csclifford
Outside of Comfort
Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my family traveling throughout various parts of Colorado on our family vacations. Being from Iowa, we often longed for the amazing camping and hiking that Colorado offered. Those travels peaked a few years ago when my Dad and I took a month-long trip to explore Utah, Montana, Washington, and Oregon through the window of my Jeep: Trip Report on Expedition Portal.
Wanting to share these experiences with my wife, Emily, I began to plan a 10 day trip through areas of Colorado that would offer a variety of terrain, from driving Trail Ridge Road to backpacking in Rocky Mountain National Park. Emily had never been to Colorado, so it was a challenge trying to figure out what to fit in within such a small window of time. Ultimately I decided on a combination of travel through Colorado Springs, Boulder, and ultimately Rocky Mountain National Park.
Below are some of the photo highlights of the trip. The vehicle used, our new 2017 Subaru Outback, was a far cry from the lifted 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee my father and I took on our 6,000 mile journey a few years ago. The Outback proved to be a great vehicle for the 2,500+ miles that we drove, providing great gas mileage and a comfortable drive through the many mountains and dirt roads we drove.
For a more detailed report on our trip, including our backpacking (as well as previous trips taken), feel free to visit our blog (Outside of Comfort) that we started as a fun way for our extended family and friends to stay up to date with our travels - Outside of Comfort. I currently only have the first portion of our trip on the site, but will be updating it within the next day or two to include the rest of our journey.
From Chicago, we first headed to Colorado Springs to drive Pike's Peak as well as see the Garden of the Gods:
Drive up Pike's Peak:
Stopped by the Sister-in-Laws place in St. Louis on the way. the Outback was packed to the brim
View down to Crystal Lake where we started
Journey through the Garden of the Gods:
Backpacking through Rocky Mountain National Park:
Fern Lake
Odessa Lake - Our campsite for the night
Trail Ridge Road: RMNP
Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake and Bear Lake:
The trip created amazing memories for both Emily and I. The scenery was spectacular and was beyond Emily's expectations. We had so much fun that we can't wait to begin planning our next trip.. We are thinking it may involve western Canada and Alaska!
Wanting to share these experiences with my wife, Emily, I began to plan a 10 day trip through areas of Colorado that would offer a variety of terrain, from driving Trail Ridge Road to backpacking in Rocky Mountain National Park. Emily had never been to Colorado, so it was a challenge trying to figure out what to fit in within such a small window of time. Ultimately I decided on a combination of travel through Colorado Springs, Boulder, and ultimately Rocky Mountain National Park.
Below are some of the photo highlights of the trip. The vehicle used, our new 2017 Subaru Outback, was a far cry from the lifted 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee my father and I took on our 6,000 mile journey a few years ago. The Outback proved to be a great vehicle for the 2,500+ miles that we drove, providing great gas mileage and a comfortable drive through the many mountains and dirt roads we drove.
For a more detailed report on our trip, including our backpacking (as well as previous trips taken), feel free to visit our blog (Outside of Comfort) that we started as a fun way for our extended family and friends to stay up to date with our travels - Outside of Comfort. I currently only have the first portion of our trip on the site, but will be updating it within the next day or two to include the rest of our journey.
From Chicago, we first headed to Colorado Springs to drive Pike's Peak as well as see the Garden of the Gods:
Drive up Pike's Peak:
Stopped by the Sister-in-Laws place in St. Louis on the way. the Outback was packed to the brim
View down to Crystal Lake where we started
Journey through the Garden of the Gods:
Backpacking through Rocky Mountain National Park:
Fern Lake
Odessa Lake - Our campsite for the night
Trail Ridge Road: RMNP
Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake and Bear Lake:
The trip created amazing memories for both Emily and I. The scenery was spectacular and was beyond Emily's expectations. We had so much fun that we can't wait to begin planning our next trip.. We are thinking it may involve western Canada and Alaska!