Well, this is the last post here at ColoCalders. But, Don’t Panic! I’m not giving up blogging! We simply decided to move the most recent posts to a new domain, and the reasons for the move are detailed in our first post at our new site: RocksAndSun.com!

I will leave this site up for a few months, probably, because the last six years of my life have been well documented here. But, eventually, ColoCalders will turn to password access only in order to better protect our kiddo’s digital footprint.

So, check out the new site, update your readers, follow our new account on twitter, and let’s have some fun!!

Playing by the Colorado River

Dry, dusty, desert winds. Warm, green, apple orchards. And the massive river that connects both worlds.

Western Colorado is a world of micro climates. The north face of each hill is different from the south. If there is water coursing through a valley, it’s lush and green. If not, it’s brown, dry, hot and harsh. We spent a long weekend camping in the Grand Junction area of Western Colorado, and managed to experience nearly all of the Colorado River basin extremes.

Our original plan was to camp at the 18 Road bike trails all weekend, but 8p rolled around on our drive out I-70, the sun was setting, and our tank was almost out of gas. We filled up at a station right across the street from the Island Acres Campground, which is the eastern-most part of the James M Robb Colorado River State Park system.

Our Campsite at Island Acres

They had plenty of sites, all with either electric or electric/water hookups, nestled in a grove of just-green cottonwoods on the banks of the Colorado River. The valley was filled with the haze of campfire smoke and the smell of fresh green grass – something we don’t have much of on the Front Range this spring.

Since we thought we would stay only one night, we took a slightly cheeper electric-only site on the river-side of the park. We let G out of the car while Mark leveled the trailer, and he took off through our neighbor’s site and immediately found a new friend. The little boy, we’ll call him B, was almost the exact same age as G, with the same long curly blond hair and the same happy, wild, spirit. They played in the dusk of the campground that night until we pulled them apart to sleep.

G spent a lot of time playing in this ditch with his friend

The next morning, G and B played and played. Mark and I enjoyed hanging out with B’s family, and the lovely green campground, so much that we payed for another night. We mountain biked all day on Saturday and then came back Saturday night to enjoy another evening at Island Acres.

This campground has quarter-operated hot showers and nice, clean bathrooms. There are lots of ponds for fishing, a nice playground, and even a sandy swim beach (that wasn’t open this early in the season). The sites are level and great for even big-rig RV’s, and far enough apart that it doesn’t feel cramped at all. The campground is a little expensive because you are required to buy a daily pass for the state park with each night of camping. The electric only sites are $20/night + $7/night entry fee. The electric and water sites are $24/night + $7/night entry fee.

Island Acres is just a few minutes from Palisade, Colorado, which is the heart of Colorado wine country. The wide valley is filled with peach trees, apple trees, cherry orchards, and grape vines. A number of California-style wineries have sprung up in the last few years, and Palisade now boasts a Fruit and Wine By-way chocked with sun-kissed love in fruit form.

Camping in the Unrestricted Zone at 18 Road

The free camping on the BLM North Fruita Desert Special Recreation Area is on the exact opposite side of the camping spectrum. This high desert sits at the edge of tall sandstone mesas that mark the transition from the Rocky Mountains to the canyons of the desert southwest.

There are two main areas for camping on this land. The first is the marked pay-for sites that sit near the top of the area hill. These sites are in a great location for the biking area, and are a little outside of the worst of the dust. But they also fill up quickly and cost $10/night.

The Free Camping in North Fruita is nearly empty during the week

The other main area for camping is the Unrestricted area. This is a branching 2 mile long dirt road in a valley below the main mountain bike trails. There are probably hundreds of campsites in the valley, and on Saturday the place was hopping full with mountain bikers camping and partying and having a great time. There is virtually no shade, very little grass, and plenty of swirling dust and dirt.

But you can camp for free, ride as much as you want right from your site, and our trailer made it up the road without a problem. After the campground emptied out on Sunday evening, we felt like the only people in this wide open, beautiful desert.

Riding back to camp in North Fruita

So that was two very different camping experiences. The Island Acres campground is full of amenities and green grass. It is easily accessible from the interstate and can cost nearly $30 a night. The North Fruita Desert camping area is full of sand, sun, and desert dwellers (mountain bikers and lizards and such). The camping is free and convenient and very, very dusty. We had a good time in both places and managed to experience the full spectrum of Western Colorado climates in the space of three nights camping.

