Colorado

  • Colorado

    Mesa Verde and Sand Canyon

    November 22, 2015 - By 

    I knew we weren’t going to leave Colorado before making it to Mesa Verde, the largest and most famous archeological site in the Southwest known to me. These ancient cliff dwellings were discovered by local ranchers only in the late 1800s, and then later became a national park in 1906. Now this popular national park has giant parking lots loaded with tour bus parking zones, and has a third party campground that hosts over 200 campsites. It’s a damn popular place. However, due to the off-season and the winter storm that passed through the night before our arrival, most archeological…

  • Colorado

    Great Sand Dunes and Zapata Falls

    November 19, 2015 - By 

    Last year we fell in love with New Mexico’s White Sand Dunes, so it was a no brainer that we had to see North America’s largest sand dunes during our time spent in Southern Colorado. The drive from Black Canyon of the Gunnison to Great Sand Dunes was beautiful, especially when passing through the Curecanti National Recreation Area. We arrived to Great Sand Dunes in time for a late lunch, and with the early winter month upon us, the low sun gave us perfect lighting for photos. In the peak months of May and June, a seasonal creek flows through the…

  • Colorado

    Black Canyon of the Gunnison

    November 18, 2015 - By 

    Of the 59 national parks in the U.S., most are unheard of/unknown, and that is definitely the case for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  Maybe because it’s such a small park.  Maybe because it is simply overshadowed by Colorado’s other popular national parks such as Rocky Mountain or Mesa Verde.  But despite its unpopularity, gazing down (and hiking down!) into the canyon is spectacular, especially gazing at the famed Painted Wall at sunrise, Colorado’s highest cliff at 2,250 ft. tall.  There is a reason why it is called the Black Canyon.  With its steep drop offs and incredibly…

  • Colorado

    Colorado National Monument

    November 17, 2015 - By 

    Not having a strict agenda, or any schedule for that fact, is one of the best aspects of traveling.  Not vacationing.  TRAVELING.  And that is how we stumbled upon the wonders of Colorado National Monument. During our 2014 road trip across the U.S. we hardly spent any time in Colorado.  In fact, we only had 3 days to spare for Colorado, which forced us to rush through Rocky Mountain National Park, Denver, and Boulder.  Now we had real time (well, more than 3 days) to spend in Colorado, but all in the south.  My sites of interest included 3 national parks:…

  • Colorado

    Colorado in 3 Days

    November 3, 2014 - By 

    Tuesday, October 28th was our arrival goal for Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota, which gave us 3 whole days to spend in Northern Colorado.  Having never been to Colorado before, we were both eager to check out the mile-high city highly regarded by outdoor adventurers.  We evenly divided our time between Rocky Mountain National Park, Boulder, and Denver for a taste of the Rockies and well-missed metropolitan city life. Perhaps it was the last warm autumn Saturday before daylight savings time could begin, but the crowded Rocky Mountain National Park was a culture shock after arriving from the deserted Yellowstone National Park.  Like Zion, Rocky Mountain offered…