Greetings, folks! It’s Cactus Kate and Bajada Bill sending greetings from Ridgway CO’s library. We’re currently camped at Ridgway State Park until Thursday morning. This story covers our visit to Great Basin National Park NV through Aspen CO. Everywhere we look we see bajadas. What are they? They are skirts of debris that lie beneath mesas and mountains.
Here’s a look at us in 1986 when we embarked on our first three-month road trip with our tiny travel trailer, Carmen, a 1960’s-era Cardinal. We lived at Seminole Springs Mobilehome Park in Agoura CA then, and had yet to start our family. We dreamed of taking other three month road trips after that one, and we waited until 2021 after Bill retired from Island County to rekindle our love of long-term travel.
The equinox marked another leg of the journey from Battle Mountain NV–where gold mining has made a big comeback, through Eureka, NV, called “the friendliest town on the loneliest road in America.” It is home to the Windfall Mine. Lots of historic old buildings. We enjoyed visiting folks who lived in Eureka’s foothills–they moved here from Texas.
Later that day we pulled into Hipcamp-run Site 5 in the tiny berg of Baker NV. Electric and water hookups, high desert views, 2 bathroom and shower rooms. Stopped at Bristlecone General Store, which sells great coffee–we bought a pound of their dark roast, and enjoyed conversation with soft spoken Idilko, behind the counter. Early dinner at nearby Sugar, Salt and Malt, found Bill eating a burger and me a baked potato. Our server Crystal told us she is five years cancer free after being given a terminal diagnosis. Her courage is inspiring.
We drove up the canyon into Great Basin National Park, an International Dark Sky Park since 2016. There rangers prepared for a dark sky talk. All lights were red, all the better to view the constellations and the Milky Way. And it’s a great way to keep insects from dive bombing the light source.
The following morning we drove up the canyon to admire the changing color of aspen leaves and take in the vistas of the valley below our ‘Sky Island.’ Our favorite mountain guardian here is Doso Doyabi at 12,771 feet. Her head is bald now, but used to be covered in snow. The name is Shoshone for White Head.
As we headed toward Green River, our eyes goggled at the red rock mesa country cut by the Colorado River. A terrific restroom stop is at the Spotted Wolf rest area with canyon views of San Rafael Reef. A signboard at the stop off notes: “the cliff capped hills are the inward side or underbelly of the huge red rock flat irons that make up the jagged stone of the San Rafael Reef.” Navajo sandstone tops the cliffs, which rise more than 200 feet above ground.
A Utah couple we saw up in the Great Basin high country learned we were heading for Green River UT as our next destination. We must not fail to stop off at Green River’s first exit off of I70 to buy the Vetere Melons. We followed the advice, stopping off at a truckstop. There on the late windy afternoon, the melon’s seller, wearing false eyelashes and sitting on a stool, sold me an Israeli melon and a Black Diamond watermelon. The Israeli is a pale peach cousin like the canteloupe. We’ve sampled the Israeli and liked it quite a bit. The Green River UT area is nearby Moab and is also famous for its delicious melons.
We camped beneath cottonwoods in site #28 at Green River State Park. Love their dishwashing sink adjacent to the restrooms. Very clean and accommodating. We cut the Israeli melon that night under the red glow of our lantern. Not a single insect was attracted to the light.
The following morning we left early for Fruita CO, about 90 minutes’ drive from Green River. I reveled in a 1/2 mile swim at the Fruita Community Center. Refreshed, we drove to Hot Tomato, simply the best GF pizza I’ve eaten. Cauliflower crust. We ordered a pie with basil, tomato, feta, mushroom. This was joined by a fresh salad with chicken, pear, Gorgonzola, dried cherries in a lemon vinaigrette. Heaven!
If we didn’t live in Langley, I’d strongly consider Fruita as a town to live in. It’s family friendly, located in the red rock mesas cut by the Colorado River, and has a great vibe. Next door to Hot Tomato is Skip’s Market, where we swooned over the locally grown peaches and tomatoes.
Arriving in Aspen the afternoon of Sept. 23 we set up camp in our aspen/oak grove in camp site #34. It’s near the outhouse, which is impeccably maintained by the campground hosts. I sure wish South Whidbey Parks and Rec could maintain the Goss Lake bathroom where we swim in the lake to the same standards.
