It's a shame that in living in Colorado my entire life, that I had never before seen Grand Mesa. To say that it is beautiful is an understatement; it is one of the most breathtaking, quiet, and peaceful places I've ever been to. I'm very grateful to my mom for introducing me to such a serene and gorgeous place.
We arrived late in the afternoon; me, my mom, and George. We rented a drafty, mouse-filled cabin (eek) right on one of the hundreds of lakes atop the mesa. George confusedly chased mice in the house while I cooked shrimp alfredo and my mom enjoyed a good book. The next morning, we woke early and took a walk around the cabin.
We hadn't gotten very far when we stumbled upon this guy, the first bear I've ever seen while hiking. My mom nervously grabbed George, who was completely oblivious and we stood there in awe of such an amazing (and huge) creature. After awhile, he headed down the road, and we watched him until he was completely out of eyesight, astonished.
We also spotted several marmots, who were quite vocal at displaying their displeasure that a dog was nearby.
Said dog.
After a quiet dinner, we woke up the next day and took a short bike ride.
We decided to head to the top of the mesa and thought we could take a short cut home...much to the horror of my mother, the road turned out to be the worst one she'd ever been on. My mom drives an Outback, which was ill-equipt to deal with the variety of ruts and cavernous potholes. It got so bad that we couldn't do anything but go on, as turning around would've been just as dangerous as continuing. She couldn't drive it, nor could she sit in the car, so her and George walked behind me while I forged new paths creatively through the rocky road. Fortunately, we didn't get stranded and we made it back safely, giggling about our adventure. One of my favorite things about my mom is her unfailing willingness to try something new, or to do insane things that are dangerous in hindsight. I think that she has provided me with much of my sense of adventure, and I'm thankful to her for that.
The next day, we headed over to Colorado National Monument for some hiking. When people think I'm strange, they need to see where I came from...
We enjoyed a stunning sunset on our way back to the cabin.
Reluctantly, we packed up and headed home; tired and a bit worn out from an adventure-filled weekend, but grateful for the time we enjoyed on the mesa.
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