Happy Saturday!

I’m glad it’s Saturday because this week has felt like it’s gone on too long, but then, I did have an adventure at the beginning of the week.

At the beginning of the week, my mom and I took a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a trip I wanted to take about a decade ago but never got the chance. It was mostly the affordibility of the trip. I didn’t have a steady job with a steady income back then and the fact of renting a car and a hotel room and paying for it sounded daunting to me. Even now, I find myself feeling the same way at times – I’d rather have my money stowed away in a bank than handing it over for my amusement.

I guess it’s the result of having to earn every cent I have.

It’s funny, I had a similar conversation with my mom in the car. She was under the impression that she gave allowance when I was young. Ha! I wish. “Everything I bought for myself were saved,” I told her, counting off with my fingers, “birthdays, Christmas, babysitting…” I don’t know where she got the impression that she’s been giving me money. She’s fed me, housed me, clothed me, and paid for my first degree, sure, and though those things (food, clothes, house, school) were paid with money, she never actually gave me physical cash.

Anyway, the trip was fun while it lasted. After all, it’s not everyday I get to stand at the same level as some of the highest peaks in North America. These photos were taken at the highest point the road can take me. I was standing at over 12,000 feet above sea level and these peaks are 13,000 to 14,000 feet above sea level. Not much grows at this elevation as air is thinner and winter is frigid. There are no tall trees, only the dwarf version of the plants at lower elevations like columbine and sunflowers and the ever-changing weather.

Did I mention I got to drive the highest paved road in North America not once but twice? We stayed near by the west entrance, not knowing most of the view points and trails were on the east side of the park. So I drove from the west in the morning before needing to traverse the same road that evening. Thankfully, we visited at the point when the days are approaching its longest, so I didn’t have to worry about driving in the dark.

I had to drive this road because my mom’s afraid of heights. She sat in the passenger seat, almost whimpering as we reached the top and several times, she even suggested we turned back. “No,” I told her, “I am not driving over 400 miles to this park just to turn around at the half-way point.”

Three days later, when we reached home, we had piled on over 1000 miles onto the rental car. My mom kept saying on the drive home that she’s proud of me because I drove the mountainous portion of the trip. That might be her first-ever praise. Why did I feel a sob bubble up from my throat instead?

Though my mom taught me to drive me, I taught myself to drive curvy, twisty mountain roads by constantly practicing. Still, she doesn’t trust me behind the wheel. Odd! If I waited for my mom to teach me, I would probably not had been able to go to so many places.

I appreciate you stopping by and for listening to my trip. I will have more photos and stories in later posts, stay tune. Thank you to Natalie for hosting Weekend Coffee Share. Have a great week ahead.