Rocky Mountain High!

The back of me looking out onto a grassy meadow surrounded by evergreen trees and a tall rocky mountain towering above

After getting engaged at Red Rocks, Corey and I spent the week parked in a friend’s driveway, working during the day and celebrating and seeing friends every night of the week. It was so great to get to see people and share our joy with everyone, but we are also happy to get back in our routine and be out in the beautiful mountains. I was going to say, “we’re getting back on the straight and narrow,” as in, not partying so hard, but really it’s more like the wide open and wandering. We’re not trying to be strict with ourselves or not allow ourselves to let loose, but rather trying to be present and do things that make us feel healthy and whole.

Corey looking out at the view from high on a mountain

Corey hiking among tall evergreen trees

            

So we got to Breckenridge, CO on Sunday and immediately ate the best vegan pizza ever at a place called Piante Pizza. We then went on an absolutely beautiful hike (my first big hike in Colorado!) that brought us to glassy alpine lakes and lush meadows surrounded by incredible mountains towering above us. It was like a dream world. After, we drove up to a free campsite we found on the “Free Roam” app that was halfway up a mountain right on a lake. More unbelievable scenery.

Our car and Opal in front of a large mountain

            

There was no service at the campsite so we had to wake up at sunrise to make our way down to the town of Breckenridge and find a coffee shop. The sun was rising over the mountain range as we drove down the steep road, lighting up the sky with pinks and oranges layered behind windswept clouds. How is this our life?? I almost forgot to mention the stars at night! Corey woke me up in the middle of the night to come out and see them, and I’m so glad I dragged my sleepy self out of bed for that!

Opal driving away at sunrise

            

When we got to town we went straight to a super cute café that we had gone to last year when we were in Colorado. Corey worked for a little, but there wasn’t a convenient outlet for Corey’s laptop so we didn’t stay long. I did some wedding planning (still feeling like I’m making zero progress because no one’s getting back to me), and then we left and went to a Laundromat to do laundry and plug our devices in. There are a lot of chores with this lifestyle, and because Corey’s work has been insane, a lot of them fall on me. I’m honestly fine with it, and the balance works, but there is a part of me that’s embarrassed to tell people what I do during the day. I put a lot of pressure on myself feeling like I should be making art or finding a remote gig that a former art teacher can do. I do plan on doing this eventually, but I’m also trying to allow myself to be. I realize that I’m in an extreme position of privilege, and I feel very fortunate to get to travel and “find myself.” I also need to remind myself that I don’t need to prove anything or fulfill a certain set of expectations.

The lake we camped near reflecting the rocky mountain behind it

So anyway… after getting sad and self-conscious, we went to an RV dump station and when Corey went to dump our black water tank he got pee all over him! (Okay, I don’t do ALL the chores). I guess he hadn’t fully closed the valve the last time we dumped it, lesson learned. Ah, the glamorous life on the road.

            

After the dumping debacle, we got to the amazing campsite we had stayed at the night before, which I just found out was at 11,480 feet! We went for a walk around the beautiful lake and came across an abandoned cabin and a bathtub in the middle of the woods.

A rusty bathtub in the middle of the woods

            

We heated up the delicious curry we made the night before, and watched the last episode of Stranger Things (I had downloaded it earlier knowing we’d have no service), and we attempted to go to sleep. Once the show was off, I could hear the wind howling and started to get freaked out. Let me paint a picture for you—we were parked on a mountain road, and though we were in a parking area that wasn’t too narrow, we were parked kind of close to the edge. Behind us was a steep mountain covered in rocks that looked like it could all slide down at any second. Now, I understand I don’t know much about how these things work, and for some reason I wasn’t freaked out about this the previous night, but it was windy and we were on the side of a mountain and my mind was creating all kinds of scenarios.

            

Corey, who never belittles my anxiety, suggested we drive down to Breckenridge where we had seen a bunch of RVs parked. We parked there and hoped that no one would knock on our window due to the “no camping or sleeping in your vehicle” signs. We slept there uninterrupted, and woke up at sunrise again to head to a café so Corey could start work. It’s been in the low thirties both mornings we’ve gotten up at the crack of dawn, and then gets up to like seventy! Crazy Colorado.

A panoramic view of a lake in a grassy meadow in front of a mountain range