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Sunday, July 27, 2008, Field near Cotapaxi, Colorado
The fire pit was great; it kept us warm during the cold night. I woke up to sunlight beaming on the teepee walls, 7 am, late for me, but after getting up and starting the morning routine and throwing a fishing line in the creek, I decided to let the kids sleep in; they had had a hard ride yesterday and a real late night. The first child up was the first to konk out the night before, Sarah, and she needed to go to the restroom but didn’t make it in time. She then took a shower while I wrote in the journal. All wanted to ride today to conquer the tallest pass we would encounter the whole trip. We immediately started our steep ascent toward Monarch Pass. For seven miles we plugged along slowly, about 3-4 mph. It was sunny, but at that altitude the air was so cool that you didn’t overheat. We took one rest stop, then climbed the rest of the way to the top of the pass. At the summit was a museum of mountain wildlife and a snack shop. We didn’t stay too long before we headed down the mountain. For fourteen miles we didn’t pedal, but snaked our way down the mountains at breakneck speed, at least me and Adriana did. What a thrill! Like usual, Adriana and I arrived at the bottom in Poncha Springs way ahead of the others, so I took the opportunity to take a nap on the ground in front of a closed ski rental store. When I woke up, everyone was there, so was the van, and all were snacking. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I reluctantly got up and eventually we all headed off as a group toward the town of Salida. The wind had changed and now was at our backs, so we were flying; however, big dark clouds were forming and moving toward us fast. As we were entering the town, big drops started pelting us. Fortunately, for Adriana and me, we found cover right away because we were 5-10 minutes ahead of the others. But the others got wet. Eventually we all ducked into a sheltered store front porch to wait out the downpour. After a while, most all of the bad stuff had passed, so we suited up our rain gear and headed out behind the storm which was going east like we were but had blown past us, so we followed it at a safe distance. As we made gains on the clouds, we could see the rain balling in sheets not too far off in the distance, so we took a half hour break to let it go away. The plan worked, and we managed to stay out of the downpour all the way to Cotapaxi. When we arrived at 6pm, our first order of business was to find a camp site. Unfortunately, KOA was the only one in town and they always charge extra for more than four people, which we can’t afford, so we pedaled on in the direction of our final destination tomorrow, Pueblo, 80 miles away. Gloria was starting to get nervous because it was already 7:00 pm and we didn’t know where we were going to stay. The areas lining the road were bordered by fences and not too suitable for throwing up a tent, so I stopped at a nearby farmhouse and asked if I could put up a tent anywhere. The man of the house gave us permission to camp in one of his secluded fields. It was almost dusk when we finally arrived, so we all did our part to set up the tent, organize our belongings and cook. I usually do the cooking. Today we splurged again and ate almost everything we had: a dozen eggs, tortillas, lettuce, stew items (pork, leftover spaghetti sauce, onion, corn, potatoes), and, of course, drinks, drinks, and more drinks of every flavored beverage we could create using a variety of flavored powders, sodas, and water. All were full, but not clean, when we finally turned in for the night. Tomorrow would be a big day – 75 miles, including the last Rocky Mountain climb, to Pueblo, where I would pick up my next map series all the way to Virginia and letters from my mom and sister. 60 miles.