Four words: I traveled. A lot.

Read on for the ultimate year of navigating a quarantined world as I explored everything from the Rocky Mountains to World Trade Center One when flights were as low as $11.

March – Snowboarding, then, sitting still
April – Camping, home workouts, and hiking
May – Things began to open up, but we loved camping too much
June – Hotels opened up! Oh, and I decided to climb four 14ers in three days
July – Fireworks, wildflowers, and a city slicker weekend
August – Sand Dunes in Colorado and Waterfalls in Oregon
September – Rodeos and 14ers
October – New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and four 14ers in a day
November – Dancing in Nashville and a 10k in Long Beach
December – Coming full circle

March

Snowboarding, then, Sitting Still

I was snowboarding in Breckenridge with my girlfriend Ciara when the daily lifestyle of millions of Americans came to a grinding halt. Driving back to Colorado Springs (where I was stationed), my boss called me and asked me if I had been in the Summit County (i.e. Breckenridge) area within the last 48 hours. I answered, “yea boss, why?”, and if shaking my head was a feeling, that’s how I’d describe my boss’ reaction. That’s when I learned that this virus known as COVID-19 had finally made its way to the Centennial State, and more precisely, Summit county.

I was told that I needed to quarantine for 2 weeks in my house, and to only to leave for emergencies and mental health (i.e. walk outside). While I think most people would’ve finally started binging a Netflix show, I started to wonder how I could use this time to my advantage. With the potential to have up to two weeks off at a time due to this mystery virus, I wasn’t sure how my summer was going to transpire but I can tell you for certain: I didn’t expect it to go at ALL like it did.

April

Camping, Home Workouts, and Hiking

Soon after the military realized that staying at home for two weeks was too mentally taxing, the Air Force base I was stationed at decided that it was OK if we left our homes so long as we stayed within a 150 mile radius of base. It was also at this time that all gyms were closed indefinitely, prompting an immediate trip to Wal-Mart for resistance bands before anyone else got the same idea. I hung up my lifting straps and said hello to home workouts, camping, and hiking trips!

I checked how far out 150 miles was and was relieved to see that most of Colorado was actually within that radius. So, Ciara and I decided to head to Boulder after being cooped up in our apartments and hike the Flatirons for her birthday weekend. We hiked up Chautauqua Park and summited the first Flatiron while feeding trail mix to the little chipmunks that accompanied us. If you’re interested in visiting this awesome town and in need of recommendations on what to see/do in Boulder, then check out the beginning of my other post here!

Work was still very hesitant to let us come back, so we were doing a two-week-on, two-week-off schedule. With all of this free time and nowhere to go except the great outdoors, I decided to finally explore a local park in Colorado Springs called Ute Valley Park that I had driven by a dozen times. I had no idea I’d get some of my best photos from this place right in my back yard!

Ute Valley Park turned out to be a wonderful hidden gem, so Ciara and I decided to keep exploring locally, landing us at the trailhead of the iconic Pulpit Rock. We parked at the trailhead one evening after Ciara was done teleworking and got moving right as the sun was beginning to go down. As we strolled through the valley leading up to the iconic rock formation, we were awestruck by the beauty leading up to the summit and of course, the views from the summit itself. We got there right at sunset and were greeted with amazing sunset views.

Continuing the journey of exploring all around us, Ciara and I knew we had to go into the Rocky Mountains to seek out an impressive adventure and maybe even a few hidden camping spots. Luckily, hiking and camping weren’t activities that could be shut down since they were physically distanced by design, and the Air Force recognized that. I did a little digging and found a forest road that led deep into the San Isabelle National Forest where Ciara and I could escape to; our first camping trip together!

I was so nervous that she was going to be a total Madonna but boy did she know how to camp! We premade breakfast burritos and wrapped them in tin foil so we could reheat them in the coals of the fire from the night before, got stuff for making sandwiches so we didn’t have to do any dishes, and even packed a deck of cards so we could entertain ourselves by the fire. Pretty sure my heart was on fire that entire weekend lol.

We took Gold Camp Road directly out of Colorado Springs and ended up in the National Forest within an hour. It was so refreshing to get away from all the talk of a world-ending virus and the “closed” signs that hung on business fronts. As we pressed deeper into the San Isabel National Forest, we were awestruck by the sights and sounds of what lied in our backyard, just an hour’s drive from our quarantined little town.

After an incredible night under the stars on my rooftop tent, we awoke to the alluring call of chickadees in the nearby pines and the scent of a campfire still smoldering from the night before. Into the coals went the premade burritos! Soon after we put a couple of those into our hungry bellies, we decided to load up our stuff and go explore. We drove through the forest for about an hour before landing at Skagway Reservoir, about halfway between Cripple Creek and Colorado Springs. Little did we know that we had just landed at the beginning of an epic 11.4-mile hiking adventure to an abandoned powerplant from the late 1800s, early 1900s.

