Special Mom’s blog

The past three months was a lot of work at home. I had to dot a lot of I’s and cross the t’s! Multiple doctor appointments, blood draws and dental work really needed an award. Our India trip fell off the platter because of the war. That is when we decided a trip to the state of Colorado.

Many of you have followed my every day blog the past week as I made blog posts bits and pieces of the journey.

For nearly three weeks in June, my young man had to work hard, make his walks and stay fit for us to enjoy the trip the Rocky mountain state. My June wrap-up will just have pictures from the said trip but the hard work happened behind the scenes.

My dad asked me how each of the National Parks I visit was different? In general, most of them look the same with preservation of wildlife and plant species. As we drove home my husband told me the parks we visited this time, were totally different and unique.

We flew from Pittsburgh to Denver and spent 1105 miles on the road covering four National Parks and one National Monument.

We spent two days visiting Rocky Mountains National Park. The park required timed entry for two corridors. Planning with a special needs person is hard and if you add a rule, it does become complicated. Driving on the trail ridge road was the highlight but for me personally it was seeing the Colorado river up close.

From Rocky Mountains we drove to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Picnic along the route and enjoying the natural flow of the Colorado river was one of the highlights. The National Pak is unique. The steep canyon walls in some places do not receive any kind of sunshine and hence the name black canyon.

Our next stop of the trip was at Mesa Verde National Park. This has history embedded in it. The ancestral pueblo people-built cliff dwellings. There were two ranger lead tours, but it was something hard for our family to go to. One dwelling which was self-guided was closed because of some rock fall. We had to see that from a distance. But I did attend a ranger presentation and a park movie, while other members of my family went on a hike. We also enjoyed a loop drive which showcased some close up look of the ancient dwellings.

We were a bit disappointed that we missed the cliff dwelling tour at Mesa Verde but were compensated for at the Aztec ruins national monument. No Aztecs lived here only the pueblo people, but it is named after the Aztecs 🤷‍♀️. My young man enjoyed his walk around the house. The tiny doors and steep steps were funny and the architecture was lovely.

The trip back to the East of Colorado had winding roads and I would say the beauty was immense. We passed through the San Juan forest area with no internet service, and we just needed to entertain each other without music.

We stopped at the Great Sand dunes National Park and Preserve. My young man made me proud and walked through the sand and a dune. High five to him.

The last stop and our resting place for us was at Colorado Springs. It is a tourist destination and resort. We had so many plans for that place but ended up sleeping in and relaxing ourselves. But we did not miss the chance to see the red rocks at Garden of the Gods.

With this trip we have completed 18 national parks. The last four were different. The Rocky Mountains were tall and had meadows. The Black Canyon was deep. Mesa Verde had cliff dwellings, and the Sand dune park had sand dunes.

I never write about my second kid. He was a trooper helping his special brother all through the trip. As we finished off this trip, he asked me if we could go somewhere other than the desert southwest the next time. Yes, we still have more parks to cover in this region. So, yes, the next national park is to a place he suggests. He has a busy year ahead of him. We do not travel without him to major parks. So, our next trip would be with him and a choice he makes. Today we really cut close to our flight with just 15 minutes to spare for boarding. The long lines at the security and the long walks inside the terminal were unexpected. He got his brother two slices of pizza just in time before we boarded so that his brother would be calm in the plane.

I originally thought my Rocky Mountain trip to be a consolation prize since I missed on my India trip. But no, it is not! I enjoyed so much on the trip, and I shared pictures with my mom and my travel videos with my dad almost everyday. Maybe this is what was supposed to happen this June.

I am now energetic to begin July. I have no plans but just regular work and activities. Came to back to some hot weather. My critters were good. My plants are safe. Yup, the marigolds and tomatoes have really grown. My beans just need attention. Will resume gardening soon and hopefully July will be full of my garden pictures.

For monthly wrap up hosted by Natalie!

https://natalietheexplorer.home.blog/2026/06/30/june-2026-highlights/