I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to cross oceans and oceans to find unique travel experiences abroad, but, in doing so, I’ve neglected to enjoy the very place sitting in front of my own two eyes! With credit to my favorite Hungarian friend and winter roommate Gergely Schmergely, I spent the past five days exploring Colorful Colorado. It was he whom reminded me that Colorado has many exciting places to offer.
In light of the promise Gergz made me when I visited him in Hungary, I promised him the same thing in return: This was going to be "THE BEST COLORADAN EXPERIENCE EVER".
We covered great distances during the time allotted on our road trip: We saw the steepest and deepest canyon in the US (Black Canyon),
the nations highest Sand Dunes (The Great Sand Dune National Park),
and the world’s highest suspension bridge (The Royal George, I mean Royal Gorge Bridge).
Between our many picnics, feasting on sandwiches and fried chicken, we covered a lot of ground on a small budget and brought “car camping” to a whole new level. Who needs a tent when you’ve got a fold down backseat, a bottle of wine and UNO (who kicked who’s sorry butt???)!!!
The days were filled with beautiful scenery, amazing sights, and good company. We tracked over 1,000 miles in my little black Ford Escape.
We antique shopped in Leadville, picnicked by the “Ar Kansas” (Arkansas River), and hiked around Currcanti National Park the next day.
Gergz and I avoided ticks on the pathway and had a mini scavenger hunt looking for mica.
Next, we entered the astounding steepest and deepest Canyon in the U.S., the Black Canyon, where I got struck by lighting while sitting on top of a rock. We could see some flashing bolts leave the grey skies along the mountain range in the distance. We knew our time to view the canyon was limited, but were surprised to learn just how close to danger we were. While Gergz scooted to death-defying cliff edges to get stunning pictures of the camel formation, I sat on a rock and waited. I recall fixing my hair, reinstalling two bobby pins in my hair, one on each side, when I suddenly heard a crash of thunder. Instantly, I felt a buzzing electric current between my hands and through my head. I could feel a sudden pressure between my ears, like the popping feeling you get when changing altitude, and an alarming zapping noise, the noise you hear when bugs are burned by electric currents. An instant later, it stopped, and Gergz yelled to me “What happened?” The creepiest thing is that he heard the zapping noise it too.
A little shaken, but still in good spirits, Gergz and I made our way towards Durango, on our way to Pagosa Springs. We admired the picturesque town of Ourray (pronounced your-ray), and then pivoted around the frightful cliff switchbacks and fantastic views on the Million Dollar Highway over Red Mountain pass. We had a memorable moment in Silverton and spotted a lonesome porcupine on Silverton’s Ski area’s humble dirt road.
The next day, we had a relaxing soak in Pagosa Springs’ famous mineral baths (which ranged from 83 to 114 degrees!) and tested our nerves by jumping from snowmelted river water to the closest hot tub.
Then, we made our way to the Great Sand Dunes National Park to make our best attempt at sandboarding. We viewed more incredible lightning storms while driving through the world’s largest alpine valley, the San Luis Valley, and arrived at the visitor’s center and took shelter. After already being struck by lighting once on this trip, I imagined the danger of being on the apex of a sand dune during the storm. Luckily, the Gods heard our prayers and the skies cleared by the time we exited the building.
With images of the ghetto National Sandboarding website in mind from my research, I deduced it was okay to look like a gaper. We didn’t know what equipment or stance would work best, but we gave it our best shot. Sandboarding ended up being a major highlight on our trip.
The conditions were perfect for sandboarding. The light rain left the sand slightly packed, so it was easier to climb and better for sliding down. On our way to the best sandboarding spot, Gergz convinced me my wannabe 4 wheel drive could make it through the sand road that lay ahead.
Despite my worries, I pressed on, driving through a small stream, soft sand, and too many sharp and pointy “needle rocks”. I parked with a genuine feeling of accomplishment, and excitedly geared up for our late afternoon on the dunes.
It was a truly happy moment to hike up the sand with a Corona and snowboard in hand. Gergz and I smiled, paralleling our experience to snowboarding. It was a special moment, watching the shadows being cast on the dunes by the setting sun, being the only two people on the hill.
After an hour hiking, we reached the top!
We picked a nice steep slope to do some test runs.
Gergz went first, starting heel side, landing on his butt. Learning from him, I pointed my board straight and hung on.
It seemed nothing like snowboarding. The sand was so sticky, my board hardly slid at all. I felt I reached a maximum speed of 4 miles per hour. Feeling we had failed a little, we entertained ourselves by rolling down the hill log style and getting buried in the sand.
This of course, led to much sand in the pants.
We enjoyed the sun setting over the dunes leaving warm hues in the sky. It was now time to go home.
The ride down, from top to bottom, was when we finally got the high from sandboarding. We pointed our boards straight down the first face, and finally got enough speed to make a few turns and holler with joy. We could barely see a thing, as total darkness was fast approaching, or the jumps ahead, but we made it to the bottom sad we couldn’t do it again.
The next day was windy, very very windy. I could feel the gusts whistle around the car when I woke up in the morning. Gergz and I decided to continue moving, so we could ride the skycoaster at the Royal Gorge Bridge. We actually never made it to the skycoaster; by the time we rode the arial tram, the cable car railway and walked across the bridge, we had enough of the world’s highest bridge. But, we did stop at the UFO sighting center…very goofy, I know.
Our final stretch included a few more beautiful scenic byways,
some crazy fog cast down on a few little towns,
a zip through Colorado Springs and dash down I-25. We made it just in time for dinner at my favorite restaurant of all time, Thai Hiep.
The End
To Gergely Schmergely, the man with a million nicknames and the heart of a true adventurer, thanks for "THE BEST COLORADO EXPERIENCE EVER".
“Gergz-a-licious”
My college buddy, Alex Ruge, was waiting for me at the Mizunami train station 7 hours after landing in Tokyo. Standing nearly a foot and a half taller than me, he bent down to give me a hug and welcome me to the wonderful place he currently calls home. Alex was stationed in the small rural town of Mizunami to teach English at a public high school under the JET program. He’s enjoyed it so much this year that he recently signed on for year number two! 
We took a normal-looking cab with a magical automatic door to his apartment a few minutes away. His apartment was nice, the bedroom floors were covered with traditional tatmi mats. 
It was all possible because I invested in the Japan Rail Pass before I entered Japan, which allowed me unlimited travel on any Japan Rail lines for 7 days. It was quite a bargain, as train travel in Japan is quite an expense. 
I also visited the Kasuga Taisha Shrine, and saw hundreds of stone lanterns on the way. 
