone I had ever had), we pressed on to Gunnison.  We passed this amazing display of playground awesomeness; holy crap!  How could we not stop?  Three story tube slide?  Don’t mind if I do.

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The slide was awesome; and even Nathan and I were grinning ear-to-ear and racing back up to the top for more.  It was FAST… Alice could have done it all day, but one trip for Finn was enough.  He had his eyes on the rock wall.  And loved going down the swirly slide…. Which knocked him on his ass more than a few times.

Wipeout in 3.... 2..... 1....

Wipeout in 3…. 2….. 1….

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After a disappointing lunch at Pizza Hut (shock; I know) and hitting three separate Walmarts in 24 hours, we finally managed to inch our way up Monarch Pass.  A temporary road sign alerted us to the icy conditions ahead.  No more than three minutes later, we were driving through a decent snow…  And when we saw a bunch of cars and a crew of people milling about the pull out just shy of the pass, I thought of one thing.

Shit.  We didn’t bring chains.  It is barely even October.

Nathan must have been thinking the same thing; he pulled over to get the latest from the folks coming the opposite direction.  They all looked pretty grumpy and were furiously brushing off the snow from their vehicles.  When we got a little closer, and I started rolling down my window to talk to the nearest guy, I got that feeling that something was a little off…

All the cars were blacked out; Mercedes and tank-like trucks were surrounded by a clan of guys decked out in tactical gear; fatigues, guns, knives, bullet-proof vests.  Holy shit.  What had we just rolled up on?

“Uh… Is it really bad?  You guys needed chains?”  I sorta muttered to this guy who was obviously NOT in the military but had enough weapons to make it through the third round of the zombie apocalypse.  I start to notice the truck behind him is armoured and clearly ready to plow through a shower of bullets, machetes or anyone else, alive or dead, that stands in its path.

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“Nah..  Just a little slippery,” he tells us with a ridiculous level of nonchalance considering all the heat he is packing.

Nathan chimes in (in his “I’m an official bad-ass, and I know something is amiss” voice), “Are you a cop?  That pattern on your uniform is the new Special Forces stuff.”

A few more seconds into the conversation, and we’re told that they are in Monarch Pass filming The Fast and the Furious 7 (Whaaaaat?  THE SEVENTH MOVIE?  I must be living under a rock, and not following Vin Diesel’s career as closely as I could be.).  The snow has made it impossible to film.  After Nathan and I breathe a sigh of relief,  Nae asks him about the knife holstered in the front of his vest.

“Nah, man.  Just rubber, he bends the handle in half and I am amazed at how real it looks.  And how bizarre it is that this guy just “bent” his knife in half.  “Guns, knives, all of it is just rubber.”

“Are those trucks the real deal, too?” I ask.

“Nah, they’re empty.  No heaters, no radios, just shells.  Sucks, man.”  He smiles.

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When he asks where we’re headed, and we tell him we’re really not sure, he wishes us well, and tells us it isn’t too slippery up ahead, but we’re gonna get pretty dirty.  Of course, they’re worried about getting dirty.  We didn’t care.  He wishes us well and gives us a very cliché thumbs-up.  We wish him luck for the movie and drive off.  Over the next half hour, we pass three or four sets of identical black cars in triplicate – bigger trucks, and THE Vin Diesel car (or so I think, I’ve stopped caring about Fast and the Furious since I’ve had kids).

“If I cared about Facebook, I would totally put this up there,” Nae tells me.  I totally agree.

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Alice drifted off to sleep, and we got to see evidence of Congress’ work ethic.  Every pull-off for the recreation areas, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, was shuttered up.

Fuck you very much, Congress.  Three cheers for our Nation’s leaders.

We stopped by the Dillon Pinnacles…

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And the Blue Mesa Dam.

And took in the sights of the Black Canyon.  From the road.  Since that is the closest we could get.

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By late afternoon, we pulled into Ouray and were taken aback at how picturesque it was…  It was like living in a movie.  Only not The Fast and the Furious.

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We took a quick tour around town and decided we would come back the next morning when everything was open.

Stay tuned for more!

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The National Forest World Tour

20 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by anotherbigbite in On the Road Again, Out of Doors, The "Joy" of Parenting

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Tags

buena vista, camping, camping with kids, colorado, family, nature, outdoors, parenting, pike national forest, san isabel national forest, Travel, traveling with kids

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A three day weekend is a terrible thing to waste. With the grand State of Colorado at our doorstep, we don’t have any excuse not to get out there and experience it every chance we get.

