We are at the halfway point of our trip from Connecticut to Colorado.
You know how some people go on vacation and buy a t-shirt or tchotchke? Well, I scout out stitching shops of some kind and buy yarn, fabric, project kit or locally made item I can make something out of or with.
I knew we would have to stop for lunch at some point so with the help of Yelp, iPhone Maps and a Google search I found Woolly Works Knit Shop and Chick-fil-A near each other near the halfway point to our first Colorado campground. Da hubs and I like stopping at C-F-A on roadtrips because they are always super clean and the chicken!
But as we got closer to the shop Da Hubs started doubting our route because we were driving not into a business district but a residential area. Lo and behold, a tiny sign and two alpacas greeted us.
I purchased two interchangeable needle tips I was missing to work on a class sample and another gnome (if time allows). But the best purchase was a hank of two-color, two-ply alpaca yarn from the shop owner’s animals we met. Now I just need to find the right pattern for the yarn.
With my new needles in hand, I cast on the sample for my door support chicken class at New England Yarn.
I modified the pattern by using a provisional cast on instead of the cable cast on suggested so I can graft the bottom for a flatter base.
Our first stop in Colorado was Great Sand Dunes National Park where we hiked a dune and I got to sled down one!
One of the customers at the yarn shop recommended two hot springs near the national park. So after the dunes we visited Sand Dunes Recreation Area mostly because they served lunch and the other one only served breakfast and dinner.
The Alamosa KOA had nice patio sites with a grill and fire pit where I made progress on my next sock class.
From Alamosa we traveled to Montrose to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison. On the way there we crossed the Great Continental Divide that goes from Alaska all the way down to South America.
But by the time we got to our second Colorado campground I noticed a mistake on my door support chicken. Stay tuned, I plan to turn it into an Instagram reel. Look closely and you’ll see my stitch markers are wee books made by Bee Inspired By Renee. Check out her other resin artwork.
Due to fires on the South and East rims of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison so we drove to the North rim and hiked the North Vista Trail to Exclamation Point. Look carefully and you can see the exclamation shape in the canyon. The 2-hour hike (3-hours if your are a Zillich, i mean photographer) was a gently rolling trail.
After the hike we stopped at Big B Fruit Stand and bought local peaches and jam. And for dinner we grilled steaks that we bought at Kinikin Meat Processing based on our experience at LaNoue Dubois Winery. We has a charcuterie that had local wagyu pepperoni and local cheese. We bought one of each on our re-supply run.
Next stop, Mesa Verde and hopefully another “souvenir” shop.
