Elephant Rocks / Alamosa to Colorado Springs

Camping in Elephant Rocks BLM Area | Driving from Alamosa to Colorado Springs, CO | October 2024

After leaving Great Sand Dunes National Park, we drove about 30 minutes West to another BLM area West of Alamosa. We knew that regardless of whether Curtis had to leave early for work or not, our time out West was coming to a close, and we just wanted one last nice spot to camp to end on a high note. Thankfully, this place was much more to our liking than the night before had been. This area was called Elephant Rocks, and it sort of reminded us of a spot in Arizona that we had enjoyed last December. Knowing that wet weather was on the way, we made sure we were comfortable on the road, and chose a campsite that wasn’t too far from the highway. After getting the van set up, we went out to explore right away, walking on the loop through the campground, and climbing up rocks to get even better views. The higher mountains surrounding us were mostly obscured by clouds, and as the next two days went on, we noticed more and more snow at the higher elevations.

Part of why we chose this area was because of its proximity to Alamosa. There was a small airport that Curtis could fly out of there if needed, and I felt much more comfortable here on my own than I did at the last BLM area. Curtis told the project manager that if they did decide to fly him out, that the last flight of the day took off at 3:30, so if they needed him that day they needed to let him know well before then. Wednesday afternoon came and went, and no decisions were made, so we settled in for the night thankful for another day together.

There was still no news the next morning, so we went about our morning routine, went for a walk, and Curtis did some remote work to assist with the shutdown happening on the East coast. As the day went on, we began to feel more relaxed, starting to believe that this wasn’t going to happen. But then, right around 3:00 Curtis got the call: they wanted him to be in North Carolina the next day (Friday). We were disappointed, but it was a bit easier to accept the news than it would have been a day or two ago. Obviously it was too late for Curtis to fly out of Alamosa today, so we started considering all of our options. We finally landed on driving to Colorado Springs the next morning where he would fly out, and I would use hotel points to stay there over the weekend to avoid the incoming storm/cold. Curtis was getting conflicting answers when he asked how long he would have to stay — his boss said until Monday, the project manager said a week. Obviously I was hoping for Monday so that we could drive back to Iowa together, but we decided that if it was longer, I should start the drive back on my own and hopefully he could fly out to meet me along the way.

That evening, we went on one last walk, and the clouds and sunset were incredible. It rained a little through the night, but by leaving on Friday morning we were able to avoid the worst in this area. We had about a three hour drive in the morning to get to Colorado Springs, and when we arrived the hotel let me check in early. Curtis took a quick shower, threw his things together in a backpack, we said our goodbyes and he hopped on a shuttle to the airport.

My weekend in Colorado Springs with Charlotte was pretty uneventful. it rained a lot, and snowed in the mountains. We mostly just walked around the hotel and a nearby park whenever we could, and I enjoyed having wifi to watch the Eras tour livestreams every night. On Sunday, I ventured out to get the oil changed and run a few errands before my long drive back — which by then was obvious that I would be doing at least some of alone, because there was plenty of work to keep Curtis busy in NC. I studied our maps, planned out routes, marked possible attractions and campsites along the way, and did everything possible to prepare for my first ever solo trip in the van.