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Is going to the mountains ever going to get old?

Friday morning brought us to Buena Vista, Colorado. It is an adorable small town on the edge of San Isabel National Forest, and it lives up to its namesake.

Unbenounced to me, it is perfectly legal – even acceptable, to pull off the road in one of Colorado’s National Forests and just live there for two weeks. While there are more than any state’s fair share of regular campgrounds scattered throughout the Colorado wilderness, they fill up fast in the warmer months. Even if we wanted to pay $16 to park the trailer overnight, there wasn’t a single spot available to rent around Buena Vista. I felt a little bit like a hillbilly when we pulled off the state road and built a fire in the middle of nowhere, but by the end of the night, we were surrounded by four other groups of hillbillies.

Not that I was keeping score, but only one of the cars wasn’t equally nice as ours… I’m an asshole for giving two shakes what other people were driving, but it felt nice that I wasn’t hemmed in by homeless squatters in beat-up Chevy Novas. A Nova’s rust-blistered, pea-green paint and I go way back; we had a Nova back in the 80s. It was affectionately known as The Beater. The Beater had separate shoulder belts – which made it exceptionally exciting for a seven-year-old to plant their bottom smack dab in the middle of the backseat and crisscross the two belts from one side of the car to the other. I have zero memories of my mother lowering her standards far enough to ride in it, let alone drive it. If I came across my dad driving the same car (and wearing the same shorty-short brown athletic shorts, striped alligator polo and plastic aviator shades) in the wilderness last weekend, I may have felt the same way as my mom did about that car.

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We hung out most of the day while the kids did little more than roll around in the dirt. We tucked Finny in on the sofa in the trailer when he petered out, and upon investigating a loud thump, we discovered he had rolled off the cushion and into the dog bed. He was still asleep. We relocated a very anxious Waltie and set about making dinner.

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I’ve learned over the last fifteen years to stay out of Nathan’s way when he’s bent over a fire. He was the chef this whole weekend, which was fabulous, but it also meant that the kids and I be located elsewhere while he cooked. I was happy to oblige.

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After dinner, we roasted marshmallows, tucked in the kids and plowed through the remainder of the marshmallows ourselves. Nathan laughed at me while I wondered aloud what sort of animal sounded like it was playing the bongos in the woods (it was the stream behind us). We collapsed into bed and slept until eight the next morning.

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Nae made us pancakes for breakfast and we meandered into the woods in search of raspberries. We found tons of them; and after snacking on a few, we explored the creek bed. A toad startled the daylights out of Finn – Alice wanted nothing more than to pet it and love it and name it Natalie.

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OH GOD. The Dad Shirt is never going to die. I was wrong.

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After trying (in vain) to teach Alice how to use a pair of trekking poles, we packed up the camp and headed into town for lunch. We drove by K’s Old Fashioned Burgers and immediately knew it was one of those places; it was packed. The line wound around the building and as we walked up, the announcement over the loud-speaker made my heart skip a beat.

“Matthew McConahey, your order is ready.”

Wha, whaaa? My common sense kicked in as I realized they used celebrities’ names instead of numbers for the orders. Audrey Hepburn, Vanilla Ice and Sophia Loren picked up their orders just in time for the teeny bopper behind the counter to call for Bruce WILLIAMS. I can’t possibly be getting that old, can I? I live in a world where teenagers don’t recognize the real name of John McClaine?

Oh, Mr. Willis, I apologize to you on behalf of America’s youth.

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They announced Martha Stewart’s order and I grabbed my food and booked to a free picnic table beside the adjacent playground. Finn and Alice ate and ran, then noshed and climbed all the way through Denzel Washington’s dessert. We took the dogs for a walk and rolled out of town. Next stop: Pike National Forest.

We managed to score a site at the Blue Mountain campground. After taking a relaxing break lounging in the trailer and watching half of Rise of the Guardians, we started a fire and roasted some weenies for dinner.

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Once our food had settled, we laced up our boots and took a sunset hike up the Hardrock Trail. Finn navigated using his “treasure map” and we arrived at the summit just in time to miss that sunset… But it was beautiful anyway. Upon returning to camp, the kids were exhausted and zonked out.

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Nae ran into town while I was getting the kids down and picked up ice cream and wine. Nothing speaks of our high breeding like a King Cone and plastic, single serving bottles of White Zinfandel. We relaxed in the hammock and stared at the stars. It should have been ridiculously romantic, but was mostly filled with musings concerning mistaking rumbling bowels for a vibrating phone in your back pocket and our shortfalls as parents. What can I say? This is my life.