Riding with Daddy

This is a blog post I never thought I would be writing, for a couple of reasons. The first is that I continually describe myself as a “rock climber” and mountain biking was low on our list of things to do with a toddler. The second is that I never thought I would have a two year old capable of mountain biking!

Cruising down the little dips and bumps around Fruita

After a spring of snow in along the front range, we have been desperate to get out to the desert. We had such a good time in Pueblo that we decided to make the five hour drive out to Fruita and do it all over again. It turns out, even a rock climbing family can have a lot of fun mountain biking. And it might be time to add another chapter to the story we tell about ourselves.

We chose to spend our weekend riding around the trails at 18 Road, in the desert north of Fruita, because they include smaller loops that allow Mark and I to take turns while the kiddo plays at the trailhead. Also, because the Kessel Run is the most fun I’ve ever had on two wheels.

Hanging with new friends at the trailhead parking lot

The Kessel Run – Miles and miles of just plain awesome

And on Saturday, we got to do just that. Mark and I took turns riding the Kessel Run while the other parent played with the G-kid around the trailhead. Early in the afternoon, though, G made friends with a 4 year old girl who was camping with her mountain biking parents and riding her own pedal bike all around the trails that day. G hopped on his strider and they took off on some of the smaller hills and flat trails around the unrestricted camping area. I had to run hard to try and keep up with him. He is really getting fast!

Taking the Strider out the Vegitarian trail

The little girl’s family had a sweet camp set up in the campground, and they offered Mark and I a place to relax out of the sun and away from the dust and noise in the parking lot. G and his new friend painted rocks (and each other) with water colors, played with shovels and toy construction equipment, and generally had a great time.

While they were relaxing and playing, I took a trip up the Vegitarian loop and around Down-Upity. These trails weren’t on my map or in our guidebook, suggesting some new trail building in the area recently. I had a great time. The technical curves and steep hillsides around Down-Upity were full of delicate, precise riding that helped me feel like I am building more control in my biking. These trails are less popular, and I saw more desert wildlife. Several large lizards and interesting birds ran from the sage along the edges of the trail.

Intersection of Vegetarian and Down Upitity

The Down Upitity Trail

On Sunday we came back with our trailer and nabbed a free campsite as the campground emptied (I’ll write more on camping in future post). G napped in the shady trailer while Mark and I took turns cranking out miles. Mark rode down PBR (Pumps Bumps and Rollers) which was full of whoop-di-whoops and giant bike jumps. I rode up Prime Cut for the first time and remembered how to shift appropriately on short, steep, up-hills. I rode down Kessel run for a second… ok, maybe third… time. Mark took a loop through the Vegetarian to Down-Upitity landscape and enjoyed it immensely.

Up the Prime Cut

And as soon as the Go-Kid woke from his nap, he was demanding bike rides. He probably spent 2 hours flying around the Fruita landscape, scooting, riding, rolling, running, and squealing with joy the whole time.

Go-Kid on a Desert Landscape

Riding around 18 Road

When I was pregnant, I read stories of family adventures and imagined what our story might be like. I imagined sport crags and climbing gear, a kiddo who loved rocks and dirt and sun and … climbing. But what we have is even better! A kid who loves rocks and dirt and sun, and bikes as well, and I never knew it was possible.

Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

-John Muir, Our National Parks, 1901

Evening in the desert

Each time I go out into the world, I feel peace as the sun warms my skin. I feel the freshness of the winds and the energy of the storms. Even in the harsh climates of the desert, where the wind will scour you with sand, and the storms will rock you to the core.

Last weekend, we went looking for some sun and peace in the desert of southern Colorado. We packed up our bikes and trailer, and snagged a campsite in Lake Pueblo State Park. The desert sun and desert winds were there for us to enjoy.

Our Campsite at Lake Pueblo State Park

This was my first time in this state park, and I was surprised at how much there is to do here. The park has miles of exciting single track for mountain bikers. Some trails run along the ridge lines of eroding sandstone bluffs, others wind through narrow rocky canyons, thick cholla forests and dry desert arroyos.

Wanna ride?

G even got in on the mountain biking on this trip. He took his strider out on the Conduit Trail and took off! We were a little worried about his control when surrounded by hazards like cactus and steep hills, but he stayed right on the trail and had a ball.

The lake is the other major draw for this park. The marina and ample fishing make this a big local recreation site. The lake winds between sandstone bluffs, a little like Lake Powell, making a fun place to explore by kayak or canoe as well.

