Sipping on a cup of coffee (of course!) I was chatting with my friends about my intended plans. From Salt Lake City, the original plan was to head straight to Denver, probably wander a little bit along the way, but I didn’t have any intended stops. My friends suggested I go to Arches National Park. Not being well traveled, I didn’t really know what that was. After a quick Google and Instagram scan I knew I had to stop there. This place looked beautiful and it was only three hours out of the way. That kind of sounds like a lot, but in the grand scheme of things, what was three more hours added to forty-seven?

I packed my things and I was on my way. On the way there I booked a motel about two hours away from Arches National Park in the direction of Denver, so that I didn’t have to drive all night. I set out for my first adventure alone. This was the first travelling that was truly all by myself, all by myself in the car and all by myself on my next stop. It felt freeing. I could do what ever I wanted whenever I wanted, so I blasted my country music and sang like nobody’s business.

It was late afternoon and I was out in the middle of nowhere. The desert was beautiful and I stopped a couple of times just to sit and look upon what surrounded me. There were almost no cars and the occasional train would chug on by. And then I would be on my way. Of course about an hour out from Arches I took a wrong turn. My GPS was lagging a bit and didn’t suggest turning until after I had already passed the highway I needed. As I started to drive in the wrong direction I was patiently looking for a place to turn around. There was nowhere. I literally was stuck going in the same direction for who-knows-how long. At this point I was frustrated. I was wasting time and I didn’t have much daylight left. Before long I came across one of those service roads but flew past it because it wasn’t well marked. But not knowing the next time I would see ANYTHING I slammed on my brakes, threw my car in reverse, and took what seemed like my only option.

I was back on track, but having left later than I had hoped and since I had just wasted so much time, I wasn’t sure how much time I would have to explore. But I was almost there. As you drive up to Arches you go from flat desert land to these huge rock formations that at first are only in the distance. The closer you get, the smaller you feel. I couldn’t believe how big these sandstone rocks were. As I entered the park, I pulled over to take some pictures, but soon realized that I had to find the trailhead quickly because there wasn’t much sun left. I started to drive into the park. The roads seemed to go on forever, and I had no idea how much farther I had to go. I had a map, but everything seemed so small on my little piece of paper. After stopping to ask for directions twice, I had finally found the trailhead — but I only had about 20 minutes left of daylight for an hour long hike.

I sat there with World War 2 going on in my head. Should I just go? Should I come back in the morning and add four more hours on to my trip? Or should I just walk away….

Honestly, looking back on this and having gained knowledge and courage throughout my trip, I might have just gone, but at that moment I walked away. I was so mad. I couldn’t believe I was this close to the Arches and wasn’t able to actually go hiking there. The saddest part is I had no idea when I would get another chance like this, but I didn’t think that I should drive all the way back from my motel that was two hours away.

But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I was laying in my hotel room about to go to sleep, pouting and fiddling with my computer, and I scrolled past a beautiful mountain and lake. I follow many nature Instagrams and see things from all around the world. But this beautiful picture was taken in Colorado. Along my way? I then Googled Maroon Bells and it just so happened to be on my way to Denver and it wouldn’t have been if I had not gone to Arches. And if I had not been so upset from missing my shot to go hiking at Arches, I would not have found this beautiful spot.

I woke up excited. I had a new adventure planned and it looked as though it was going to be beautiful, but I really had no idea what was in store for me.

Upon arrival at Maroon Bells, my jaw dropped. The colors were the most amazing I had ever seen. The whole mountain was painted with color. The water glowed bluish-green. The aspens (which I learned is a type of tree) were sparkling yellow and no matter how many pictures I took, they only tell half the story. Being able to look around me and have these colors surround me in every direction was something I will never forget.

Not to mention because I had gone south in Utah and gone through Aspen… I had now conveniently put myself on one of the most beautiful drives in America. The stretch from Aspen, past Mt. Elbert, past the Twin Lakes, and through Leadville is absolutely amazing. I had no cell reception, no radio, and I really didn’t care because I had the world around me to enjoy.