Category Archives: Travel

Last weekend, Stephanie and I went on a wonderful 3-day camping/road trip to southern Colorado. We stayed in a cabin at Cutty’s Resort Hayden Creek, a scenic area surrounded by a beautiful mountain range. I suppose, this technically doesn’t count as “camping” per-se, since we did not sleep in a tent and had access to such amenities as running water, a flush toilet and even a shower and mini-fridge. Still, we were in nature, and that’s what counts, right? :) We had an amazing time, despite late-afternoon rain showers and the abundance of noisy kids on the campground premises. We went on a couple of beautiful hikes where we enjoyed the autumn colors in all of their brilliance, caught up on some reading, and at night we sat by the fire, eating canned vegetarian chili and mac-and-cheese, listening to the creek’s running water and looking at the stars that magnificently twinkled in the night sky.

On our second night, I took some incredible starfield photos, something I didn’t expect to get out of my 40D without a tripod and a remote trigger, but it’s amazing what ISO 3200 and F2.8 can do with a :30-second exposure! We got really lucky, as the skies were superbly clear, providing a breathtaking view of the heavens. We could see the Milky Way, and once we even briefly spotted a meteor. Living in the city, I almost never get the chance to see the night sky in all of its glory, so being away from all the light pollution, in the deep blackness of the night, it was quite a revelation to see the majestic myriad of stars and galaxies that populate the night sky. I can honestly say that it took my breath away. I’ve always had a fascination with astronomy, but seeing this with my own eyes really reminded me of how small we all really are, how insignificant on the grand scale, in the millions of light years of distance that penetrate through the Universe. All this bullshit with declining economy, mortgage crisis, wars, global warming, terrorism… None of it matters. We are nothing but a speck of dust; a dim flash lasting less than a fraction-of-a-second, a flash of life and so-called intelligence lost in the billions of stars and billions of years of the Universe’s existence. THAT is terrifying and awe-inspiring at the same time.

On the way back to Denver, we stopped in Salida to get gas, drove through Buena Vista, and made a stop in Leadville to get something to eat at a cute little diner, followed by coffee at a place across the street. I found Leadville a quaint little Western mountain town, a mixture of cowboys and hippies, quiet and surrounded by gorgeous views. Certainly worth a stop, if you are ever in the area.

Going north, we drove through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen, and once again I marveled at the incredible abundance of land in this country. Miles and miles of open fields, forests and beautiful mountain ranges. This whole talk about the world’s overpopulation – we could fit billions of people here, if we wanted to. Of course, feeding them would be a different problem :)

Completely unexpected, we came across the breathtaking Clinton Gulch Reservoir in Summit County, located about 11,000 ft above sea level. Both Stephanie and I pondered the idea that we may have died and gone to heaven, or alternatively – were spontaneously teleported into the Swiss Alps.

Finally, we got on I-70 and drove to Idaho Springs, the last leg of our little road trip, where we indulged in a much-needed relaxation in the natural hot mineral springs and swimming pool. Not as large as the one in Glenwood Springs, but still cozy and beautiful, and less than an hour’s drive from Denver! The indoor pool was enclosed in a translucent dome and was a miniature tropical paradise, complete with flowers, plants and live banana and palm trees. I wish we could have stayed longer, but the weekend was over and eventually we had to drive home.

Once again, I’m amazed at how many beautiful locations there are in Colorado, many of them within a relatively short drive from Denver. Sometimes, it is like entering a different world. The fact that I opted out of any long-distance travel this year is, thankfully, compensated by these little trips. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do a few more of those before the end of the year. And now, it’s back to the real life and the mundane household problems like cleaning the kitchen and paying bills. At least, I don’t have to be back at work until next week!