Tag Archives | road trip

The journey of a thousand miles as they say begins with the first step.  In my case of course, it begins with the first blog post.

Visiting the Rockies has been a dream of mine ever since I was a wee lad prancing my way to grade school to the tune of Bananarama.  The mountains beckoned and called out to me from the moment I first read about them, but alas I was too young to do anything about it.

Even now I still dream of a time when I could live in a contemporary log cabin nestled somewhere deep in the forests of the Rockies, with my half-wolf/half-dog named Caleb and a smokin’ hottie cowgirl of a wife to keep me company.  As remote as our home might be too, it is just near enough to civilization that we can still come down the mountains for a delicious brew of coffee and pastries at our favorite cafe.  Ah to dream…

In fact just before I graduated from college I applied to every Colorado based job I could find, the last being a job as a forensic computer guy for the Boulder Police Department (yes THAT Boulder Police Department.)  I eventually came in sixth though in a pool of, well, six applicants.  Ah well. After that letdown, I would plunge into a dark period of unemployment before I would eventually land my first job. Boulder had killed the dream.

But now that I’m an adult, debt free and gainfully employed (for the moment,) I have a unique opportunity to finally answer the call of the mountains after so, so many years of waiting.

I’m still not 100% sure I’m going through with this though, partly because of the recent upheaval at my job and partly because I may be forced to move before the year is up.  If that’s the case I have to set aside a significant amount of money just to ensure I’ll be able to move with minimal problems.  Thanks to the cesspool that is Long Island’s real estate market, just to move from one apartment to another can run me more than $5,000 (and that’s not including furniture I’d need to buy either.)  The rest of my assets is tied up in gold, BUT, I should still have enough left to make a two week trip doable even if I do move.  Maybe.  I’ll know for sure once I hit my 35th birthday.

You know what would be even better than merely visiting the Colorado Rockies though?  How about visiting the Rockies, AND the Grand Canyons, AND Yellowstone Park, AND Devils Tower, AND Mount Rushmore?

Why yes, I am in fact planning to do exactly all this, beginning the last week of September this fall.

After contemplating whether to drive or fly, I decided flying would be best as I’d be able to cover more ground in less time.  I also decided to pick Denver as my base city, as I’d like to spend an extra day sightseeing in downtown Denver before I embark on my road trip.  Here’s a rough itinerary of what my trip would look like:

The only thing I know for sure at this point is that I’d be landing in Denver, where I’d pick up my rental and spend an extra day in the city before driving on. I’ve already changed the itinerary to avoid I-85 in favor of Route 285, which I’m told is a truly spectacular drive, whereas I-85 is pretty boring in comparison. It would also cut the need to shoot through New Mexico and Albuquerque on my way to the Canyons. I’m sure it will change yet again as I receive more advice and suggestions on what to visit and what road to take, but that’s pretty much the gist of it.

I also have to decide whether I should do two weeks or three, because as much as I want to take three weeks off for this adventure, I just may not have the financial resources to do so. Again, that’s something else I’ll have to wait and see about.

In the meantime, I appreciate any recommendations and help on planning this trip, including places to visit, cost saving measures, and of course, above all else, the best place to get steak. :-D