“Nostalgia is the ultimate, failing force to plague our race. Even returning to beloved lands only reminds us that that era is gone, passed by a forever fleeting life.” – Old Sean
Homeless Sweet Home
After finally reaching Seattle, Ari and I turned ourselves South and East, winding back towards Colorado. We were on a time crunch, forcing us to drive through the deep night. We both wanted to make it to Colorado in time for Ari to meet up with her girlfriend.
We finally pulled into Colorado a night early. Instead of plunging into the city, I recommended we camp out one last night. With this in mind, I steered us into my old romping grounds.
Years ago, before my first trip to China, I moved to Boulder, Colorado where I briefly lived out of my car. Eventually, a local friend offered me a place to stay in the Nederlands. But during my homeless stint, much of my time we spent working, saving, hiking and traveling.
So Ari and I visited some of my favorite old restaurants and coffee bars. We drove around, allowing me to reminisce. We drove past The Boxcar for coffee, poked around Hotel Boulderado where I worked as a dish washer, hiked the river near the library and staggered up and down the Flatirons.
For camping that night, I drove us up Boulder Canyon to try visiting a few of the old campsites I used to stake out at. We made our way up to Sugarloaf Mountain and found a nice little place on the side of the road.
Sugarloaf Camping
Camping was a nice enough experience. The Indian Mountains were in the distance, thin poplar trees interspaced open meadows and a smattering of cars wound up and down the dirt road.
Unfortunately, our neighbors were extremely… on something and noisy, making copious amounts of howling until sunset. Fortunately, they vanished before we arose in the morning.
The rest of our morning was spent on very gradual trip into Denver, taking the scenic route. We wound into Nederlands first, where we viewed old steam-powered construction vehicles and skirted the lake.
The rest of the drive was a slow weave down Boulder Canyon, where hefty construction slowed us slightly.
Eventually, we drove into Boulder where we spent some time staking out in front of Boxcar, my old favorite pre-work coffee shop. If it had been available, Laughing Goat down the street would have been extremely pleasant as well.
As it stood, I got a drink called Bottlerocket Float, which is essentially a root beer float but with cold brew. It was quite enjoyable. We also managed to snag a couple of breakfast sandwiches. Finally, once more, we drove by my old workplace, Hotel Bouldarado.
Backcountry
The rest of the day was spent with Ari picking up her girlfriend from the airport. Afterwards, we met up with Ari’s girlfriend’s family before loading up our Kia. We created a caravan, following a pickup truck heading out for some deep-country camping.
I can’t tell you exactly where we went to, only that it was about 3 hours away and relatively close to Yampa, Colorado.
It was a very pretty campground. Large, white cliffs and mountain trails extended to the East while the West was comprised of gentle rolling fields. There were numerous wildflowers being munched upon by black cows. A crystalline steam flowed at chilling temperatures nearby, snaking through the grass in a ribbon of blue.
All natural beauty aside, I wouldn’t camp here again. The area between us and the mountains was an honest-to-god bog. Deep, marshy but fortunately not smelly, this bog was the birthplace of incessant swarms of mosquitos flourishing in droves.
I, for the most part, was immune. Some long sleeved clothes alongside a natural bitterness making my blood unappetizing to skeeters earned me unfair protection.
The girls and one of the dogs we were camping with (Moose the Chocolate Lab) were devoured.
It was still pretty nice as far as camping goes. We played board games, drank, goofed around in the river, played tennis with Moose, went on short hikes and slept in three tents while enjoying the campfire.
Overall, great experience. Simply wouldn’t do it again.
Back to Civi
Though shorter than normal, this seems to be a good time to wrap up another segment of the journey.
We’re returning to Denver shortly and staying as guests in a friend’s house for the next three days or so. At this point, we’ll be doing some explorations and hikes around CO, but nothing terribly exciting.
After our intense loop throughout the Western United States, it’s time to take it easy. Ari and I intend to relax over the next few days.
As such, my next post likely won’t arrive until I’m back in Texas next week.
So until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written August 9th 2020
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I bought this Horizon Hound Trek Blanket for a late-autumn trek in the United States. Since then, it’s gone everywhere with me. The blanket is lightweight, stuff-able, warm and durable. But my favorite features are the buttons. The blanket can be buttoned up the sides, turning it into a long thermal poncho when I don’t want to leave the warmth of my bed.
