Aspen (insert Dumb and Dumber joke here)

A couple of weeks ago Dave and I headed out for a five-day trip to Aspen. Most of us have heard of Aspen because of the amazing skiing, but it should also be known that Aspen is gorgeous in the summer--even more beautiful than I expected. Aspen sits at about 8,000 feet on the Western Slope (west of the continental divide) of Colorado and is surrounded by the White River National Forest.  Dave and I arrived into Aspen late Sunday night and put Desy's RV ability to the test. This would be our first experience sleeping in the van within city limits and outside of a designated campground. We drove around Aspen looking for a cozy, unassuming place to park after stopping at a gas station to take care of any bodily functions before bed. I, being such a badass, was a bit nervous about sleeping in the city and wondered if we would get in trouble.  

Note: I am a major wimp about breaking the law and/or getting into trouble. "There's a cop! Get in the crosswalk!" THIS, while I will happily jump off a cliff into a mountain stream spotted with deadly boulders. What can I say? Public shaming for rule-breakers in parochial school has stuck with me.  

Dave, on the other hand, was relishing the "good deal" that we would be getting with our free accommodations in such a touristy, expensive locale. We scoured the downtown area and discussed several places that might meet our needs: low lit, free, and sparsely populated...oh, and flat--this proved difficult in a mountain town built into a slope. And then, we saw it. An original Winnebago camper van parked in the perfect spot with a quiet, Desy-sized space available directly behind it. These obviously more experienced van-vacationers had unintentionally shown us the ropes of drifter accommodations. When we woke up (at 9am, oops!), our friends were already gone. Thank you, whoever you are!

We decided to cook up some breakfast in a nearby park that we'd scoped out the night before. Dave shamelessly busted out our Coleman stove and set up an outdoor kitchen where he whipped up what he likes to call "Dave's Pretty Good Oats," along with some water for hot tea. Note: The oats are better than pretty good. They entail water flavored with fresh ginger, sauteed pears, dried coconut, peanut butter, dried cranberries, and chopped walnuts, oh my!

We found a cozy spot on the grass and ate our breakfast alongside a stream.

From there we headed to the local ranger station, where we equipped ourselves with some good maps and good advice from the ranger, Pepper. Yes, the ranger's name was actually Pepper and he did have a thick salt-and-pepper shaded mustache. We mapped out a 3 day route and then made our way to the trail head where we packed up our gear and took to the trails.

Despite our sore backs and blistered feet, we absolutely loved being in the wilderness. Once we hiked beyond the first couple of miles of recreational trails, we were in the forest and our only company was the wild things. We saw two black bears that were actually brown, some elk, mule deer, three ptarmigans (clever birds that change color along with seasons) and various other small critters. We willingly lost track of time and let our body rhythms be our guides.Which, as it turns out, are not quite accustomed to camping hours yet. 

On our second day in the White River National Forest, we woke up, made some breakfast, packed up camp, and started hiking. We went as far as we could until we hit snow. This was earlier than we expected, but we decided to make the best of it and explore the area around camp. We blazed our own trails for a bit and set up our tent in a beautiful valley full of snow melt streams and surrounded by mountains. 

The view from our campsite.

Dave suggested we make our lunch and then do some exploring. I didn't really feel hungry, but obliged because, hey, I can always eat. After lunch and a game of cribbage, we checked out the area and cozied up our campsite. We built a makeshift fire pit, gathered wood, moved our tent to a flatter spot, and hid ourselves from the looming storm.  After the storm passed, we decided it must be about time for dinner. We cooked our soup, cleaned up, and figured we'd better get ready for bed. I decided to forgo our nightly tea as it was so close to bedtime and I didn't want to have to get up to pee in the middle of the night. After we'd brushed our teeth and put on our pajamas, we were thinking about heading to bed. "How long before sundown?" I asked Dave. "Maybe and hour or two at most?" Dave guessed. "Should we each guess a time and then check my watch?" We both love a good competition, so we agreed and each guessed a time, adjusting slightly after hearing each others estimates. Dave: 8:30pm. Meagan: 8:45pm. It was going to be a tight race! I checked my watch and nearly fell over laughing when I saw that it was 5:30pm. The sun wouldn't set for another few hours! We both shared a good laugh including tears and knee slapping. (You probably had to be there.) To entertain ourselves for a while, we invented our own game of home run derby with sticks and rocks. Then we decided we would have time for a fire and tea after all before (finally!) heading to bed. It is amazing how long the days feel when they aren't busied with email, paying bills, driving, oh, and work.

We hiked out the following day and promptly resumed our position at our city camp site, just blocks from downtown Aspen. We enjoyed a night out for dinner and walked around downtown. We saddled up at a local watering hole and watched highlights from the World Cup before calling it a night. The next morning, we went to see the picturesque Maroon Bells, snapped a few photos, and headed back to our temporary home in Louisville. We'd have one day home before making our way to Bailey, Colorado, where my brother-in-law, Ben, would race the Bailey Hundo. More to come on this! Below are more photos from our time in Aspen.