Time to get away - Gunnison, CO!
On the road…
March 2020, we had our big trip to see Alex in Gunnison planned. Cameras prepared and research done, as we were planning some serious astro photography that trip. One week prior, well, we all know what happened to pretty much everyone’s plans. Jump ahead to September 2021, and we were on the road to a place we hadn’t visited in over 2 years.
The drive out is always fun. It’s a pretty drive, not too far away from Denver, and we left early enough in the day to get to see the road as we traveled. The road felt easy. Lots of open space, nature busting at it’s seams, and time well spent together. No distractions.
This time of year, in this part of Colorado, there is a boom of travelers, as the opportunity to see fall leaves is abundant. We naturally, accidentally, picked that same weekend to head out. Not a hotel to be found in a price range anywhere NEAR a decent price, so Chris found us a really quaint little campground that sits 15 minutes outside city limits, and a furnished cabin for us to call home for a few days. Bonus, we were across the street from a beautiful reservoir. I always like water on my adventures!!
We pulled up before dark, got settled, when no sooner did Alex walk through the door. Now…the fun can begin!
We woke up early Saturday morning, to an incredible sunrise. When I realized I was actually up before the sun, I grabbed my cameras and ran in the FREEZING cold morning chill, over to the side of the park where the only thing you could see was the open land. I shot a few frames that are some of my favorites from the trip.
We enjoyed a bacon and eggs breakfast (no smoke alarms this time), some strong coffee, and headed out to Crested Butte for the day.
The road on the hour drive was calming. We drove by a particular tree, sitting isolated on this vast field, with a simple tire swing hanging. We pulled into CB to find a 5k race wrapping up, with a ton of very fit runners wandering around the main drag. This absolutely made me feel guilty about the fact that I was overly anxious to visit Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. We wandered as well, had some lunch, and planned to head to Lake Irwin to hike around and enjoy the rest of our time there.
We headed back from CB to make some dinner at the cabin. It was almost dark by the time we returned, which was great, because the next big event on the trip was to try astro photography! For the most part, it was my first try, and the first try ever on film. We had the most perfect night. Comfortably cool, clear skies and the perfect location. This was a huge highlight being our last trip to do this was cancelled!
After the night of epic proportions, yes we were that thrilled at how everything rolled out lol, we wrapped up the trip and headed back to Denver. The drive was slightly LESS comfortable as we were fighting against leaf peeper traffic, and it took an extended amount of time to go from start to finish.
We had such a great get away, really fun accommodations, and spending time with Alex is always satisfying!!
Until the next trip, or session, or random thoughts about life post….I thank you for coming, browsing all the way through if you are still here and reading this. I am flattered.
Be safe and love to all!!
<3