We started early, looking for flights and realized very quickly that round trip tickets for 5 people was going to be WAYYYY too much for us to manage. I started to reflect back to the days when I was young with my family going back to Texas for the Holidays and how much of an experience it was on every trip to drive with all of us as a family. For this Holidays, flying was out and we decided renting a large vehicle to take us all was going to be not just affordable, but memorable.
We rented a large SUV and picked it up on 12-21-11 and started out on our trip that night. We had been watching the news and a MONSTER snow/ice storm was moving across South Eastern Colorado. The storm was shutting down highways and had actually resulted in 9 deaths in Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado. The worst of it was hitting Western/Central Kansas so I thought we might get a break.
The storm had stopped for 2 days and the news was showing that the roads were opening. I was getting information that we shouldn't have a problem but I knew that we were going to see some snow and some ice....Little did I REALLY know.
As we traveled up towards the Panhandle of Texas, I started to get information that the Highway between Clayton NM and Raton NM was closed due to ice. There was also a storm starting to hit Colorado Springs and was moving SE....It was clear we were going to see some storm action.
I called Clayton Police Department and was advised that the highway was closed but it was expected to open by midnight. I knew that it was still going to be a few hours past that when I would get there and figured I would be in that area around 4am. I was assured that the roads would be open but figured I better start searching for another route. By the time I got to Lubbock, we had called towns in Oklahoma, and Colorado to check for road closures and were advised all the highways were open, but it was a very slow pace due to snow and ice.
I decided to go with the sure thing, and head that way rather than take the chance to find roads closed in New Mexico and get stuck. By growing up in Colorado and taking a few of these winter road trips, I knew I could get stuck easily, but knew it would have to be pretty bad for that to happen....I had driven through a few major storms before.
As we got into North Texas, we found clear roads and a little snow off the highways. Temps were staying in the 27degree range, no wind, no ice....This was going to be EASY!! I kept hearing more and more about road conditions by Donna and her navigation skills online with her phone....I couldn't believe it was so horrible and we were seeing nothing to show any signs of harsh weather. Amarillo had some ice spots on the bridges, but no snow and no storms...27degrees steady and clear skies.
We made it to Oklahoma and still, no weather to speak of, clear roads, I was starting to get nervous and told Donna...
"We are going to get to a line in the sand where this is all going to end and we are going to be in the "soup" bad...I can just feel it!"
I decided to start documenting our journey...And here is a pic of our road trip in Oklahoma...
As you can see, there was some snow on the road, but this was nothing compared to what I had driven in before....If this was going to be it, I was going to be JUSSSST fine...But I knew better!
As we got closer to Colorado, we started to get into the snow. It was big, fat flakes of snow with a little wind. It was heavy and snowing pretty hard, but still, it was nothing to be concerned about...Snow is fun to drive in and I love to see it fall in front of the headlights. We stopped to get some gas and let the kids get out to enjoy it a little and take a stretch break.
As we broke through Oklahoma and into Colorado.... Things were still looking good...Then ten minutes into Colorado, we found what I was fearing...Snow, ice, traffic, bad roads... It was starting to look really bad!
I decided to continue on....If the roads were open, I was going! There were trucks stopped alongside of the road, other vehicles....They were all parked and waiting out the storm...NO WAY!! I was not going to get stuck! I am driving on!! And then it really hit!
This picture is of the roadway and the gray is all ice.... In many places, the only way you even knew you were on the roadway was to watch the road markers on the sides of the roads. You could not see the dividing lines, the shoulders....It was starting to get scary and VERY dangerous!!
I knew if we could just get out of the South Eastern part of Colorado, we would be OK. I had to keep trudging along. I was now starting to get a little cramped as I was so tense on the road. Hands were white knuckled on the steering wheel, tense on every slip on the road....It was BY FAR the WORST road conditions I had ever driven in!..... Then the ice ended in Lamar Colorado.....Not such a great thing!
Then I hit the storm that was hitting Colorado Springs earlier....And it was snowing HARD!! It was snowing so hard that there were drifts starting to form on the highway... White out conditions that limited my visibility to about 20-30 feet....35-45 mph and trying to stay on the roadway because I could see no markings on the road, OR road posts on the side of the highway. The only way I knew I was getting out of my lane was to hit those bumps on the side of the road that are designed to wake you up if you fall asleep at the wheel. I looked at Donna and said...
"This is just stupid...Plain stupid!! If we weren't so close, I would stop right now and find us a hotel....This is crazy!"
And we pushed on!!
The sun started to come up as we got into Pueblo Colorado and even with the sun coming up, the storm was still kicking!! White out conditions still causing problems but at least it wasn't as bad as it was earlier, and now there was other traffic on the road.
Once we got to I-25 (the home stretch) I felt a little more secure but the traffic was still moving at 35mph on this hwy (marked for 75mph). I had been driving tensed up and on the edge of my seat for 4 hours now and it was starting to wear on me pretty bad.
