You don’t realize how preciously good a shower feels until you haven’t had one for days, even if it is only for 4 minutes.

And let me just say that a shower was greatly needed. After 5 or 6 days (I honestly lost count), and a stinking car, I begged A to stop at a random State Park off of I-25, south of Colorado Springs, for a quick shower. The first half of our road trip was about to end as we headed up to Monument, CO to A’s parents’ house and to meet his family and relatives for his younger sister’s graduation party.  I said it’s better to be late and clean, than early and smelly. 

But the showers weren’t really what made us late. We got up this morning and headed back into Santa Fe because we liked the town so much and hadn’t had enough time to hang out there the night before. We got breakfast at this little delicious, family-owned, Mexican restaurant. I swear I had the best blueberry, corn chip pancakes ever. I definitely recommend the Burrito Co. on Washington Ave. Check it out if you are ever in the town of Adobe houses. 

We then canvassed the town for gifts for A’s mom and sisters as May is filled with birthdays, Mother’s Day and graduation celebrations. (His one sister left several fuming voicemails, stating that A simply must not love her because he failed to call on her birthday). Finally after several hours of intense searching, we left Santa Fe feeling relatively satisfied with our purchases, buckled our seatbelts, and told the family we’d be there in plenty of time for the party. 

However, always bent on finding the hidden adventure, A and I simply couldn’t deny searching for the lucrative lake a big billboard boldly proclaimed as “Most Beautiful in all of Colorado.” After dozens of switchbacks on dusty, unpaved roads in southern CO, we came over the hills only to see a gleaming, deep blue lake before us, complete with an island.  But the lake wasn’t the only surprise in store for us, as on our way back, we came upon a dozen wild horses, with two small foals. A sight definitely worth our two-hour detour and a few angry relatives.

Clearly, despite having been on the road for almost ten days, A and I have not had enough of sleeping bags and stars, as we have decided to sleep on his parent’s porch for the evening.