Week 3-5: Colorado & Utah

I’m writing this as we wrap up our last few days in Utah and head into the final two states (and two weeks) of the summer.

The Route

Day 16: Fort Morgan, CO
Day 17: Boulder, CO
Day 18: Estes Park, CO
Day 19: Kremling, CO
Day 20: Edwards, CO
Day 21: Carbondale, CO
Day 22: Paonia, CO
Day 23: Grand Junction, CO
Day 24 & 25: Moab, UT
Day 27: Green River, UT
Day 28: Capitol Reef, UT
Day 29: Escalante, UT
Day 30: Bryce Canyon, UT
Day 31 & 32: Orderville, UT
Day 33: Cedar City, UT
Day 34: Milford, UT

States Covered: Colorado & Utah

National Parks Covered: Rocky Mountain, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion

National Park Era

I have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Colorado and Utah. Our team called this portion of the trip our National Park era. Between Colorado and Utah we hit a total of 6 National Parks and we were able to explore by both hiking and running!

Colorado

One of my favorite days in Colorado was running on Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in North America, and we climbed it! That was only our third day in Colorado, so I definitely felt the change in elevation and had some mild symptoms of altitude sickness. It was a feat to climb, but the company and the elk made it worth it.

Throughout the rest of the state, we ran a lot of miles along the Colorado River and thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Rockies.

The biggest treat of my time in Colorado was getting to see one of my best friends, Rob, in Kremling. He is also doing a cross-country trip this summer biking with Bike and Build raising money for affordable housing. We just so happened to both be in the same part of the state, and we were able to overlap and visit each other. His team actually stayed at the same exact church that our team did the day after we left!

Spending time with Rob felt like a breath of fresh air. My experience this summer is hard to explain, so being with a dear friend where I didn't have to do any explaining was such a gift. We laughed together about the strange things we've eaten, talked about group dynamics to a neutral and trusted party, and shared the same ache for consistency and time with close friends. The few hours we spent together were not long enough, but it made me feel known and understood in a way that I really needed at this point in the trip.

Utah

I had never been to Utah before this trip, and absolutely loved it! The desert and red rock were new scenery to me and it was jaw-dropping.

Some of my favorite memories were camping in Moab with a cookout by the water, walking over the top of an arch in Capitol Reef National Park, and swimming in the waterfall at the Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument. Out of all five National Parks in Utah, it is impossible to pick a favorite but the hikes in Zion were unbelievable. We won the lottery for Angels Landing and also hiked the Narrows. We definitely had some long days in the heat while in Utah, but were well-fueled and enjoyed the journey!

Christmas in July

I want to give a big shoutout to my parents, El, Uncle John, and Aunt Emily. They all sponsored the team and provided an Airbnb for two nights in Orderville, UT right outside of Zion National Park. It was SO needed. We had come off multiple nights of camping back to back, and the team was very grateful to have air conditioning, wifi, and beds.

While we were there we celebrated Christmas in July (on July 25th) and made a home-cooked meal, decorated cookies, and did Secret Santa. It's been a blast getting to know the riders and feeling unified as one team.

Sponsoring Miles

Over the last few weeks of the trip, I have asked people to sponsor my days of running to help me hit my fundraising goal of $10,000. How it works is you pick a day on the calendar, and donate one dollar for every mile I run that day. For reference, I have been averaging around 13-20 miles a day. Once I complete my running for the day I will Venmo request you for the mileage! If you're interested, please shoot me an email or a text and I can add you to my calendar for the remaining weeks of the trip.

As always, if you want to make a direct donation you can do so here. I am less than $1,000 away from hitting my goal and every donated dollar this summer is matched so it will double the impact on the Ulman Foundation and the cancer patients themselves.

Thank you again for following along, and for your support on this journey! I can't believe we're over halfway done. I'm doing my best to soak in every step of the way because it is flying by.

California here we come!

Talk soon,