til we’re no longer bothered by the smoke and the sound

Day 7: Laramie, WY to Glenwood Springs, CO

These are peanut butter & jelly wings from Born in a Barn in Laramie, WY and I will not be taking any further questions.

Day 7 was some of the most adventurous driving we’ve experienced on this trip so far, as we moved from Laramie, WY to Glenwood Springs, CO.

We found some tasty treats at this Mercantile in Kremmling and then I got way too excited about finding a highway overpass for animals (West Wing fans: RIP Pluie).

Turning down the gravel road was the first sign that things were about to get sketchy but we leaned all the way into it. Here are bunch of photos of our trip past the area of the Moffat Road.

Every day on this trip, Ada has said to me, “no, THIS is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.” And every day I’ve thought about how privileged we are to be able to give her these amazing memories. When she’s 40, she’s going to be telling the next generation that life was just so much better in 2020-2022 when she was a kid, that was when people really knew how to live. It’s like every single day I can make her exclaim that it’s the coolest day ever, that’s one more day before she realizes just how much the world is on fire at the moment.

Back on pavement an hour later, we watched the scenery change so rapidly it was hard to believe. Being from Illinois, it’s so hard to believe how you can drive 30min in any direction and feel like you’re in a completely different country when you’re in the West.

We arrived for our night in Glenwood Springs, CO at the Glenwood Hot Springs Resort early enough to check out the pools. Both fed by the hot spring and built in 1888, the big pool is around 92 degrees and the small pool (still larger than most hotel pools) was 104 degrees.

Outdoor swimming when the air temp is 52 degrees is wild as hell. The water itself is also amazing – it’s heavy in minerals and you float whether you want to or not. It’s very hard to hang out at Glenwood Springs without feeling like maybe you’re recovering from the consumption? Or nursing a Civil War battle wound?

This is just a photo of Ada that I love, filling up her cup of bougie hotel lobby lemon water. Girl loves her hotel lobby lemon water.

Today’s title from “What’ve I Done to Help” by Jason Isbell.