Playing in Lake Pueblo

As the sun set on our day of adventure Saturday, I watched Kelvin-Helmholtz waves appear in the sky above our campground. It made for a beautiful sunset, but as an atmospheric scientist, I should have known what those clouds meant.

Kelvin-Helmholtz Wave Instability

Around midnight, the wind kicked up hard. We had sustained winds of 50-60 mph for two or more hours. Our trailer is all hard-sided, so, thankfully, we didn’t have flapping tents or swaying popup supports to deal with. But it was scary enough in our trailer for us to all huddle together in bed. G slept through the whole thing. Mark and I stayed wide awake, ready to grab the kiddo and take off if needed.

Dusk and Breezy

On Sunday, the winds had calmed and the sun was out. Mark and I each took another loop of riding, and we each found a new beautiful spot hidden back in the canyons. I found a windless and sunny gully to bask in for a few minutes. Mark found a canyon filled with cairns along a trail named “Stonehenge.”

Cholla Canyon

We headed home, noting the swirling dust and sand in the desert north of Pueblo. And then we hit a road-block, as I-25 north of Pueblo was closed due to a sandstorm. We drove off the shoulder of the Interstate onto the outer road, dragging our little trailer through the weed and trash filled ditch and over a small embankment. Then we hit a dirt road next to the interstate and plowed through the sandstorm like we knew what we were doing.

G slept the whole time.

The winds howled down a mountain valley, filling the air with yellow dust and reducing visibility to nothing. The trailer rocked the entire truck when it was slammed by the gust. Mark kept a calm head and drove through maintaining his speed. I squinted into the dimness and prayed that nobody was stopped in front of us.

G snored.

The kid loves camping!

And we made it home. Later than we expected, but otherwise fine. We were sun burnt, wind burnt, scoured, dirty, sweaty, tired, and happy.

The same rule applies to trying just about anything again for the first time in a long while. Your first time back is going to be rusty, painful, and generally disappointing. You just have to get through that first time to find your rhythm again.

Red Rocks west of Denver

Last fall, we finished up the camping season with three great trips to Vedauwoo. Then the trailer went into storage, and I went into work mode, and the months passed. But as the sun started staying up longer, and the snow started melting, we knew it was time to get back outside.

Last weekend we had our First Pancake (aka Shake-Out) camping trip of the year. It’s almost guaranteed to not go according to plans, so we try not to make many. We are almost guaranteed to forget something important, so we camp close to home. Things are almost guaranteed to go terribly wrong, so we try to keep it simple.

On a short hike… is that a snake?

This trip, like so many other shake-out trips, had some wrinkles…

… We ran out of propane as I was packing up the trailer, but didn’t realize it until we were ready to leave. At that point, it was after 6p on a Friday night, and we couldn’t find a place that was open to fill the tank. Since it was going to be very cold on Friday night, I did not want to head out without the ability to heat. So, we decided to stay home Friday night and leave first thing Saturday morning.

… We got lectured by the staff at the campground, specifically one lady who decided since we were “clearly new at this” that she needed to explain everything to us. Granted, we have never been very good at the whole RV gig. And her complaints about our propane tank being held on by only a bungie cord were completely valid.

… Since we did not camp on Friday, I brought all of my bathroom stuff into the house. And did not realize I had forgotten it until about 8p on Saturday night. All of my prescriptions were back at the house, so I drove home on Saturday night. Happily, it was only a half hour trip.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Even with all of these wrinkles in our first pancake, we still had a really fun weekend. We toured and hiked around Red Rocks Amphitheater. We wandered around downtown Golden, running through parks and throwing rocks in the creek. G had a great time playing around the campground, and slept really well in the camper. And we made it through our first pancake. On to a summer of good rhythms and great adventures!

Onward!

Poor sick kiddo

Rather than adventures in the mountains, we’ve had adventures with sinus infections, stomach flu, trips to the emergency room and pink eye! Rather than starry desert nights in the trailer, we’ve been snuggled up on the couch watching movies while the snow blows deep drifts outside.

About 5 minutes after I took this picture, Mark started throwing up

After the stress and seclusion created by the end of my degree, I was really hoping for a spring full of friends and fun. And we certainly have had some of each. I got out for an afternoon hike through the flatirons with a friend from work one day.

Mesa Trail behind NCAR

We visited friends with new babies, and friends with birthday parties. The Go-kid rode his strider around the neighborhood and played in the mud. We made the trip back to Fort Collins a few times this month, and it’s always worth the easy hour drive.

