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Another Big Bite

Another Big Bite

Tag Archives: rv

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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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.

photo 1

“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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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.

photo 2

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.

photo (1)

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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The Mountain Beach

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

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

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Tags

camping, colorado, great sand dunes national park, lathrop state park, road trip, rv, rving, spanish peaks, Travel, travel with kids

Dunes NP 7

Oh, it has been a while.  The blog hasn’t exactly been riding shotgun the last few weeks…  I would like to tell you it is because we have been up to something really spectacular; maybe renovating the house or traveling the globe.  Then I would be lying.  I haven’t really even been super-duper busy.  You see, a few weeks ago, I had a major nerdgasm after watching The Hobbit…  The next day I pulled the book off the shelf, blew off the dust, and when I had finished that, I decided to re-read The Lord of the Rings.

Alice and Finny have some major geekage in their genes.

I’m only 60% of the way through the book(s), but I had to watch the first movie (extended edition, obviously) after I finished the first book.  That took Nathan and I a few nights and a weekend.  Now I remember why I was pining over Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen in my early twenties.

I can whip through all the Twilight books and movies in a single weekend, but, whoa – you gotta be a dedicated individual to geek out over Tolkien…

All that is neither here nor there; and it isn’y particularly interesting; listening to me wax philisophical over whether Legolas and Gimili are the original Bert and Ernie (if you catch my drift).  The real excitement came last weekend, where we broke out The House With Wheels for the first time this spring.

Wagons ho!

We packed everything up on Friday afternoon and around dinner time, treated ourselves the kids to McDonald’s, changed them into their jammies and headed south.  Within twenty minutes they were both asleep, and Nathan and I had a glimpse of our younger years – back when it was just the two of us speeding down the highway in the middle of the night…  I loved road trips with that man then, and I love them with him now.  Even with the four complaining mouths we drag along with us nowadays.

By the time it was midnight, we were almost to Great Sand Dunes National Park.  We were the only people on the road – but we had company.   Lots of hooved company.  We saw the first deer about forty miles out from our destination and by the time we saw the third one (with an entire herd in tow), we slowed waaaayy down. Nathan drove like a grandma the rest of the way.  We easily passed over a hundred animals on or immediately next to the road – deer, hares, a massive herd of even more massive elk, and a moose…  Hot damn, it was a very tense forty miles – inching away at thirty miles per hour.

We were settled in by two in the morning and were promptly awoken at six by another herd – a bajillion Boy Scouts – playing football as the sun was cresting the mountains (because why wouldn’t you??).  Holy shit, I wanted to strangle them.  But as I peeked out of the curtains, I was aghast at how BIG the dunes were.

via National Geographic

This, by the way, is my favorite part of road-tripping.  Making camp by light of a headlamp and being completely surprised at where you’ve ended up when the sun comes up.  It is like Christmas; only you are the present and you can’t WAIT to get out of the box.  It dulls the urge to want to throttle sixty fourteen-year-old boys, anyway.

As Nathan busied himself with a spectacular tantrum after Alice flung an entire packet of instant strawberries and cream oatmeal on the floor of the trailer (“In BEAR COUNTRY, Lisa!!  Do you have any idea how much bears love berries??  I’ve seen grizzlies just sitting in strawberry batches gorging themselves until they were drunk on them; Christ, do you have any idea of how serious this is?!??!”), the kids and I did a few laps around the campground, throwing evil glares at any Boy Scout who crossed our path.  At least I did.  I’m pretty sure Alice was, too.  It was chi-chi-chi-chilly.  Finn and Alice didn’t mind.  They were just happy to be playing outside ALL DAY.

Dunes NP 8

Dunes NP 9

After a good traipse around the area on foot, we headed over to the dunes and had lunch.  After a nice hot bowl of Top Ramen and peanut butter sandwiches, we packed Alice into the backpack and headed out into the sand.  I have no way to describe just how enormous the dunes are; the pictures don’t do them any justice whatsoever… I realize now that I totally should have paid attention when my dad was trying to teach me about choosing the correct exposure when photographing sand and snow…

Dunes NP 1

Dunes NP 2

But see those little black specks way off in the distance?  Those are people.  

We didn’t hike all the way to the top (a four to six-hour round trip – in the sand, with the kids?  Not this time.), but we make Finny happy…  He had fun at the “mountain beach.”  He kept urging us forward; “C’mon, let’s go vay-cay-sh, guys!!”  Vay-cay-sh, I’ll have you know, is what you do when you are on vacation.  I learn something new every day.

Dunes NP 3

Dunes NP 4

It was all a little much for little Alice.  She crashed five minutes into the hike.

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Dunes NP 6

After a healthy romp in the sand, a second lunch and a few miles, the kids both pooped out in the car and Nathan and I had some time to ourselves again.  We headed back towards the Spanish Peaks to travel The Highway of Legends.  Oh, it was AMAZING… We started in La Veda and were blown away with how amazing the landscape was.  Green pastures gave way to giant, rocky outcrops; I didn’t take any good pictures.  We were too busy getting excited over the wildlife – “Ah!  Bighorn sheep!  Like, right effing there!!  Oh my god!!”  We saw pronghorn and mule deer, more elk and whitetail deer.  This time, in the daytime, so we could appreciate them and not think of them as potential road hazards.

The Spanish Peaks – via byways.org

We spent Saturday night at Lathrop State Park.  We shared the entire campground with two other people.  We cooked up brats for dinner (sorry – we don’t eat vegan when we are on mini-vacation) and were snoozing by nine thirty.  When we woke up the next morning, we had a lazy breakfast and watched Finny play with rocks and sticks for two hours.  We explored the bathroom seven or eight times – to its full extent; such is the life of a four-year-old.  By the time we packed up and headed home, it was lunch time.  Of course we ran into the pack of Boy Scouts at Wendy’s on the way home.  Ugh.

Now that it is starting to warm up (sort of; it snowed all day today), I am getting the urge to get back on the road… Again.  Even though it means sixteen extra loads of stinky campfire-laundry.

Which begs the question:  Does anyone have a recipe for adolescent boy repellent?  I’ve spent hours looking and haven’t found a THING on Pinterest.

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