On our way out of town, we stopped to refill our cooler with drinks and ice and fruit and other meal items, and then we were northbound. We were headed to the Denver airport to drop Jason off. He was lucky to have been able to take so much time off of work, but he sadly had to get back to it. We stopped at a fun little restaurant along the way, where we sat outside and enjoyed our last little bit of time together. By the time we got to the airport, we were all in tears. I was sad that he'd miss the rest of our trip, and a little nervous about going solo with the kids.
And then we were really on the road again. Colorado is so beautiful and I was trying to soak up every last bit of those mountains before they were out of sight. I think Alayna was feeling the same, because she kept her eye on them for a long time.
We were headed home, but not directly. We weren't in a rush to get there, and I really wanted to see Cheyenne, Wyoming. I was not disappointed. In my head, Cheyenne was an old-school cowboy town, and as fate would have it, we caught the tail end of "Frontier Days". The streets were filled with horse trailers and big, old trucks, and everyone had a cowboy hat. Alayna, my horse lover, was in her glory, and we stopped to get her a couple of souvenirs.
And then it was time to make our way into the unknown. We headed further north. I had no idea how breathtakingly beautiful Wyoming would be, and I was in awe. Jason had found us a campsite at Glendo State Park in Wyoming, and the park ranger assured us we'd be camping just a few steps from the beach. When we came into Glendo, signs pointed us towards Sandy Beach, our campground. The sign said 14 miles so I figured we'd be there in about twenty minutes. What I didn't realize was that the lake covers 12,000 acres, and the park covers another 10,000 acres, and contains 21 campgrounds. The path that led us to our campsite was barely a two lane road, with no lines, no guardrails, no signs, no lights, and no other traffic. After driving for nearly a half an hour on a winding road that seemed to be leading nowhere, I came to the dam. Let's remember how much I do not like heights, SHALL WE? OK, so I'm driving in a giant van, pulling a thirty year old pop-up camper, I haven't seen another soul in thirty minutes of driving, I'm not sure if I'm even going in the right direction, and I'm supposed to drive across THIS? I'm sure you think I'm exaggerating, but please, just LOOK at it.
It looks beautiful and HORRIFIC, right?! But our campsite was waiting somewhere beyond this, and I really wanted to get there. So, with sweating palms and sweating armpits and a swearing mouth, I drove ever-so-slowly across that dam. But the treachery didn't end there-the road continued up and sharply turned back and forth as we climbed higher and higher, away from the lake. Why were we going up? I thought our campsite was on a beach! I had no answers. The only choice I had was to keep on driving. Nearly an hour after seeing the "Sandy Beach 14 miles" sign, I saw the "Sandy Beach 1 mile" sign. I turned left down an even narrower road and headed towards the lake once again. The road was downhill, and ended right at the ranger's station. We hadn't made it in time to check in, but luckily I had made a note of our campsite, remembering that she had put us on the end of a row. I was thankful for this because now that Jason was gone, I'd be responsible for backing the camper into its spot.
Miraculously, like some sort of hidden oasis, this campground was full of life! Little kids rode by on bikes and waved, and families were all outside, having campfires and playing games. It took me several tries, and lots of laughter from the kids, but I finally got that darn camper into a suitable position for the night.
This campsite didn't have hookups, meaning no electricity or running water, but we were lucky to be only about twenty yards away from the community "bathroom" and water pump. I say bathroom lightly, as it was just a glorified port-a-potty, but it served its purpose. Of course, Emerson took one look at the spiders in there, and decided she wouldn't need to go to the bathroom until we were back to civilization.
Once we had the camper set up and situated, we all bee-lined to the beach. Everyone must've been back at their campsites having dinner, because we had the entire thing to ourselves. It was just before sunset and it felt like Heaven.
I was so glad to have that crazy drive behind me, and this place could not have been any better. I parked myself in the sand and let the kids run free.
With the whole beach and lake to ourselves, it felt like we had found a little secret that no one else knew about. Owen, swam out until I called him back, of course, and the kids all laughed and played until the sun went down.
That calm-as-glass lake, with those Wyoming mountains peeking at us from the west, and an unforgettable sunset made this place one-of-a-kind. Why didn't anyone ever tell me that this state was so awesome?! It was so worth the drive and the little detour we took north to get to it.
Back at the campsite, we hung our towels to dry, and had a dinner of soup and sandwiches and pancakes. I am quite thankful that my kids are so low maintenance when it comes to meals and they can just make do with whatever circumstances we find ourselves in!
At the campsite next to us, the family had a bunch of little kids and they were so loud and rambunctious and I was sure they'd be keeping me awake for a loooong time, but within ten minutes, it was lights out over there and I didn't hear another peep!
After that, everything was still and quiet-there wasn't a sound or a speck of light anywhere in the campground It was hard to believe that our day had started in Colorado in a bustling home full of family, and now here we were, under the stars in the Wyoming sky.
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