The End of Something Great

As I write this, it is December 2022 -- many years after the end of our Epic Adventure.  After our trip wrapped up, Andrew and Ben each headed off to college.  A couple years later, TJ left for college and majored in Recreation Management -- his major being a direct result of the influence from our trip.  Also, we moved to Big Bend National Park -- another direct result of the influence from our trip.  Then two years later Daniel started working in Terlingua as a river guide -- yet another direct result of the influence from our trip.  We now live in Amarillo, Texas; Joseph is in a specialized college program this year, and Jonny is in his last couple years of high school.  The kids have pretty much grown up.

We nearly didn't put forth the effort of making the trip happen, and there were times when it was tough and we wanted to give up.  However, there is not one ounce of regret from us for what we did.  It was our last year that we all lived together as a nuclear family, and I feel that the final bonding that occurred within our family made it all worthwhile.  In the years since our Epic Trip, the boys have all gone off in their separate directions, spreading out all over the state, throughout the country, and even across the globe.  But no matter where we each might venture in life, we all share many wonderful memories from our Grand Adventure.  To quote the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde:

"Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret."

Homeward Bound - Capulin Volcano National Park

 After one week in Colorado Springs, getting reacquainted with Cocoa the Dog, visiting Rocky Mountain National Park, and seeing the Garden of the Gods (not to mention just visiting with Pam and John), it was time to wrap up our epic adventure.  We packed up the camper, the kids, and the dog, then we started on our way back to Texas.

However, in true Larsen nature, we couldn't pass up one last stop: Capulin Volcano National Monument.  We merely stopped off for a quick visit.  We drove to the top to peer into the crater...

... and to see the surrounding view...

... then we continued on our way.  It was our last hurrah before we arrived at our final destination: San Antonio, Texas.

Colorado Springs - Garden of the Gods

 We spent one day in Colorado Springs with my niece Pam, who had been dog sitting for us while we were on our epic adventure.  We spent a couple of days getting reacquainted with our poor, confused dog. We did spend one day exploring the Garden of the Gods drive-thru tour with Pam while we were in Colorado Springs.  We spent a few hours driving around the park until nightfall, then we headed back to the camper for the night.  At this point in our adventure, we were starting to be anxious to return home, and the appeal of nature was wearing thin.  Garden of the Gods is a beautiful park, but we didn't even bother to take many pictures of it.  And we had our dog back with us, who slept fitfully that first night with us in the camper.

Rocky Mountain National Park

After we got settled into the campground and toured the Air Force Academy, we decided to spend a day exploring Rocky Mountain National Park, which was a short distance away from Colorado Springs.  It was still cold and wintery, so many upper portions of the park were closed to vehicles.  However, we were still able to see the splendor of the park in some small manner.

We entered the park through the entrance at Estes Park, which is a quintessential mountain town.  From there we checked in at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, which is the one that is open year-round. Then we found a spot to eat our lunch. From there we headed south on the Bear Lake Road, stopping along the way to see the scenery.  Yes, it was cold that day, so we didn't do a whole lot of exploring outside of the van.  We did, however, stop off at Sprague Lake and take the hike around it.  This is one of the glacial lakes in the park, and very beautiful.  

We headed back to Colorado Springs that same evening.  We only barely touched on what Rocky Mountain National Park has to offer, and we hope to go back some day in the future... when the weather is warmer.