Transitions
The day began living in the lap of luxury at the Courtyard in Longmont, Colorado. We woke up late on plush mattresses in an air conditioned, cavernously-darkened room with access to a full bathroom with running water. Although staying in a hotel was not our “plan A,” a full night of sleep was whole-heartedly welcomed.
Once we were able to defeat our inertia to stay in bed, we crawled out, ventured down to the Residence Inn across the street to pick up our bagged breakfast, and ate in the seemingly-abandoned hotel lobby. We enjoyed our cooled Greek yogurt, muffins, and bagels while discussing our plans for our final days in Colorado.
After deliberating on various options, we decided we should start our trek to Jackson, Wyoming. Before our check out Sam did some laundry for the group, I worked on our route planning. To further celebrate our big day yesterday, Ben and I ordered a pizza from Proto’s Pizza – Longmont. It was really good pizza! We scarfed it down before hopping in the car to begin the first leg of our drive.
Rather than taking the fastest route, we set our eyes on the scenic route all the way through Rocky Mountain National Park. The scenery was amazing. We saw the landscape transition from the snow peaked mountains to desert-like rock formations and cattle ranches. Ben did a great job of winding through the difficult passes of the National Park, and Sam was able to capture many great shots with his camera. I sat back and took in the views.
A view from one of the many pull-offs in Rocky Mountain National Park
Reed Milnor at Milner Pass!
Once we arrived in Steamboat Springs, we pulled off for the night. Because we only had enough food for a week or so, we stopped at a Walmart to resupply. After, we searched for a good place to sleep in the van. Sam and Ben researched places and found that no overnight camping in cars is allowed within the city limits. When checking out the situation at a “Free Parking” lot, we passed a police officer. I was driving, and Sam advised that I stop so we could ask where we could stay for the night, if anywhere. Officer John informed us that it was technically not allowed, but said that if we parked in the corner of the lot he would inform the other officers that he had permitted us to stay. We were very thankful for Officer John.
After given permission, we quickly parked and got our dinner supplies out. After several nights of pushing it off, we finally “cooked” our tortellini and red sauce. It was delicious! We had more than we could eat, so we decided to save some of it for another meal. We then set up our sleeping arrangements in the van and went to sleep.
Our anxiously-awaited dinner of tortellini with red sauce
This morning as we were savoring our hotel experience Sam said, “You know what? I think I’m going to take another shower this morning.” I replied, “Ok, sounds good. Didn’t you take one last night though?”
While in the moment I was a bit skeptical and thought it might be a waste of time, upon reflection I realized Sam’s sincere desire to relish the gift in front of him (which just happened to be a warm shower). Sam wanted to enjoy this gift that came as a result of our transition as much as he could while it was available to him.
Many times I have been taught that it is imperative to enjoy the process rather than just focusing on the end objective. Yet, in new and unfamiliar circumstances I find it difficult to always apply this lesson. It is perhaps both good and bad that I am often more comfortable keeping my blinders on rather than lingering in the transitions along the journey. While a small moment, Sam splurging by taking a second shower helped me to recenter on the purpose of the trip. It was a small wake up call to reflect on and seek to apply previous lessons on “enjoying the journey.”
As we encounter the larger transition between week one and two of this trip, I intend to take a tangible step that will not only enhance the trip, but also my own well-being (and that of others) long after this summer experience: remind myself to savor and embrace the uncertainty inherent to transitions. When a second shower (or other small moment of happiness) presents itself, I am going to try to recognize it faster, step off the metaphorical race track of life, and enjoy the journey.