May

Things began to open, but we loved camping too much

It was around May that stores started to open up in Colorado Springs, but the extremely strict rules about how stores could go about opening up made it almost too much of a hassle to get out and enjoy shopping or dining. Everyone and their dog had to wear face masks, keep 6 feet apart from any other human you saw, and we couldn’t even look in the direction of someone without fear of the roof falling on top of you and breaking a COVID rule. Ciara and I decided that it was better to continue the life we discovered in April and camp some more, so just like that, we picked a spot on the map in the middle of nowhere and went camping!

Our first retreat in May was to a section of the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains known as the Collegiate Peaks in central Colorado. We made our first stop in the cute town of Buena Vista where we enjoyed a delicious acai bowl at the Blend in BV; totally worth it! We headed out of Buena Vista and took forest road 371 north out of town, took a right on forest road 375 and continued until forest road 377 and found the amazing spot below.

A few more weekends went exactly like this; wake up Friday, work a 1/2 day, load our camping buckets into the Jeep, find a forest road in the National Forests of Colorado, and off we’d go! It was the life I had only dreamed of living and was fortunate enough to realize in the summer of 2020. Ciara and I couldn’t have been happier!

June

Hotels opened up! Oh, and I decided to climb four 14ers in three days

Hotels probably opened up much sooner than June but with all the fun to be had in the mountains, I didn’t even pay attention; Ciara and I had a 150-mile radius of the Rocky Mountains to play in! Nevertheless, I had talked up Rocky Mountain National Park to Ciara for quite some time and with hotels opened up and reservations in the National Park full, we decided to book a room and head to Estes! If you need a guide for the best things to do in Rocky Mountain National Park, click here for my insider’s guide to fully exploring Colorado’s most iconic National Park!

The Estes Park weekend came to a close and the following weekend, on a whim, I decided it could be fun to conquer four 14ers in three days; and it was! It was one of the most rewarding experiences I’d ever put myself through and I enjoyed every single second of it! From camping in Rocky Mountain National Park and summiting Longs Peak on day one to getting lost on the back side of Pikes Peak before summiting it 8 miles later, I had the adventure of a lifetime! Check out the broken down version of how to do this yourself here!

July

Fireworks, Wildflowers, and a City Slicker weekend

July was by far one of the second most diverse, adventure-packed months of 2020 for Ciara and me by far! I say second because of October, just keep reading lol. We started the month off by loading the camping buckets into the jeep and heading to Twin Lakes (an area just north of the Collegiate Peaks area) for an amazing weekend watching fireworks over a lake. Now, only about 3 or 4 fireworks went off because fireworks are illegal in Colorado but it was surreal nonetheless lol!

After swimming in what was probably the coldest lake either of us had been in in a while, the adventure ended but almost immediately picked right back up as the following weekend, Ciara and I loaded up a couple of rental mountain bikes and made our way to the little town of Crested Butte.

By far the most unique mountain town in Colorado, Crested Butte has it all! It’s the wildflower capitol of the world, the food is amazing, the hiking is unparalleled, the single track is second to none, there’s skiing, snowboarding; you name it! It’s an adventure junkie’s paradise. For my insider review on how to best explore Crested Butte, click here!

Then, just when we thought we couldn’t squeeze any more adventure into our busy free time (oxymoron intended), Ciara and I thought, “you know, things are starting to open up again. Maybe we should go check out Denver and act like total city slickers”, and that’s exactly what we did!

We packed up Karmon (Ciara’s 11-pound chihuahua/min-pin pup, aka the cutest dog in the world) and walked the iconic 16th street mall, eating food from street vendors, popping into restaurants and having drinks on their patios, and admired all the street art we could spot. It was a huge change in scenery but a beautiful break from all the camping and driving the months prior.

August

Sand Dunes in Colorado and Waterfalls in Oregon

August started off with a bang as Ciara and I once again loaded our camping buckets into the Jeep and made our way to the Great Sand Dunes National Park for another epic camping trip. We camped just outside of the actual park (due to reservations being full for the rest of the year!) at a place called Oasis; highly recommended if the actual park is full and you just need a place to crash for the night/weekend.

The days were filled with running as fast as we possibly could down the massive sand deposits and watching three girls get completely naked in the middle of the park while they recorded it all. Not even kidding lol. To this day I don’t know what they were doing. Try to figure it out yourself, it’s below these pictures!

And now it was time! It was time for Ciara and I to take advantage of the ridiculously cheap airfare that airlines were offering and get out of Colorado for a bit. We decided the first place we’d go would be to see her friend Kelsey in Portland, OR. We bought our tickets and made our way to the PNW!

