Mesa Verde, CO

Cliff Place

The cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo Native Americans are but a relic of their mysterious lives in the Colorado Plateau.  Mesa Verde National Park protects 600 of these cliff dwellings. Only a handful are open to the public.  The largest cliff dwelling in the park, Cliff Place, is open to the public but you are required to take a guided tour.  Kindly, they only cost $3/tour!
We took the Cliff Place and Balcony House tour.  Although Balcony house was much smaller it was highly interactive, climbing ladders, crawling through holes and standing on the literal edge of a cliff.  Standing amidst the ancient ruins, I find it romantic to daydream about what life was like for the original inhabitants.
I found the experience both humbling and inspirational.  To think of a long Colorado winter in a Kiva, or pit houses, with upwards of adozen other people was a stark reminder of how comfortable our lives, my life is.  Even in a van! It was inspirational recognizing what people can accomplish in such an unforgiving environment and so long ago.
I recommend a visit to Mesa Verde to anyone.  Careful when planning a trip though because not everything is open year round including one of the two roads through the park, which we missed…I have come to realize that a little planning is a good thing out on the road!

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, NM

Yet again we found ourselves in the right place at the right time.  I was pointed to the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque by a native on the streets of Santa Fe that I bought beautiful beaded earrings from.  New exciting experiences, yes please!
After having spent much of the last month on quite roads in highly unpopulated areas, sitting in several hours of traffic to get to the event was an especially grueling experience.  Our plan was to camp at the event so we could get up before the sunrise to see the early morning dawn patrol followed by mass ascension.  After having been pointed in the wrong direction by an unorganized entourage of unhappy police officers, we made it to the event campsite… fourteen minutes after they closed.  So those frustrating hours where in vein and we drove to the nearest Walmart and parked for the night.

We got up at 4:44 (quite possibly the earliest I am known to have my eyesopen!), waited in traffic for about an hour, walked for about 20 minutes and…made it to mass ascension right on time.  All our efforts felt worth it when we witnessed the incredible rising of hundreds of hot air balloons! Enjoy these picture, we worked hard for them!
Also, click here to see an incredible video of the Balloon Fiesta made by our very talented friend Joel Schat!

Santa Fe, New Mexico

After a sleepless night in the bitter cold, 19 degrees F with winds of 25mph, we left Colorado in search for warmth.  We did not get to see a lot of what we wanted to in Colorado but its okay, we can't do everything, nor will we ever see it all.  The good news is, we are guaranteed endless adventures.  Though often I wish I could see it all!

Cerrillos, near Santa Fe

Santa Fe is a place we had been wanting to explore for sometime, it was only a few hours away and the weather report had promised us warmth (well during the day at least)!  So without hesitation, we were off.  It was exhilarating dropping down into the unique landscape of New Mexico. At dusk, the mesas were silhouetted against the fiery colored sunsets I'd heard so much about.
We spent quite some time in the beautiful pueblo style city of Santa Fe.  It was a great home base for doing research on our new camera, getting packages with more upgrades for our VW and of course enjoying incredible New Mexican cuisine! Yummmmm!
 From what I heard about Santa Fe to what I experienced, it seems to me that Santa Fe has moved away from the free artistic lifestyle to being more catered to the wealthy.  I feel this is a trend among the towns and cities that we hear a lot about.  My guess is too many people have heard too much about them... and with tourism comes change.  It makes me a little sad not having seen many of these places in what people refer to as the "good ol' days".

Colorado Aspens

Something about parking in a new and mysterious forest in the pitch black is a bit eerie.  At Kenosha Pass in Colorado, we pulled off onto a dirt road lined with a tunnel of dark trees and landed in a field where we parked for the night.  Upon pulling the curtains back in the morning, we saw that we where engulfed not in a bewitched forest but rather  in a sea of radiant yellow aspen trees.  A slow and steady stream of photographers also began engulfing the van.  Apparently, we were smack dab in the middle of prime aspen real-estate on their peak weekend of a brilliant display of color transition.

The area was so magical, we decided to stay for the day and another night.  On the following morning, yet another surprise awaited us the when we pulled the curtains back,...snow! It was so beautiful that the lack of warmth was no concern! We jumped right out into the snow to snap a few shots and walk along the powered trail with Clovey, who by the way, loves snow!

Coloradical!

DEVILS TOWER, WY

The good part about our alternative route is that it gave us the opportunity to see Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming.  It is a place we wanted to visit but felt was too far out of the way.  Like most destinations, I had never seen a picture of it before I had arrived.  I like not having any preconceived notions or expectations of what I will experience.
What was so striking and unusual about Devil's Tower which most people would never know from looking at a picture is the utter lack of any other formations around it.  It is just rolling praries and bang shooting straight out of the ground an enormous cylindrical rock tower.  We spent the day walking around the tower, absorbing its healing energy.  We camped near by that night and woke up to beautiful antelope in a neighboring field.  Witnessing so much beautiful wildlife I have never seen before has definitely been a highlight of my travels.

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COMANCHE, WY

After Glacier, our original plan was to explore Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons. Unfortunately, a huge week long storm was going to hit that area the day we were to arrive.  Rather than hanging around waiting for the storm to pass, we decided to check out Colorado instead.  While traveling through the endless state of Montana, which we discover was the fourth largest state in the US, we came upon an old grain silo train stop.  Amidst snapping a few shots of the delapidated building we saw a train coming. This completed the shot! Can you find Jadey in the picture too?

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Hikes of Glacier

Ok, ok after this we'll move on from Glacier.  There is just so much to share!
In our campground we made friends with two wildly adventurous couples, who like us, were open ended traveling.  We had so much fun crammed in a trailer while waiting out a storm, making dinner, watching a movie, having a campfire and trading stories.  I always say half of traveling is what you see and the other half is who you meet.  I am so grateful to have met these inspiring people. Now about hiking!

Hiking in Glacier is a physically challenging but an incredibly rewarding experience.  Once we reached the mountains by foot, I realized how little I had seen from the road.  It was out on the trails we encountered the real adventures of Glacier: witnessing wildlife, standing right next to glaciers and the water gushing from them into waterfalls and rivers, seeing every color in the rainbow in the surrounding rocks and truly feeling the grander of the mighty glacier carved mountains.  Glacier National Park is a place that will stay close to my heart forever.  We plan to return soon and often, to hike many more trails, witness more wildlife and become evermore strengthened by the wonder of this enchanting place.