Day 22 -- (6/17/21): Miles traveled: ~ 370

Location: various sites, ending at Valley of the Goblins near Green River, UT

Science: various air quality measurements

Coming out of the Rockies was the first of many white-knuckled driving experiences I knew were coming (and truly dreaded) on this roadtrip. The turns were hairpin, the views were quite literally awesome, and my fear of heights was on overdrive. I was not aware that acrophobia could be suc

h a full-body experience, actually -- and the fact that my personal acrophobia style has always been to be afraid that I would just out-of-the-blue jump, it was harrowing driving me and my little trailer in between the lines while trying to take in the views, deep-breathe, and grip-the-heck outta the steering wheel .......crikey!

First stop: rest stop on a river in CO --

As the drive continued, it started to heat up -- here's a terrible attempt at documenting 109degF -- 

I was excited to visit Valley of the Goblins again because it is another of those unique off-the-beaten-path spots in the US. The first time I stayed here, the campsites were undeveloped and basically patches of sandy dirt with number posts denoting campsites. Regardless, the Goblins made you feel like you were on another planet and the stars were the type that you could watch while walking right into them as you hiked from the Valley to the campground. When I rolled in this time, though, I was met with an upgraded, clean, and frankly sweet campground complete with showers. In the desert. 

I was glad that I had arrived later in the day, because it made Texas heat seem like nothing. I know, I know, it's better when there's no humidity, but still -- HOT. I walked up to the Valley to get a look at the Goblins --

and to say hi to the 3 Sisters formation,

and hoped for the stars to come out on my way back. This did not happen -- there were clouds/haze in the sky and I could not stay awake long enough for the stars to show up. I woke up around 2am and still not many stars.......but I did an early morning stop off at the Goblins before leaving and the sunrise was glorious. 

 

Day 17-21 (6/12-6/16/21): Miles traveled: ~ 425

Location: various sites, ending at Chalk Lake Campground near Salidas, CO

Science: various air quality measurements, interestingly very few campfires at the campground until the last night

I was nervous about this day/site -- I was meeting up with really close camp friends who I had not seen or been in real touch with for about 20 years.....

First stop was at a rest stop near Des Moines, NM --

It was starting to feel a bit deserty.....but cool scenery/wildlife/flowers......

Second stop was for the scenery.......near Starkville, CO --

Third stop was in Trinidad, CO to do laundry and re-organize my (still out of control) stuff. 

I put together another huge box for shipping back home. I also finally figured out how to put some lettering on the outside of the trailer so people would know what I was up to. Can't say that I am a professional at this, but at least it's there for now:

Feeling a bit more confident (and less disorganized), I drove into Chalk Creek Canyon where my friends were meeting up at the Chalk Lake Campground.

I was actually so nervous about seeing my long lost friends I completely missed the turn into the site and ended up having to make a 5-point U-turn on the narrow mountain road to retrace. My hands were shaking and my heart was racing -- would they recognize the me they knew so long ago? Would we have things to talk about? Had too much time passed?

When I finally pulled into the campground and saw my friends waving and jumping from their site, I quickly realized how silly I had been to be so nervous. And even though I had to BACK the camper up into the tiny spot (I was still shaking a bit but it did finally work, using the no-pride-please-help-me-anyone approach), we all just sat down in a circle of camp chairs and started picking up where I had so unfortunately left everyone off so long ago. 

My camp friends are so kind, generous, and ridiculously FUNNY. And I am forever grateful for the very low level of ribbing I received from everyone (I think there were like 18 or 20 of us throughout the week) for having been out of contact for so long.

I am terrible at taking pictures when I'm hanging out with folks, but it's really great to be reconnected --a big shout out to everyone -- Jacobsen (best unit leader ever), Beaz, Braden, Co, Scotty, Sporto, Keith, Bridge, Lizzy, Lisa, Pat and all of the family and friends who tolerated our camp talk...:).... 

The first night we stayed in campsite #4. There were very few campfires nearby. 

The second night and beyond we stayed at campsite #18 (I think). There were a few campfires around but not many.

The location was magical. The campsites were right on a beautiful mountain stream and shaded by tall trees. The days were hot but handleable, with glorious cool nights that were perfect for tiny trailer sleeping. There were early-morning sightings of some bears, a sweet robin's nest full of chirpy chicks right outside my trailer, and Chalk Lake was clear and super cold, perfect for paddleboarding and paddledrifting (my favorite way to use a paddleboard). I tried to snorkel here but within 2 minutes had a terrible headache. When I scrambled out of the water, the two flight nurses in our crew explained that I was undergoing basal constriction and probably should be wearing a wetsuit next time....