After another round of pancakes, we sucked up the hour drive back to showers and clean sheets… Alice took an epic nap spanning the entire afternoon and Finny vegged in front of the boob tube.

Since no weekend is complete without at lest one trip to Home Depot, we bought a replacement faucet for the leaky one in the trailer (which didn’t fit) and another drop cloth to reupholster the cushions in. Even after all the excitement, Nathan and I were awake until the wee hours of the morning working on our projects that spent the weekend being neglected.

But now we’re back home; where it doesn’t matter that we can see the mountains from the deck or we live two hours from Buena Vista… Whether it is here or Ohio, laundry still needs to be done, meals still need to be cooked and little noses still run. My phone still rings with tidings from Chicago… Or… That could have been the hotdogs from this weekend.

Ah, home is where reality sets back in.

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Breakin’ the Law at Mueller State Park

14 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by anotherbigbite in On the Road Again, The "Joy" of Parenting

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Tags

camping, camping with kids, coloardo, family, mueller state park, nature, outdoors, parenting, rv, rving, Travel, traveling with kids

Time to break out the House With Wheels again!

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Last weekend we headed up to Divide, Colorado for a visit to Mueller State Park. We didn’t have high expectations; growing up in the Midwest meant that a “State Park” was shorthand for “Nice Place to Sneak in Beer and Hangout Around a Fire With Your Underage Posse.” That description is two-fold; my dad loves camping and would sneak in a six-pack of Sam Addams while taking us camping over the weekend. That, and when we were in high school, Nathan and I would hide an entire case of beer throughout the car on the way to hangout with our friends and pretend that we were adults whist getting hammered on Nattie Light.

A State Park wasn’t for seeing the wonders of nature; that is what NATIONAL Parks were for. A State Park was simply a destination where you were legally allowed to light a giant fire and partake in the illegal consumption of alcohol. (I’m looking at YOU, Warren Dunes State Park.)

Mueller State Park was beautiful, though! Can I just say I LOVE COLORADO?

We arrived early on Saturday morning and immediately started setting up shop. The House With Wheels takes about four minutes to set up, but Nathan brought along his hammock. It was easily the most entertaining activity we engaged in the entire weekend…

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So cute, I don't even care that it is blurry.

So cute, I don’t even care that it is blurry.

Until one of the Park Rangers came by and ordered us to take it down. Apparently nothing is supposed to be hung from the trees. Including a family of four.

Busted.

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After the hammock debacle, we busted out the new BioLite Stove and made brats and grilled cheese pitas. This little gadget is something to behold; it is a tiny little cylinder you pop a host of twigs and sticks into, and in two minutes, you attach a little grill to it to roast your kiddos a couple of pitas loaded with Muenster cheese. And you can charge your phone with it – while it burns twigs. Amazing.

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We didn’t do much of anything all day. In the afternoon, we hauled the kids into town for ice cream. Both of them knocked out on the way there… Which translated to Nathan and I plowing through a pint of Haagen Daaz Five (coffee flavor; the BEST coffee ice cream EVER) in the parking lot.

Before we knew it, we were taking a break from watching the kids leap off of stumps and poke at bugs with sticks to make dinner. Nathan spectacularly sliced open his finger while cleaning his knife – just in time for marshmallow roasting. Another Park Ranger came by; we wondered what we had done this time… Turns out, he was walking from campsite to campsite with a coyote skull and pelt to educate little campers with.

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Nothing like a dead animal to get the kids’ attention.

We hit the hay early – maybe nine? Nathan and the kids were snoring away while I stared at the ceiling, my mind buzzing away with little projects to beautify the House With Wheels… Finally I fell asleep and dreamt of birch wallpaper from Cole & Son, Hudson’s Bay blankets and collapsible chrome RV faucets.

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After breakfast in the morning, we packed up and took the kids to the Dragonfly Children’s Nature Trail for a “hike.” It was a short walk around a pond filled with water striders and (you guessed it) dragonflies. There were little activities for the kids; a jump pit to see which animal you could beat in the long jump, a giant log to crawl through and brass castings of poop to fondle.

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They loved it.

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We called it a day and headed home.

And I’ve realized that not much has changed in the State Park business. Sure, the scenery is better here, but you’re still apt to do nothing more than sit around a fire and break the rules; whether it be sneaking in Nattie Light or illegally hanging from the vegetation.

We’re such rebels.