G loves playing in the mud!

This morning, we all dressed up nicely for the fun of it, drove up to Fort Collins, and went to church with families and friends that we love. It felt kind of foreign to me, wearing nice shoes and putting a tiny tie on my son. On such a sunny, beautiful day, we might “normally” be out hiking, climbing or biking. But this year, we did what most people do on Easter, and it was wonderful.

My Boys in their Easter Best

After a month of “abnormal” for us, that looks so “normal” to the rest of the world, I have decided it is time to stop trying to categorize, label, and describe where we are. What is “normal”, anyway? In our lives, we have done some awesome things. Sometimes those are as big as climbing mountains, sometimes they are as small as sleeping through the night. What ever challenge we tackle, “normal” for us is to roll with the punches, make the best out of every situation, and enjoy the journey as we stumble along the paths of our lives.

These are all reasons why I have long enjoyed reading Velo Mom’s Blog, about her family’s adventures in mountain biking, strider racing and traveling around the continent. Their family embraces a spirit of adventure and passion for outdoor sports that is awesome and inspirational. But last month, the unthinkable happened. While traveling in Mexico, their youngest son, Axel, was tragically murdered in drug-related violence. Even though we have never met the family, the news of this death hit Mark and I terribly hard. We surely can’t even scratch the surface of grief that Velo Mom’s family is going through right now, and all we can do is offer support and kind thoughts from a distance.

Photo of Axel from VeloMom.Com

I really wanted to write something to try and make some sense of this loss. I thought about the risks we take in adventures as a family, and about how many things happen to us in life that we have no control over. If there is anything I have learned as a mother, it’s that we are in less control of our lives than we could imagine, and that many things that happen are out of our hands and beyond our responsibility. But, as you can read here, these thoughts are confused, jumbled and not really appropriate for this terrible loss.

Photo of Axel from VeloMom.Com

What is appropriate is a celebration of Axel’s awesome, though brief little life. Full of bicycling, adventures, sunlight, laughter and love. He was lucky to be born into an incredible bicycling family, and he lived an incredible and very full life. Axel started riding his strider bike just after taking his first steps, and riding was one of his favorite things. In honor of Axel, the Velo family has set up a fund to help get kids more active and riding bikes. They have partnered with Strider to help get kids on bikes who would not otherwise have access. If you want to donate, you can you can send a check made out to the Axel Charrette Fund, c/o Alpine Bank, 119 Liddell Drive, Ridgway, CO 81432, or call 970-626-4100 and reference the Axel Charrette Fund.

We have been inspired by Axel and his family to ride more, and getting G a strider bike was one of the best purchases we have made for him. I want to encourage everybody reading this to get out and ride this summer, for Axel.

There are a series of thoughtful reflections on fellow outdoor adventure family blogs today in honor of the memorial for Axel being held in Ridgway, Colorado, today. To read other parent’s thoughts on this tragedy, check out these links.

• Sad News: 2-Year-Old Son of Blogger Velo Mom Murdered While On Vacation (AdventureParents.com)
• Remembering Axel (BraveSkiMom.com)
• Finding Precious – a Tribute to Axel Charrette (TalesOfaMountainMama.com)
• Remembering Axel – A Tribute (MommyHiker.com)
• What Matters Most – Remembering Axel Charrette (Bring-The-Kids.com)
• In Memory of Axel Charrette (CragMama.com)
• “SHARP KNIFE OF A SHORT LIFE…” [TRIBUTE TO AXEL AND THE CHARRETTE FAMILY] (KidProject.org)
• Raising Outdoor Kids: Is it worth the risks? (BigGreyRocks.com)
• This is not a call to vote for me as a Top 25 Outdoorsy Mom. Mostly. (TheMileHighMama.com)

I dream of tall cliffs and desert sun.

Penitente Canyon, May 2010

I dream of wide mountain vistas and thin alpine air.

Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness, August 2011

I dream of raging waterfalls and calm montane lakes.

Bridal Veil Falls, July 2011

I dream of dirt in my food and sun on my skin.

Kokopeli Trail, April 2009

I dream of giggling babies and tinkling climbing gear.

Lilly Mountain, July 2011

I dream of sweat on my back and miles on my legs.

Long’s Peak, August 2012

I dream of sore muscles, sun burns, laughter of friends, beer by the fire, and sleep under the stars. But the snow just keeps falling…