Stay-Cations

 

With all that the various outdoor experiences the Front Range has to offer, it can be difficult to find the time and motivation to load up the car with snacks, kids and gear to drive any further than forty minutes-a long approach by Boulder/Denver standards. If you get an early enough start, you may be able to count on at least an hour and a half of silence as the backseat members of your family catch up on those precious hours of morning sleep. After that, I recommend having an arsenal of car games on hand. Scavenger hunts are my personal favorite as they have the potential to stretch the entire length of the car ride if need be.

Upon arriving, do not be surprised if you find yourself overwhelmed by a sense of jubilation and relief, having freed yourself from the frenzied, competitive spirit that epitomizes life amongst the professional athletes of the Front Range. It is possible to go for a family bike ride without the fear that you will find yourself surrounded by a gang of extreme mountain bikers intent on practicing bunny hops and wheelies while flying past you on a blind curve. You can go for a hike without having someone three times your age run past you, carrying a seventy-five pound pack because they are training for their fifth trip to the Himalayas. Enjoy your brief respite from the intensity that characterizes outdoor adventures at home.

If you are in need of some desert therapy and only have time for a quick weekend getaway, consider a trip to Fruita, Colorado. Fruita is about a five hour drive from Boulder, though it could be five hour plane trip given the rapid transformation the geography undergoes. As you enter the Colorado Plateau, the land seems to radiate warmth and energy from the red earth. Fruita is an incredible destination for camping, hiking, biking and climbing.
• Colorado National Monument is my favorite place to visit for camping, hiking and climbing. Use your imagination and see if anyone in your group can find the kissing couple amongst the rock towers!
• Mountain biking is suited to all age levels and abilities. Check out the 18 Road Trails for a nice, mellow experience and the Kokopelli Area Trails for a more fast-paced adventure.
• For one of those rare rainy Colorado days, there is also a Dinosaur Museum to keep all members of your group happy and occupied.
• The Avid4 Adventure Fruita Family Trip gives you a chance to explore the hiking, camping, climbing and rafting in Fruita without any of the aggravations of planning.

For a chance to visit Colorado’s smallest land area-the intermontane basin-head to Dinosaur, Colorado in the Northwest corner of the state. Dinosaur National Monument offers visitors a wealth of options for outdoor activities.
• Hiking in the Monument is one of the best ways to view the petroglyphs and pictographs, in addition to the stunning scenery.
• Rafting the Green River is an exhilarating way to view the canyons of the park.
• Options for car camping and back country camping are also available within the park.
More options within a six hour drive from Boulder include,
• Great Sand Dunes National Park (http://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm) if digging your toes deeply into warm, soft sand sounds appealing, but the trip to the California or Texas coast is out of reach.
• Moab, Utah, which is my favorite destination for every outdoor activity I can imagine. There is spectacular camping, climbing, biking, hiking, canoeing, canyoneering...the list goes on and on. Be careful though, you risk serious addiction to Moab upon visiting.

Avid4 Adventure Family Trips, which provide an easy way to escape for the weekend without the hassle of having to prepare for and manage the trip yourself. Avid4 trips now go to Steamboat Springs, Crested Butte, Fruita, CO, Moab, UT, Arches National Park, and even paddling along the Gunnison River in your own canoe.

Wanderlust. Adventurer. Stir-crazy. Restless. These are all words that have been used in conjunction with my name at different points over the course of my life. Before moving to Colorado my travel rarely took place within the United States. I took every opportunity I had to leave the States in search of something exotic, historical and completely different from anything that I had known growing up. Upon moving to Colorado I quickly came to realize that I was living in that very place. In just a few hours it is possible to find yourself wandering through a prehistoric landscape strewn with fossils and ancient drawings. You might spend the morning biking through striped, sandstone canyons, the afternoon floating down the river that was responsible for those canyons and by nightfall you may be listening to your children tell campfire stories while feeling dwarfed by the enormity of the starry sky hanging above you.

Whatever your preference, remember that the main objective of your weekend getaway is to relax and have fun. You are leaving behind the worries and stresses of your life at home in favor of adventure and endorphin release. A bonus of adventure-focused weekend getaways is the sound of tired, sleeping youngsters - and sometimes spouses - on the car ride home!