We finally made it to my parents house and I was SPENT!! A trip that was supposed to be 13 hours ended up being 17 hours and 4 of those were completely tense and uptight.... THIS was one HELL of a trip!! One that will go down in the books for sure.... Once again; But for the Grace of God go us!
Once we got to my parents house, I ate some breakfast, tried to unwind a little and went to bed... When I woke up, THIS is what I woke up to.....
AHHHHHHHHHHH, my old home!! And this is about a mile from the neighborhood I grew up in.
So Thursday was a relaxing day....Just a day for us to get situated in the places we were going to stay. Me and Donna at my Sister Stacey's house and Brandi and the boys staying at my Mom and Dads place... And then, SLEEP again!!
We all sat around Thursday night and played catch up. What everyone was up to, all the gossip from different experiences we had all had over the last year or so. It was a nice time to sit and reconnect, have a few drinks and just catch up....Laughs, edgy smack talking, trying to "one up" the other one and get on THE nerve, laughing and poking at each other....HOLY SHIT, I was home for sure!!
We all got to our perspective beds and hit the sack that night. We woke up and Friday was booked with the typical "Old Colorado City/Manitou Springs" tours. When I was 19 years old, I moved to Manitou Springs and lived in a little apartment that was right off the main drag and was an old flophouse back in the early 1900's. It was one of the coolest places I ever lived. After Manitou, I lived for a year and a half in Old Colorado City and although THAT was a cool place to live, Manitou was DA BOMB! Here is some stuff from Old Colorado City.
We went to an old stomp called "Meadow Muffins" for lunch ans we as a family, for the first time in a looong time, sat down together in a cool place and had a meal. Meadow Muffins hasn't hardly changed at all since I was 21 years old. The picture on the wall is the same (which Deven and Brandin could NOT take their eyes from)
This picture is of a wall by an old penny arcade about a block from my old apartment.
Here is a picture of my old apartment I lived in...I lived on the second floor and it didn't look nearly as nice then as it does today, but it was AWESOME!! As you look at the picture, on the right of the tall building is a small shop...This use to be a waffle cone shop. We didn't have AC in the summers in Colorado when I lived there, so we just opened the windows...In the spring and summer, my apartment always smelled like fresh waffle cones.... Again, just added to the "coolness" of living there.
It was VERY cold this day. As the sun went down, it got VERY cold in Manitou and we had plans to go see 7 Falls and the lights. Well, this wasn't my first rodeo and I knew if it was getting cold now, it was going to be FREEZING in the evening so I knew we HAD to go get some hats to keep us warm....Living in Texas has limited our warm weather clothes and we are DEFINITELY not acclimated to Colorado weather. So we went shopping!!
After getting our new hats, off to 7 Falls we went. This is a natural falls here in Colorado Springs which is a huge tourist attraction. In the winter time, when it freezes, they do a light show on the falls and it really is quite spectacular....But it was VERY cold....It was 14 degrees with the wind blowing....I was miserable and although I thought I might freeze, it was worth the trip to see it...
There are close to 300 steps that take you to the top of these falls....We took the elevator this time! The lights would shift and change color and it was really beautiful!
We finished up with our days adventures and all made it back to our beds that night for rest and relaxation from the day. We woke up on Saturday and decided to head out to see Garden of the Gods. This was a really fun day because it was me, Donna, Brandi, the boys, Stacey (my sister) her daughter Audrey and her son Dillon....This was another place that I had spent a large portion of my youth in and at so I was familiar with this area, but Brandi and the Boys had never seen anything like it....It really is quite spectacular!... Yes, the van was a litttttllle creepy!!
Sunday was Christmas and it was, of course, WONDERFUL!! We spent Christmas morning at Jeanette's house and we all met there for the morning gifts ceremony. The boys were able to experience a white Christmas. The tree full of gifts in the Golden Households has always been quite a spectacular layout...This year was no different....I can look back on my life and truly say that I was blessed!!
After the gifts, we all went home to rest a little, put up gifts, and prepare for dinner. When we got back to Jeanette's, we had a Christmas dinner of Prime Rib and all the fixin's....It was an AMAZING meal!! It was really quite warming to be with my family again...From the pictures being taken to the clean up afterwards...It was really good to be home again with my family....REALLY GOOD!!
We all spent a nice evening together and then again, back to our resting places for another adventurous trip to show the kids the truly magnificent Rocky Mountains and show them what a ski town is like....On Monday, it was time for Breckenridge!
Breckenridge is about 2 hours from Colorado Springs and you have to go over two mountain passes to get to this town. When you get over the first pass, you get to experience the Continental Divide and the Collegiate Peaks....Truly breathtaking!!
Between the Continental Divide and this pass is what is known as "SouthPark Colorado" and yes, it IS the place that the cartoon was based on. Its a flat area between the peaks and there is NOTHING out here...A few ranches and a couple of scattered towns. Here is SouthPark Proper....
