Rocky Mountain High (Mile 2,690, Trail Mile 92.39)

When we headed toward Montrose, Colorado, on October 30, it occurred to me that this would be the farthest east that we'd ever driver. Rachel and I have both driven across country, of course. And, all three of us have been to Colorado before (we visited Rocky Mountain National Park a few years ago). What I mean is that we've never left California and drove east this far before. Before this, Utah was our longest car trip. I don't know why, but this felt significant to me. Kind of a cool milestone that made me feel adventurous.

It was hard leaving Torrey. For such a tiny place, it left a huge impression on us with its amazing vistas and red rock. Having our own little Shangri-La in the middle of the high desert certainly didn't hurt either. 

But, we were also excited. Montrose held the promise of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, another one of those hidden Park Service gems that we've grown so fond of. And, speaking of hidden gems, we also had the opportunity to swing by the Colorado National Monument, right across the border from Utah. We stopped for a couple of short hikes and were reminded that the American west has so much amazing beauty that if you made it all into National Parks, there wouldn't be any space left for anything else!

It was a short jaunt from there to Montrose. Since we were back in an actual town, we made a quick stop at the grocery store and headed to our new home. 

What a difference from Torrey! We went from a place where you couldn't get take-out food after 5 pm to the middle of the suburbs. It's almost enough to give you whiplash.

Here's the map as of October 30.