A picture is worth a thousand words...but if you're curious, read on...
Admittedly, this should have been our first clue that perhaps we weren't on the right road...a word of advice to future road trippin' mamas...when in Colorado, don't always trust GPS and don't take national forest roads or "fuel wood" roads while trying to reach Great Sand Dunes National Park!
DO allow your children to watch four hours of movies while you try to figure out:
- Where on god's green earth you are
- If it is possible to go forward
- Can you safely get back
- And when all else fails, stop and ask two men on horseback looking for a mule named Charles...'cause they'll know!
So the road is very deceptive...your typical dirt road to nowhere. Ok, so we won't be going 50-70 MPH and have to drop it down to 20 MPH. If only that we're the case! After 13 or so miles we hit the REAL forestry service, permit only, 4-wheel drive no flippin' way your car will be going any further road: max 2-4 MPH. But then 20 feet in we bottomed out the car and an embedded rock hit the undercarriage, possibly causing axle damage and creating and immediate stop, freeze and sharp intake of air by the mothers in the group, we decided that we weren't up for this at all. We were able to turn around, head back out and pass a 70 year old couple in a Taurus trying to take the same route (telling them to turn around immediately and head back). We have never been so happy to see gravel road and ecstatic to see paved road beyond that! Gotta love Colorado driving! Sometimes the fastest route from point A to B is circuitous and not direct! Damn mountains!
The road actually got much worse....but by that point we weren't in the picture snappin' frame of mind!
Sometimes the key to success is knowing when you've been beat (or as Jennifer puts it....know when you've experienced utter, raw, gut-wrenching failure!) We altered our itinerary, and came straight to the pool to swim until our eyes bled! We will see Great Sand Dunes tomorrow...and this time, we'll take only major highways.
Is it any coincidence that we ended up in Room 418...I think not!
So what is a great thing that I learned about our friendship today? It can withstand a three-hour tour in the Colorado wilderness with no nicks, bruises, or tarnish...now if only I can say the same thing about the car!
Oh, and if you happen to run across a mule that looks like this, his name is Charles. He got away from his owners on the same national forest road that we were on today. He's supposed to be very nice and his owners request that you send him home! How do you send him home, I guess you just say,"Go home Charles!" and off he'll trot.
Wish it was that easy for us, "To the sand dunes everyone!" Nope, not that easy....we'll try it again tomorrow.
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