While there, Kelsey showed us around her hometown that was completely devastated by riots over the George Floyd murder as best she could. Things were extremely locked down because of the violence, so we decided to get out of the city and go check out some other attractions instead!

Our first stop was at a local beach of sorts, right outside the city on a river. We paddle boarded, played beersby, and I even stepped on a piece of glass, causing me to have to sit the rest of the day out unfortunately. I didn’t have to sit very long before everyone was ready to call it quits and head back for the night. The next day, Kelsey drove us down the Historic Columbia River Highway as we spotted waterfall after waterfall, culminating in a visit to the 600ft cascade of water known as Multnomah Falls; an absolute masterpiece!

From there, we drove west until we landed at this strange attraction known as McMenamins Edgefield which turned out to be the BEST part of the trip! It was originally a farmhouse on 74 acres of land that’s now been turned into a hotel with amazing amenities on site like winetasting, a distillery, cigars, and even live music! The best part by far were the fields full of fresh blackberries that you could literally pick right off the vine and eat until your heart was content. I was one happy camper!

September

Rodeos and 14ers

I realized I hadn’t seen my family in a few years, so I decided that for my first adventure in September, I’d head back to Pleasanton, Nebraska for the Labor Day weekend and go camping with my family. Since I was a youngster, my family has retreated to Pleasanton every Labor Day weekend to watch the local rodeo and relax on the Loup river. I didn’t realize it until I was there but this trip was exactly what I needed given all the go-go-go Ciara and I were doing. I spent the entire weekend relaxing on the shores of the Loup River, cheering on bull riders, and making memories with the people I love.

Now back in Colorado, I asked Ciara if she’s ever wanted to summit a 14er and of course her answer was, “YES!”. So, we picked a weekend and decided to summit not only one, but TWO 14ers in one day lol. At the trailhead, Ciara and I were surrounded by aspens that were set ablaze with color from the impending weather changes and as we hiked to the summit, we were surrounded by mountain goats! Another surreal experience for the books!

As the summer started to fade into fall, I had an opportunity to cross a visit to Telluride off my bucket list, so I took it. Ciara hung back for work reasons, but I loaded up my camping bucket and made my way down to the most beautiful area in all of Colorado: Telluride.

There’s a reason so many hit songs are written about this place, it’s purely magical there. And there’s also a reason they call the mountain ranges down there the Swiss Alps of Colorado. You’ll just have to go see for yourself, my words could never do them justice!

I started the weekend camping in the National Forest closer to Ouray than Telluride since it was a 6 hour drive and I was tired lol. See the pics below and you’ll see why when I woke up, I was completely surprised by the view that awaited me.

To get to that spot, get to Ridgway, CO first (just south of Montrose and on your way to Telluride). From Ridgway, go west on Hwy 62 towards Placerville. A few miles into the drive, keep your eyes peeled for Forest Road 7 on your left. When you see it, take it and head south. At the fork in the road, go right to stay on Forest Road 7. If you go left I’m pretty sure it’s private property. Stay on that road for at least 7.5 miles from when you turned off of Hwy 62 and you’ll enter national forest. From there, pick any where you’d like off the side of the road!

That same morning, I decided to make my way up the road from where I was camping just to see if I could snag a quick hike before going into Telluride and exploring the town. I arrived at Blue Lakes trailhead and pressed on into what was going to turn out to be one of the most majestic views I’d seen in Colorado. Check it out below!

It wasn’t until about 7 miles in that I realized that I may actually be able to spontaneously bag another 14er: Mt Sneffels! I pressed on as hard as I could but was ultimately greeted by a sheer rock face that I couldn’t pass for the life of me. I was soo close too! Reluctantly I turned around and on my way down, I passed some fellow hikers who asked if I had made it all the way to the top. When I replied “no”, they told me that there’s another route on the other side if I want to try that some other time. Well, of course I had to try it! I went into Ouray, had a craft beer, soaked in the hot springs, then found an area to camp for the night.

The next day, I got an early start at my Mt Sneffels attempt thanks to my camping spot near the Yankee Boy Basin. A quick breakfast of bagels and eggs and I was on my way. While not the longest 14er hike I’ve done, it was by far the most vertically strenuous one! The views though? Absolutely picturesque. See below!

I concluded my trip by crossing one more thing off my bucket list: Black Bear pass. This was a huuuuge mistake given my lack of Jeeping skills and equipment but hindsight is always 20/20, right? I was terrified the entire time up and down in my Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland and stock air ride suspension, but nonetheless I prevailed and got some of the most amazing shots I’ve ever taken. See the pics below for proof!

14ers were still fresh in my mind as I got back to Colorado Springs, and I had one more 14er on my immediate bucket list that I needed to bag before winter: Mt Evans. I had attempted Mt Evans before but bit off entirely too much more than I could chew. My first time, I attempted to summit from the Chicago Lakes trailhead; a 17-mile round trip.