The following morning we spent time in Aspen before driving back to camp and meeting up with my cousin Tom Burbey and his wife Ingrid. They’ve retired from Virginia to Littleton, CO, and love the life they’re having. They’re easy and fun to be with. We walked along a trail following the Roaring Fork River in our campground. Later we drove to Aspen, where we enjoyed bakery and ice cream from our Aspen touchstone, Paradise Bakery & Gelateria. It’s a place we go to each day. Bill likes their bagels and raspberry bran muffins. I savored my coffee/toffee gelato. We visited Explore Books on Main Street–housed in a Victorian home, getting to know Hazel, the welcoming woman behind the register who was engaged in promoting Aspen’s first Literary Festival. Later, we took Ingrid to the Aspen Institute while Tom stayed back at their condo recovering from a cold.
We said our goodbyes to these two whose company we so enjoy. The following morning we were scheduled to visit Maroon Bells, a much loved back country mountain destination requiring advance reservation. During the night my gut had other ideas. I woke to extreme pain about 2 AM. I phoned Kaiser at 7 AM, and was advised to visit the ER once again. Arriving at 7:30 AM at Aspen Valley Health’s ER, I was seen right away. Bill and I were impressed by the celadon green walls and light wood of the waiting room. A nurse expertly fixed an IV in a vein in my left arm. Having a number of IVs inserted in my hand due to vein blockages, I was surprised how easily this IV was inserted with no problem. Another CT scan confirmed I still had diverticulitis after a week’s dose of Augmentin. Talking with my CT technician about my gut challenges, he mentioned his wife, Dr. Christina Miller, practiced “Elevated Integrated Medicine.” I’m going to schedule a tele-health appointment with her and learn about what I can do to balance my gut biome. My ER doc, Dr. MacDonald, suggested I give my gut a rest the following three days and take in only clear liquid. And so I did.
Later, we drove to Castle Creek, one of the back country roads leading out of Aspen. We admired the aspen and spruce making patterns on the mountainsides. At one stopping point, we met a newly retired charter kindergarten teacher from South Dakota, Kelly Preheim. She was one of 50 teachers nationwide who was part of a National Geographic Grosvenor Teaching Fellowship cohort. She cruised aboard the Lindblad to the Galapagos Islands in 2022. A woman who shared her love of birding with her kindergartners, Kelly told us the cruise was memorable, and she gave a number of talks about the experience when she returned home. The recent Audubon magazine mentions her in an article: “How Educators are Fostering the Next Generation of Avian Advocates.”
While in Aspen, I wrote two stories for the South Whidbey Record’s upcoming Women in Business section, which will be published in October. I interviewed Candace Jordan, a realtor who cares about the environment and providing affordable resources for the community. I also spoke with Sophia Jones, a 28-year-old owner of three restaurants in Coupeville: Oystercatcher, Goldies, and Osprey Fish Co. She and her husband have acquired all three eateries in the past three years. Bill took this photo of me at the Pitkin Co. Library in Aspen as I was interviewing Sophia.
Later, as fate would guide me, I learned that author Adriani Trigiani had just written a new book, The View from Lake Como. She and two other authors spoke at the Pitkin Co. Library as part of Aspen’s Literary Festival. Noticing that Adriani was outdoors signing books, I quickly walked inside, bought her book and returned to speak with her, letting her know I discovered, and fell in love with her books when working with Sno-Isle Libraries as a library assistant. I was taken by her deep kindness, presence and heartfelt words. When I returned to where Bill was sitting nearby, I couldn’t speak for the love she had given me, I was teared up.
And, we walked over once again to Explore Books. There I spoke with a couple of friends who were over the moon at the 10th anniversary celebration of the popular book, Six of Crows, whose characters were blended into the popular Netflix series Shadow and Bone, by author Leigh Bardugo. I asked the girls if the story had redeeming characters. They said they wished to convert me to this series, saying it’s about found family among a band of outcasts. They’ve traveled together to Paris to meet the cast of Shadow and Bone, and have matching tattoos reflected in the series’ symbology.
Finally, there is an ethos in Aspen that cultivates bonhomie. One of the city’s early founders Walter Paepke wished to promote qualities of a well-rounded life nurtured through mind, body and spirit, in service of the greater good.
Next time you’ll read about our adventures in Ridgway, Ouray and Telluride. Love being here in the mountain shadows of Colorado!