Westward Bound Take VIII

From Buena Vista, we just started driving and planned to check out the next series of towns we came through. In our brains, we thought we would try to make it at least to Telluride, CO. On the way, here is what we discovered. 

We had to drive on the Monarch Pass. For those of you who may not know, if you are driving on a "pass" you are going up and then down a very large mountain. We decided to take a ride in a gondola on up to the peak, which was 12,000 in elevation.  

As for John Gannon, he wasn't that thrilled with the thought of trusting a cable with our lives. Can you see the tension in his body as we began? Bless him... 

 Cool, calm, and collected on the other side!

The view was majestic.

We stood on the Continental Divide.

 And each placed one rock a piece, marking our journey with others.

John Gannon was determined he was going to throw a snowball, so we all walked down the mountain a little piece. 

After about an hour of exploration at the top, we took a gondola back down. John Gannon was much more relaxed until I told him when it crossed the second threshold it dropped at roller coaster speed on the way down. I know, I know...but sometimes, he is such an easy target! In the meantime, Johnny and I were drooling...WE wanted to ride our bikes down the Monarch pass trail. HE wants us to ride them up and then come back down. He thinks a ride without a challenge is wasted. And then of course, he rarely hits his brakes on a down mountain ride...I am afraid mine are always going to stop working because I squeeze them so frequently!

From there, we made a pitstop in Gunnison, Co. We enjoyed the large, area park. We were able to practice some more bouldering. We met and chatted with a family from California who was on their way back home from a trip. They did the same thing as us, just started driving and stopping. He extended and invitation for us to come to their place sometime and they exchanged phone numbers.

After the park in town, we went to view the whitewater park. It seems like all the towns have them. I am pretty sure we are meant to live in Colorado. John Gannon is convinced we need to move.

 The trail along the park, was very wooded and gorgeous!

 We enjoyed our lunch there.

After exploring Gunnison, we continued driving and found the perfect place to camp!

 Shortly after getting the camper set, we headed out on the trail across the road from our spot.

 It was a phenomenal hike!

 There is something about standing at the top of a vast canyon that just fills my spirit with such an overwhelming freedom. I always envision all the guilt and shame of my childhood, from abuse and poor choices dropping to the bottom and shattering. I am so thankful for the freedom and perfect peace God has gifted me with in my adult life. I never want to take it for granted.

 And the gift of being able to look and see these three guys with me? Whew, sorry, gotta take a little break. The eyes are leaking and I want to shout. I am so full of gratitude right now.

 And I almost forgot. The kind camp host who said he had a perfect spot saved for folks who were wandering around from MS. :) He let us go in a spot that was reserved, but the people had not shown up the previous 2 days. Haven't I mentioned already how every detail of this trip just was so incredible!

 After our hike, we attended a Ranger educational program about the wildlife in the canyon. It was a great program and we were all very engaged, but it was cut short by a downpour of rain.

Do you ever wonder how Mr. Safety looks over the edge when he is curious about what is at the bottom?

 The Medusa bush...

 The next morning, we drove to all the stop-off trails along the rim of the canyon. We had to check out at 1 and barely made it back. Due to the limited amount of time, we were not able to do them all. The trails, the views, the company...oh, my! They were phenomenal!

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (south rim) was indeed a exciting stop! Well, as mentioned in part VII, I didn't make it to the reminder of why we don't make plans. I actually forgot this stop was in between! Maybe that part will be next...

Live a Meaningful Life!