A River Runs Through It

I’ll let you in on a little secret: Everyone here in Colorado drives one of two types of vehicle: four wheel drives, and Priuses (Prii?). I drive neither; a sure sign that I’m not from around these here parts. However, I still enjoy getting out and discovering what Colorado has to offer. This weekend I decided to explore an area I’d never been to before: Avalanche Creek.

Avalanche Creek is a lovely little area not far from Redstone Castle. To get there, I’d have to turn off the highway, drive on a dirt road for 2.5 miles, park at the campsite there, and start hiking. Easy-peasy. I was told that there are two great things to see on the trail: A beautiful river crossing 2.5 miles in, and a meadow about 5 miles in. I eventually want to make it to the meadow so I can reenact the first scene of The Sound of Music (sans music), but yesterday I decided to make the river crossing my goal.

I called a friend, and we headed off. The dirt road was bumpy but manageable. Until we came to this.

It doesn’t look like much, but what you can’t tell from this picture is that the slope into the water is actually kind of steep. Also, this is the view to the right of the “road.” This is the first time I have ever bemoaned not having four wheel drive.

Not willing to risk my car getting carried downstream, I parked my car in a convenient little alcove set aside for chickens like me, and my friend and I crossed the stream and made our way down the road on foot. Just to be passed by not one, but TWO Priuses. How did they do it?! Surely my car could handle the steep grade of the stream/puddle as well? Was I really willing to risk it? Ah well. Walking on the road meant I could pause and take pictures like this one.

It also meant we’d walked about half as far as I’d intended by the time we finally got to the trail.

My friend was getting pretty tired, so we didn’t aim for the river crossing. Instead, we turned around here.

We figured a good view was a good place to stop. I’m guessing we still did a 4-5 mile hike round trip, so I’m happy with our efforts, but now I have this niggling little thought in the back of my head: Could my car have driven through the stream? Should I try to find out in order to have a Sound of Music moment? Is it worth it?

As I pondered this dilemma, I made these cookies:

They look weird, but they taste great! I recommend them as a great way to get rid of any zucchini you have sitting around.