Stop 1: Great Sand Dunes National Park

We finally made it to our first stop!!!! And it's about damn time, honestly.

SO I'm sure you're all thinking the same thing I am "Damn, I bet aliens did this". But nope! Believe it or not, there is a perfectly viable scientific explanation for this phenomenon. Something about wind, and time, and yada-yada-yada (not aliens, basically). All I know is they are exhausting to climb, and fun to sprint down.

ANYWAYS, this being only a few hours outside of Denver, J's fam got to come with us to our first stop (Hey Holly! Hey Mariah!). There was a teensy bit of wind, but we went to some hot springs later in the day so the somewhat chilly weather was honestly ideal.

The hotsprings were f'n SICKKKKKKKKK. I'd never been to any hot springs before, so this was a totally new experience for me (shoutout Great Sand Dunes Recreation). There was an adults only section inside of a greenhouse with four different hot springs, which was dope. There was a full bar/restaurant AND the food/drinks were delicious (and not overpriced). Major score. The different pools ranged from like 112 degrees to like 97 degrees, with the hottest pool being the one that is filled straight from the spring and the following 3 pools being filled by that initial pool trickling down. If that doesn't make sense, just move on. I don't know how else to explain it.

After the hot springs, we left for Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to set up camp for the night, which was a few hours away. The drive looked beautiful but it was dark, so I can only imagine how pretty it is during the day. By the time we got there it was dark, snowing, and absolutely f'n freezing which was just ideal to set up camp alone for the first time! But we did it and we didn't freeze to death, so, that's a win. We were also the only ones at our campsite which was kinda spooky but honestly who tf else gonna camp in that weather other than our stupid asses. It was beautiful to wake up to a lil winter wonderland though!

Okay, talk to you later.

xoxo, Drew