Well, using the knowledge I had from my previous experience, I decided that I’d backpack in, camp, and attempt to catch a sunrise from the top the next day. That way I could cut the hike up in half and get a sweet camping trip in at the same time. Rather than taking the jeep, I loaded my backpack on to my 2005 Honda Shadow and made a motorcycle road trip out of it. I had always wanted to catch a sunrise from 14,000 feet and now I can officially say that I have!

October

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and four 14ers in a day

Yep, just when you thought Ciara and I couldn’t pack more into a month, we found a way to do it lol. We started this month off right by treating ourselves to an $11 airfare ticket to the Big Apple. Yep, you read that right: we flew to New York City from Denver for $11! See? Not everything about COVID was bad!

Because we couldn’t stay in New York proper due to the state’s quarantine rules, we decided to stay in Pennsylvania and just make day trips into New York City to see some sights. We saw the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, World Trade Center One, the Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, Central Park; all the things required for the ultimate city slicker trip!

Once we got tired of the big city life, Ciara and I took our little rental car and made our way to the most sexually named towns in Pennsylvania’s Amish country: Bird-in-Hand, Blue Ball and Intercourse lol. Not even kidding, these are their towns’ names. We visited farmers markets, drank fresh apple juice from Amish farms, and I even smoke a few hand-rolled cigars with tobacco leaves grown right down the road from where I bought them!

As we flew back to Colorado to resume our “busy” lives, I overheard a coworker telling his story about this amazing 14er trip he had just gone on called the Decalibron. Four 14ers in 1 day; I couldn’t believe it! It was one, 8 mile round trip that summited four 14ers and was easily doable in one day. So, I burned a day of leave and made my way to the trailhead! Four more in the bag, just like that!

With airfare still so cheap, Ciara’s friend in Dallas asked if we wouldn’t mind coming out to visit her and hanging for the weekend so we bought some tickets and made our way to the Lone Star State! We were getting so good at navigating low fare websites that it should’ve been criminal lol. We at delicious food, visited pumpkin patches, and had some of the best cheesecake I’ve ever had in my life.

November

Dancing in Nashville and a 5k in Long Beach

Ask Ciara and she will tell you that Nashville was the by far the best vacation we took in 2020. The food, the nightlife, the dancing, the music, the history, the people; everything about Nashville was perfect. We fell in love all over again as we walked up and down Broadway listening to live music pouring out of every single bar and attempting our best to swing dance in the street once last call was announced.

On the second day, we took a trip to Music Row where famous artists like Taylor Swift and Florida Georgia Line had all recorded some of their biggest albums, even Dolly Parton! We also went to a massive indoor farmers market and had the best vegan tacos I’ve found to date!

The coolest part of the entire vacation was the surprise helicopter ride that Ciara booked for us. I know, right?! Surprise helicopter?! This girl is FIRE! Lol anyway, we flew over the city lights right at sunset for an out-of-this-world date night activity and then ended the night a speakeasy called the Red Phone Booth. Fun story, we had looked all over town for two whole days for the secret code to get in. Yes! It required a secret phone number that you had to call on an old, rototiller phone inside a red phone booth to be let in. If you want the number, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll be happy to share!

After Nashville, Ciara was longing to get back to California and visit her family, so we booked another extremely cheap ticket to visit her brother in Long Beach, California. Concurrently, we were both signed up for an at-home 5k challenge, so on the day we had to run it, we decided to head to the beach and hit it on the boardwalk!

Ciara showed me as much as she could of her hometown in the short amount of time we had there, but we made the most of every minute! From the best acai bowl I’ve ever had to playing with her brother’s little puppy, it was awesome to finally visit the girl of my dream’s hometown.

December

Coming full circle

As December rolled in, Ciara and I stowed our camping buckets away and got back into the groove of snowboarding on the weekends. Things had almost opened up to something that looked recognizable, and airfare started to go back to where it was pre-COVID.

Nonetheless, we had two epic days of powder at Breckenridge, and we took full advantage of them both. Ciara’s friends actually let us stay in a timeshare with them so we got to have an amazing ski-in/ski-out experience. Shortly after that, Christmas came and boy did Ciara and I have so much to be thankful for.

We had an out-of-this-world year full of adventure and speaking honestly, it was the most adventure-packed year of my entire life. I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world!

In conclusion

If you have any questions about anything in this post, shoot me an e-mail or a Facebook message at https://www.facebook.com/globetrotterkyle and I’ll answer them as best I can. I hope this post didn’t bore you but rather inspired you to take advantage of every single situation you find yourself in, regardless of what the world is telling you. Sure, Ciara and I could’ve remained at home, but we’re just way too active to do that! Seizing the day is something I (and millions of others, I’m sure) believe in; don’t go quite into that good night, right?

So get out there and explore already!