A Tale of Two Parks

 While we’d already visited two of Colorado’s National parks- Rocky Mountain & Great Sand Dunes, we were excited to see the two less-visited parks, Mesa Verde & Black Canyon of the Gunnison. These two parks couldn’t have been more different. Mesa Verde is an ode to mankind while Black Canyon harkens to a land that man forgot.

Mesa Verde, in the southwest corner of CO near Durango, was established as the first 
National Park to preserve the works of the ancestral Puebloans, or Anasazi, who lived in the area until the 1,300s & left behind archeological sites which make up the heart of the park. The park is full of winding roads with long vistas or arid mountains. Many of the best examples of pueblo living are kept at a distance due to crumbling overhangs or require ranger tours to ensure the sandstone cliff dwellings are kept safe from overeager tourists. We learned an important 2021 lesson- if you want to do anything involving rangers, book it the moment it goes on sale, or you’ll be eating dirt like we were.

I doubt you can find anyone outside CO that has been to Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I personally think it needs a rebranding campaign & a shorter name that rolls off the tongue. It’s a perfect one day car trip to really get out into unspoiled nature & get a real sense of the vastness of our country. Much of the highlights of the park can be toured in your car, interspersed with frequent short walks to take in some of the more stunning views. A vivid testament to erosion, the canyon is over 2,000 feet deep & at its narrowest spans only 1,000 feet at the top & 40 feet at the bottom. Since it is difficult for sunlight to filter down these narrow passages, much of the canyon is in perpetual darkness & shadow.

My favorite site is Painted Wall, Colorado’s highest cliff (twice as tall as the Empire State Building) with its colorful marbled appearance. Tucked at the bottom, the Gunnison River looks like a distant ribbon but the whitecaps give you a sense of the speed of the river.

Maybe we need a campaign to rename BCotG. Dark Shadows NP? Black Panther NP? Gunnison Cliffs NP? Ideas are welcome.

If you’ve been to both, which did you prefer & why?

Introducing Camper Life: Murder & Mayhem or Mischievous Fun?

Serendipity brought us to this point- a four-month cross-country adventure in a camper.

 On a neighborhood walk, Jeff introduced himself to a neighbor closing up his travel trailer following a trip. Before you know it, the couple was at our house for dinner- I scribbled furiously as they described how they had purchased & set off in their own camper. They quickly became camping mentors & dear friends & the seeds of our adventure were sown.

Scroll forward six months. We are the proud owners of a 21ft. Rockwood pull-behind trailer. Now remember, six months earlier we’d barely been in a camper let alone owned one. What have we gotten ourselves into?

The first big change was we had to purchase a big ass truck to pull the “rig” hence the name, “Big Red.” I drive a Mini so I find the truck intimidating. We had to add a running board so I could get up into it & I have to use a stool to get into the truck bed.

 I’m typically one to sign up for a race or challenge THEN do the necessary training. Becoming a “camper” was no different. Once we bought the “rig” (notice my new-found knowledge of camper vernacular) we got to work watching YouTube channels, printing out checklists & purchasing a myriad of hoses, filters, dog bones (a power converter) & RV-sized storage bins on frequent Dollar Store runs.

Living “Camper Life” is like a parallel universe for this urban girl.

·  I couldn’t tell you the difference between a Class A or C vehicle, a Fifth wheel or a Sprinter.

·  Did you know there are three kinds of water? Potable, gray & black? Don’t ask about the black but know you flush it out with the gray & definitely want gloves for this project.

·   We have LOTS of types of power to consider- 100v, 12v, 30amp & 50amp. Of course each requires specific plugs & runs specific things or more importantly, WON’T run specific things.

·   Towing & parking a camper is its own fine art. We have hitch balls, chains & sway bars. They even sell something called “ball lube” which I apparently need to purchase (using incognito on my search engine, no doubt.)

·   When you secure a camp site, you can use one of dozens of useful but very specific apps. Some spots have full hookup allowing you easy access to power & other utilities. Some apps are specific for state or national parks while some are for private spots. Others are for BLM (yes, I initially thought this was Black Lives Matter but this city girl now know it stands for Bureau of Land Management where you can pull over onto open lands & “boondock” or “dry camp” overnight.  This means you’ll have no power, water or sewage overnight so you’ll conserve & live off your rig for several days. After a few days you’ll need to use your apps to find the little “poop” emoji indicating where you can find a dump station (see earlier discussion of black water!) I feel like such a pioneer woman living off the land with her poop emojis  

We now have lots of items that are extremely light & fold up into small spaces. The truck bed is fully packed with generators, fire ring, propane, inflatable kayak, hammocks & chairs, a DISH system & bins of athletic gear & bikes on the back of the camper.  We have the InstaPot, Air Fryer, Ninja & of course, my coffee pot & favorite mug.  Jeff reminds me that we are traveling to America so we can purchase what we need along the way, but I am loathe to spend my vacation hunting down items at Walmart. We do indeed look a lot like the Clampett family descending on Beverly Hills.

Four month in a camper. Will we murder each other? Will I ever don gloves for dumping? Stay tuned…