We awoke in Kaibab National Forest to the sound of something hitting the roof of our converted camper. We cautiously opened the door to peek outside, to find it was only pine cones dropping from the trees above us.

It was early, the sun just peeking over the horizon. We had a long day of driving planned, so we made coffee and breakfast. As the coffee heated, so did the air temperature as the sun rose in the sky.
We left our beautiful campsite and set out for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We stopped at the only gas station to top off our tank. The gas was costly but not knowing if there would be gas available on the way to the North Rim, we thought it best.

We turned south and followed the scenic road. Very quickly, we noticed the devastation from a previous forest fire. The scarred landscape continued for miles. The ruined forest saddened me to the point of tears. It was awe-inspiring to see thousands of young birch trees growing among the remains of the dead Aspens. It was a spectacular display of the resilience of nature. The young trees’ size indicated that the fire had been two or three years ago instead of the very recent fire damage around our campsite.

As we drove, the landscape suddenly changed to glorious, tall green Aspens. I couldn’t get over how big and beautiful they were. As we continued, we saw tall white Birch trees mixed in with the Aspens. It was a gorgeous juxtaposition of colors on the mountainside.

We soon found that our decision to get gas was a good one. The only gas station on the road to the Grand Canyon was closed for the winter.

After entering the park, we were delighted to find bison grazing in a meadow beside the road. We enjoyed the fantastic scenery as we drove to the canyon’s rim.

When we arrived at the rim, we realized that we were at the junction where the Grand Canyon meets Roaring Springs Canyon, which was just as stunning. As we walked to the Grand Canyon’s rim, we spotted a golden-mantled ground squirrel. At first, we thought he was the largest chipmunk either of us had ever seen, but research answered our question.

We planned to hike the short trail to Bright Angel Point. The narrow path followed the wall of the canyon with nothing between us and the edge. Despite his nervousness, Chris braved the hike so that I could enjoy the view. I walked out onto a narrow, fenced-in overlook. Standing on the end, with the canyon’s sheer cliffs on three sides, even I was uneasy.

We continued to follow the path, which continued to narrow. When we reached the point where only a narrow path separated Grand Canyon and Roaring Springs Canyon, Chris could not continue. He offered to wait while I finished the hike. Thinking the trail ended around the next turn, I continued. When I realized it was still a good hike from there, I returned without finishing the hike. After all the canyons and high places Chris had braved for me in the last few days, I didn’t feel it was fair to make him wait for me to go that far. We did take a selfie on a rock near the edge before we walked back to the truck.

As we drove out of the parking lot, we noticed pyramids of wood stacked in the forest teepee style. We wondered about this as the forest fire risk was extremely high in Arizona, with campfires not allowed anywhere we went throughout the state. After some research, we learned that they were preparing to do controlled burns to clear out the dangerous undergrowth.

We were curious if we would see the bison again. We found the bison across the road a little further down than where we had seen them earlier. We stopped near the park entrance to eat a picnic lunch before continuing our long drive.

Before leaving Virginia, we ordered an Xbox Series X that we would pick up at BestBuy in Colorado Springs. At the time, it made sense as we intended to live in Colorado Springs while we figured out where we wanted to settle in Colorado. It was now time to return to Colorado to pick up the Xbox.

When we checked the upcoming weather for Colorado, as is always a good idea this time of the year, there was winter weather in the forecast. With the nasty weather expected, we wanted to avoid driving through the high mountain passes that would take us through central Colorado. Instead, we planned to go north through Utah, stopping in Salt Lake City to visit Chris’s mom before continuing across Wyoming and then south through Denver.

As had been the case everywhere in Arizona up to this point, the scenery did not disappoint. As we drove, we saw more evidence of a vast forest fire. It was disheartening to see entire mountains of black trees with no underbrush. I have always heard about the fires but seeing their impact first-hand brought home how horrific they are. And then, once again, suddenly everything was green again. It was a stark contrast to see the black and green line in the middle of the same mountain from a distance.

