4. Take The Long Way Home

Mile: 1,212

America, the fast and furious. “Siri, what’s my quickest route home?”, “Hey, what’s the fastest route to....”, and I understand because I am typically the same way. But not the other day. After a horseback riding lesson from the best in the state, thanks Vicki!! I started driving back to Fort Collins from Loveland. But instead of hitting one of the direct north south routes I pulled up Google maps and started looking for the long way home. I noticed that if I drove into the foothills 20 minutes I could turn north and take hwy 27 through Masonville! Ohh heck yeah! How could pass that up?! So I took off. And by “took off” I mean I slowly climbed into the foothills. Pearl is super fast, going downhill. But other than that she goes nowhere fast and creeps up hills. Well, imagine that, I’m exploring the mountains for three months ha! That’s what you get with a 4 cylinder work van. But hey, don’t rush her, she’s like sailboat, you don’t strap four outboards on a sailboat. You let the wind take her, and be patient. That’s how I take on the hills. But as for the long way home, here’s a few shots of what that decision earned me.

And to think that I could have gotten home an hour earlier, talk about a good deal I’d make over and over again. Sometimes we have to drop the “fastest” / “most time efficient” route home and explore. Take the long way home. See what you find. You might just stumble upon a couple photogenic horses, a town that shares your name, or a sunset over the water that you’ll remember for years to come. Take the long way home.