Once you get through SouthPark, you start your way to Wilkerson Pass. You have to go over this pass to get into Breckenridge. The peaks are so close it looks like you can touch them, and they are truly amazing. We had to stop and get some pictures of the trip up the pass...
Once you get over the pass, its a whole different beauty and experience down into Breckenridge....
Breckenridge is a typical ski town....Lots of tourist shops, lots of restaurant's and bars, t-shirt shops, hat shops, ski shops....Juts a cool place! If you have not experienced a mountain town or a ski town, it is something that cant be explained....It just has a different feel!
The kids went sledding, we went shopping, and we all split up to go our different ways and all met up again in 2 hours to head home. Another "different experience" is to walk around in altitude above 10k feet....Its a strange feeling to be breathing regularly and not get enough oxygen...Man, it wore us ALL out...The altitude is a real kicker man...If you aren't prepared for it, it will sneak up and get ya BAD....Gotta stay hydrated and take care of yourself or Mother Nature will definitely show you your mistakes!
We all made it back from Breckenridge and we all got some cool stuff and had a cool experience. We had to make sure to get by my Sister Jeanette's house at night to see her light display. She and her husband Terry always go ALL OUT on lights and this year was no different. They did an AMAZING job!! They get people driving by to check out their lights and after seeing these pictures, you can see why.
Tuesday was a re-group for leftovers from Christmas Dinner and a party my sister Jeanette threw together to hang out with old family friends and meet up with my FaceBook friends at a bar called the Holy Cow bar! It was a GREAT time! I saw people I have not seen since I was 15 and re-connected with some great old friends I haven't seen since I was 18!
I left Colorado when I was 22 and had not really seen any of my old Friends since I left. It was really a surreal feeling to see old friends and realize that good or bad, some things never change....THAT is a very cool thing! It was really a GREAT experience and was so good to see some old friends.
Wednesday, we had birthday parties for Brandin and Audrey and just relaxed all day. Of course, just about EVERY day, I HAD to get to 7-11 and get a Slurpee....One of the things I miss the most about living where I live is there are no 7-11's, thus no Slurpee's...so I live off of them while I can and made sure to get out as much as possible and partake in my favorite frozen drink! Jeanette, Terry, Brandi, BJ, Michelle, Steven, and Adam all decided to take the party back to Jeanette's house and they stayed up until 6:00am.... I am SOOOOOOOO glad i went home with Stacey, because after seeing some of this troop the next day, good lord did the booze demon come in and whoop their ass!!
Wednesday night, we hung out at my Sisters and just watched TV....It was our last night in Colorado and we made arrangements to all meet at my Moms in the morning for breakfast and then off on the road again to go home. When we woke up Thursday, we saw this....
We ate breakfast, said our tearful goodbyes and started to head back to Texas. The trip home was not anything like the trip up and we had clear roads all the way. We got out of Texas and over Raton Pass and rode up on this....
It was 40 degrees, wind blowing and as you can tell....full of cold and NOTHING-NESS!! I will gladly state, I am no BIKER, I am a warm weather rider!! This was hardcore!! BUUUUT, there was a time in my life, when I lived in Manitou, that i rode my motorcycle year round...So, I guess you get use to it, but i have no desire to re-visit that time in my life!
This was the stretch or roadway that was closed on our way up and we could still see the areas that were bad and was very happy we made the choice we did... I bet it was REALLY scary out here that night!
We got through New Mexico and into Texas and surrounded by feedlots....For over 100 miles, all i could smell was cow urine...It was terrible!! Just outside of Dalhart, we came up on these...
We got to Amarillo in RECORD time and watched the Panhandle Sunset!!
Once the darkness settled in, we settled in our seats, kids passed out int he back, and we locked in for Kerrville. We made it home at 1:00am and made the trip in about 12.5 hours....It was a wonderful trip, a wonderful experience for the kids and a vacation that will go down in the record books!
This trip was different than others I have been on going back to Colorado. I guess it was having Brandi and the boys there.... Seeing old friends.... Reflecting on my past....
Man, I was such a trouble stirring, risk taking, edgy kid when I lived there. I had to leave Colorado because of my antics....I knew that staying in Colorado would result in me going to jail or worse....I knew that I had to take a drastic action to get a drastic result and SHIFT my life...And I did it!!
If not for that step, I would not have had this experience....Would not have had Brandi or the Boys in my life to take back to Colorado...Would not have this amazing woman in my life that I have now and I definitely would not have lived the life I have lived to this point without that drastic shift!
Its amazing how this life works....Live it with intention, or live it waiting for the next thing to happen....I am glad I choose to live it with intention! It has made my life colorful, brilliant and full of excitement. It was great to go back home, it was great to see my family and have Brandi and the kids experience the magnificence that is Colorado...But i am happy to be back to my life, my house and my intention!!!
OWTFDWIT!!!!
Another amazing experience to have in my life.... Again, as I reflect, I am grateful and blessed!
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