We originally planned to explore some of the scenic national parks in Utah. With the Covid numbers on the rise in Utah and the impending bad weather, we decided it was best to drive straight through to Salt Lake City without stopping, other than to fill the gas tank.

As soon as we crossed the border into Utah, I was blown away by the fantastic landscape. The colors of the soil and the mountains were extraordinary. The landscape changed multiple times in just the span of a few miles. I look forward to returning one day when we can explore all of the beautiful parks.

We had a lovely visit with Chris’s mom, not leaving the house until it was time to head to Colorado. A wind event was starting as we left Salt Lake City. Mom warned us about the dangers of catching the wind gusts as we exited canyons. The first mountain range had a lot of wind, but we made it through the passes safely. The wind seemed to die down, and we hoped that we had made it ahead of the worst of it. We were so wrong.

As we crossed Wyoming, the wind picked up drastically, with gusts blowing across the interstate at more than 40 miles an hour. Driving was treacherous, especially when passing the big trucks. We were happy we left when we did as signs indicated that they were expecting gusts to be over 70 miles an hour that night and 60 the next day.

We had noticed that gas prices were reasonable in Wyoming, which made us happy. When we passed a gas station with significantly higher prices, I looked at the gas gauge. We still had more than a quarter tank left. After our gas scare in Wyoming the previous month, we have been in the habit of filling up when we get to a quarter tank, so I started checking to see the best place to stop for gas.

The next station was not for 40 miles, which we usually would have no problem making. Between the mountains and the extreme wind, our gas gauge plummeted, to our horror. It seemed there was a good chance we might not make it.

We watched the miles to the gas station tick away on the navigation as we watched the gas gauge continue to drop. It was to the point that I was mentally gauging how far we would have to walk if we ran out. Ten miles. Six miles. Four miles. That’s not too bad. We do four-mile hikes all the time. Two miles. We can do that without even breaking a sweat.

I was so happy when we pulled into the station before the gas ran out. Our gas gauge was below empty. It was a harrowing experience. We now start scoping out gas stations when we hit half a tank to make sure that never happens again.

As we neared the eastern end of Wyoming, the wind finally dissipated. We turned south towards Colorado and were maintaining a good pace. I enjoyed seeing the snow on the tops of the mountains in the distance. Traffic came to a halt as we reached an oversized vehicle. It was so broad that it took up both lanes of traffic. As there was no room to pass, we followed behind at a snail’s pace. Finally, when we reached the Colorado border, he pulled over, and we were once again on our way.

We made it to Colorado Springs, where we had booked a cottage through VRBO. The “Gnome Home” was hands down the best vacation rental we have ever used. The owners gave close attention to every detail to make our stay a pleasant one, providing just about anything we might need, toiletries, cleaning supplies, coffee, and snacks. The kitchen was more than adequately stocked. The only thing we didn’t have was a cheese grater.

The only downside to the cottage was the neighbors. Once, we caught someone behind our truck taking down our license plate number. Another time we went outside to find someone had attempted to have us towed. As soon as the tow-truck driver saw us come out of the house, he left. We put the Reflectix in the windows at night so people would not see what we had in the truck. I guess the neighbors thought we were camping out in their neighborhood.

On our first day back in Colorado, we had a relaxing morning and then went to the storage to get rid of some things we realized we didn’t need and pick up a few that we did. We decided to grab dinner from Pizzeria Rustica on the way home.

Monday, we picked up our mail and shopped for supplies before visiting our friend DJ and his family. It snowed in the evening. It was peaceful standing in the backyard as the snow fell.

The next morning, Chris woke me up at six to pick up the Xbox. It was a beautiful clear morning. The view of snow-covered Pikes Peak from the Best Buy parking lot was gorgeous and worth the early wake-up call. We spent the rest of the day cooking to prepare for our next trip. DJ and Erin came over for the afternoon and dinner. They were more than happy to bring the cheese grater we needed.

While the cottage was a nice change of pace after a few weeks of traveling, we were now ready to get back on the road.