Finally on the road!
I had originally hoped to start traveling on Labor Day, but packing was intense and I had to take care of a few extra things before leaving. I finally left on Sunday night for my first destination, Durango, CO.
The trip here was nothing short of amazing! I left Espanola just as the sun was literally hiding itself behind the Jemez Mountains. I got a few great pictures of the skies to the west and the beautiful sun-lit red Sangre de Cristo mountains to the east (check back soon to see them). Heading north on highway 84 took me to Lake Abiquiu where you have to climb a steep hill that overlooks a canyon on the lower side of the dam. As I crested the hill on the south side of the lake, it started raining on me, light at first, but soon it was heavy enough that I had to slow down to stay on the road. The slower speed let me take in all the sights around me — all the nearby clouds, and rain, and the sunset in the west — it created a very magical and beautiful view where colors of oranges and reds were strewn across the sky. A feeling came over me that this rain was god’s way of helping me shed tears to let go of all the pain and suffering of the past, and the sunset was an appropriate analogy for the closing of a chapter in my life. I passed through the rain in just a couple minutes, and looking back, all I could see was a sheet of gray rain covering the sky, faintly shimmering from the colors of the sunset — another reminder to let the past go and move on.
I continued down the road in the peaceful darkness, past Ghost Ranch and Echo Canyon (read more about both at the bottom of this page), up through Chama, crossing the border into Colorado. Along the way, I was trailing three other cars from a distance when I started seeing them slow down and couldn’t figure out why. Suddenly a huge Elk with big antlers walked up the embankment and stepped foot onto the pavement just after the last car passed. I had to swerve briefly into the other lane to make sure I didn’t hit it. After I passed it, I probably whistled out loud and said “awesome!” at least once or twice. I had been wondering earlier about whether I would see any guiding animals along the way — I had expected the normal sight of a rabbit or hawk or possibly a coyote, but I never imagined I would see anything as massive and majestic as a full-grown male Elk. It was truly amazing!
I continued up the road and passed through Pagosa Springs, and then West on over to Durango. A few minutes outside of Pagosa, I started seeing lightning off in the distance. I’ve spent the last 4 years in New Mexico where it’s typical to see occasional streaks of quick lightning from small clusters of clouds that are usually far off in the distance. But as I drove closer to Durango, I started seeing lightning more and more until it started flashing every 5 or 10 seconds, and it came from every direction except behind me. Each lightning strike was big and powerful, and it would light up the entire sky and usually linger for a full second or two. Sometimes I could even hear the thunder inside of my car over the din of my stereo. Finally as I approached the outskirts of Durango, rain started coming down steadily until I could barely make out the lines on the road. Luckily there was an SUV in front of me who I let guide me through the streets of Durango. As I got to the north end of town, the rain started letting up, and then almost completely stopped as I pulled into my friend’s apartment complex.
I’ve been staying in Durango for the past few days with a friend who I met on CouchSurfing.org. I’m taking my time to see the sights and meet the people of this town. I’m still exploring this place, but so far I really like the vibe here and the natural landscape is really amazing (pictures to come). If you like the outdoors, they’ve got just about everything here you can ask for. It’s totally new to me to be in a town where so many people are biking along the streets or have some sort of sports equipment strapped to their car. I think this is a place that I could move to.
I’m planning to stay here for another day or two and then head up to Telluride for the Blues & Brews festival this weekend. After that, I’ll likely head down to Mesa Verde and explore some ancient ruins, or maybe someplace else will call me… who knows.
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