Colorado Road Trip W/Kids 2025- Day 3 Colorado or Bust!

We started Day 3 fully charged (thanks to staying at a hotel with EV charging stations- thank you HelmsMistress) and headed north.  We set out straight up the US-25, going through iconic cities like Santa Fe, Pueblo and Colorado Springs….heading north with the imposing Rocky Mountains looming over us as we drove, with the flats of Colorado and Kansas stretching east as far as the eye could see.  Our destination and the culmination of this road trip was a suburb of Denver but of course, this area is ranch and farm country…so there’s lots of green space in Colorado.  After a decent driving day, we finally arrived in Parker, Colorado.

I had been invited to spend a few days working with a master donkey Farrier (Ross Keller) doing a mini-hoof trimming internship, so I jumped at the chance.  But after accepting the offer, we then had to figure out how and when to get to Colorado and the logistics behind a family trip there and back.  We did figure it out, after some teeth grinding and assorted discussions.

Once we made it to Parker Colorado on this third day of driving, we were well spent and had decided to stay in a hotel this first night before I was put to work and then tent camp the rest of the nights at Cherry Creek State Park, fairly close to Parker.  But local knowledge is key….so there’s a few learning points that we learned rather quickly in this area:  1. The weather in Colorado (even in June) is rather fractious, so be prepared for sudden downpours and thunderstorms.  We endured several while tent camping and learned several lessons the hard way during this particular couple days.  2.  The areas between Denver and Castle Rock are not really that country….they’re really country/suburbs.  This means there’s LOTS of traffic even when YOU need to get places on time….like to an internship in the morning.  3. Make sure your spouse has driven your new EV before you go off to work all day….so there’s less stress over driving.

After checking into our hotel, we scooted out to east of Parker to meet Ross Keller (who owns Ross Keller Equine Services) and confirm a way to get there so we were not late in the morning….then crashed after a quick meal for some much needed sleep.

The next four days, I would work as an Assistant Farrier with Ross Keller, learning and following as I went.  The learning did occur, but what was mostly brought home the hard way was just how slow I was with the tools.  There are various tools a Farrier works with to cut and trim donkey hooves (while holding that hoof or getting it into a hoof stand)…and I was just slow and awkward doing all of that.  It wasn’t just because I was working with Ross Keller and one of his clients was usually watching…I was really pretty genuinely slow.

Having your own inadequacies (with Farrier work) brought out into plain sight by a Master Farrier or the donkey you are trying to work with is pretty humbling, but needed to happen.  My grand Farrier bubble was burst quickly and I was pretty humbled to be able to continue working with Ross.  THIS is what the trip was all about…getting time with a Master at his craft.  I would find out if I loved doing the work or if perhaps I just like being around donkeys?  There’s so much more to this trip- most of it on the return trip to California after I finished this mini-internship, stick with us for that.

Here’s other stories in this series:

Colorado Road Trip W/ Kids 2025- Day 1

Colorado Road Trip W/Kids 2025- Day 2 On The I-40