Faced with a long weekend ahead of us, we may rebel again this weekend. (Maniacal laugh)

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Caves and Fossil Beds; Cliffs Notes Edition

17 Friday May 2013

Posted by anotherbigbite in On the Road Again, Out of Doors

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Tags

colorado, florissant fossil beds national monument, manitou cliff dwellings, nature, outdoors, Travel

1 Caves 2Last weekend, we hit up The Manitou Cliff Dwellings for a little bit of educational fun.  I suppose I should emphasize the “little bit” part, because even though they were cool, what you see in the photo above is about all it is.  We had a coupon for a buy one get one free admission, so it was fine in the end, but for ten buckaroos a person?  Meh.  The marketing person behind it all deserves a raise, though.

We were all packed and ready for a nice good hike; we had water and hats, jackets and comfortable shoes, but we encountered little more rocky terrain than a set of steps.  We were in and out of there in about an hour; most of which was spent perusing the gift shop and all its plastic-Native-American-doll glory.  The kids had fun.

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1 Caves 1The most exciting part for Finn was grinding corn – or “making quesadillas” as he put it.

1 Caves 4It was a beautiful day and a nice, long Sunday drive was in order.  I am beginning to understand why my parents were so fond of Sunday drives…  The kids are strapped down and cannot move, and when we pop in a video for them – SILENCE. Sweet, sweet, silence.

We ended up at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, which would have been awesome if we would have had a little more time.  It was bright and sunny when we arrived…

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1 Beds 2But after checking out the half mile loop and its petrified sequoia tree stumps, the sky became a little ominous…

1 beds 3No sooner had we packed the kids up when it started pelting rain, and by the time we were on the highway heading back to Colorado Springs, the hail had turned to snow.  It had dropped almost twenty degrees and the driving was touch-and-go.

photo (2)None of that mattered by the time we got home, though.  It was bright and sunny, and the kids and I hung out in the back yard (hauling rocks – yay.) while Nathan installed the baseboards in the living room (Happy Mother’s Day!!  Really.  I was ecstatic.)

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The Great American Staycation

21 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by anotherbigbite in My Two Cents, The "Joy" of Parenting

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

colorado springs, family outing, finn, Garden of the Gods, hiking, nature, outdoors

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When we first moved to Colorado Springs, it was under the guise that it was “the most amazing place, like, ever!”  I would tell people where we were moving, and instead of the reaction that I got when I broke the news that we were moving to Ohio (“Oh.  That’s uh, great, I guess……  WKRP in Cincinnati!!”), everyone would gush about how awesome it was.  I signed on the dotted line, site unseen.  Literally.

“There isn’t ever a cloud in the sky.  I’m wearing shorts right now.  Shit, Lisa, you are gonna LOVE it here,” Nathan would assure me as I was buried under two feet of snow in Iowa.

When the wagon train rolled into town, however, there were no mountains to be seen.  It was eight degrees out.  Everything was dead.  And Panda Express was my first meal in The Springs.  Not whatcha call a stellar first impression.

“I thought you could see Pikes Peak from everywhere…”  I mused to Nathan.

“You can.  It is right… There.”  He would point off into a white, mountainless abyss. I have crappy eyesight, but he was pointing to NOTHING.  “Behind all those clouds.”  Oh.  The non-native clouds I brought here from Iowa.

The first week we were here, we were slumming it in temporary housing – a hotel room with a kitchen table – and it was fah. reeze. ing.  Yes, you could see Pikes Peak from everywhere, but you better not look at it; take your eyes off your path in front of you and you’re bound to slip and fall on your ass.

Fast forward a few days, and we were practically on vacation.  Every weekend.  It was sixty-five degrees…  Sunny…  My neighbors were sunbathing.  In January.

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Verdict?  Ohmygod.  I LUUURVE it here.

Yes.  I am sporting an unfortunate combination of socks, sandals and unflattering skinny jeans.  Stay-at-home Mom POWER!!

Yes. I am sporting an unfortunate combination of wool socks, sandals and unflattering skinny jeans. Stay-at-home Mom to the RESCUE!!

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We were hella high up...  I may look calm and collected, but I have an effing death grip on those two kids.

We were hella high up… I may look calm and collected, but I have an effing death grip on those two kids.

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Finn does, too.  We have spent many an afternoon at Garden of the Gods.  Finny loves to “go piking,” he’s got his own little Camelbak that he totes around action figures, a Hot Wheel and water.  I live fifteen minutes from all this?  I have stopped dead in my tracks half a dozen times and exclaimed to Nathan; “Can you believe we LIVE here?!”

If you ever have the opportunity to live here, its, like, the most amazing place ever!  For real.

 

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