Now for house retreat adventure stories!
It all started on a glorious Monday afternoon. Veteran ERS students had returned the previous afternoon, and the houses were gearing up for house retreats (all the students and staff in the house take bonding time before the trimester really kicks in). Spruce House (the one I'm in) staff decided that camping and going to Hot Sulfur Springs the next day. The students weren't super excited about camping, especially now that it gets pretty cool at night, especially at high elevation, but they were stoked that we got to car (well, bus) camp for the night, which requires way less work than their 25 day Wilderness trip that all new students take. The prospect of getting to complete relax and soak in the hot springs the next day was also good incentive not to whine the night before.
In order to get to the camp site, the location required us to drive Trail Ridge Road thru the RMNP... in the short bus. Since I tend to be pretty, uh, vomitous on mountain roads, I volunteered to drive, having only practiced in this massive vehicle for about 20 minutes several weeks ago. It did go well, though, and it's more like a huge, hard to see out of truck. There was road construction, so we sat for a long time... a really, really long time. BUT! At the end of the park road, we saw a moose! A huge bull moose grazing next to a creek. It might be the most majestic sight I've ever seen, and the students were thoroughly impressed.
To top off the drive and the wildlife sighting, our campsite was beautiful- beside a river, just before sunset. One of the students taught me to skip rocks, which was pretty rockin'. There was plenty of food, and getting to know the students was fun. They're all chill, which is good, and it seems like there's minimal house drama, which will make a huge difference. We stayed around the fire for a while, and decided it would be an excellent idea to roast our sleeping bags and pajamas before changing and sprinting to our sleeping spots. It was cold (think freezing), and the next morning, everyone woke up frosty. Hats, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, our water bottles. Fortunately another staff member already had water heating for coffee and hot chocolate, so warming up was a little easier. We cooked a huge breakfast and then packed up to head to the hot springs.
In short, hot springs = awesome. We all smelled like rotten eggs at the end of our soaking, but it was so worth it. I'm planning to go back at least once before it snows and the road through the park closes.
The funny part about all of this is that it's my job. Like, this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing here. And it's awesome.
How are you doing? Do you love it in CO? Has the snow hit in the mountains yet?
ReplyDelete