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Colorado Destinations: Palisade
Last summer, Pat and I celebrated our anniversary with a two-week trip to Glacier National Park. It was an epic trip, but it also set the anniversary celebration bar pretty darn high. This year, he didn’t have the vacation days to swing a two-week trip, so instead we settled for a much more low key… Continue reading
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Colorado Day Hikes: Niwot Ridge
I’ve long since lost count of how many times my hiking plans have been thwarted by weather. After bailing on this hike once due to a high probability of – strangely – early morning thunderstorms, Savannah and I were able to reschedule for a couple weeks later and, this time around, the weather cooperated. Mostly.… Continue reading
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Visiting the lesser-known parks and monuments in the Four Corners area
As you’ve been reading about for the last month, this summer’s eight-day family roadtrip took us on a loop from Denver to northwestern New Mexico and then across the border into northeastern Arizona. The largest chunks of time were spent in the four parks and monuments I’ve already covered, but we also made a few… Continue reading
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A driving tour of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona
If you’ve seen Forrest Gump, you’ve seen Monument Valley, at least from a distance. But seeing it onscreen isn’t the same as being there in person. And I’d wanted to visit Monument Valley in person for a really long time! From Canyon de Chelly, we headed north toward our final campground of the trip. Like… Continue reading
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A tour of Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona
I don’t remember when I first decided I wanted to visit Canyon de Chelly. I think it was one of those things where I heard about it or saw a photo that really captured my interest, and from that moment on, it was on my list of places to visit one day. So when we… Continue reading
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A colorful visit to Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
After three days in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon, our desert southwestern adventure continued at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. It was a bit of a drive, though we’d be gaining an hour because Arizona does not observe daylight savings time. I’ll admit, after visiting Escalante Petrified Forest State Park in Utah a few years… Continue reading
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A guide to visiting Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico
Never go to New Mexico and Arizona in July. This isn’t a lesson we’ve just learned. After previous family summer vacations to southern Utah and the Grand Canyon, we weren’t at all unfamiliar with the unpleasantly high temperatures and dehydratingly low humidities of the southwestern US in the middle of summer. In fact, we initially… Continue reading
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Colorado Day Hikes: Arapaho Pass and Lake Dorothy
It was the beginning of July and Pat had a couple days off, so we decided we’d take advantage of the opportunity for a mid-week hike at a trailhead that’s typically far too crowded on weekends. I, of course, already had a list of hikes that fit the bill, but some research revealed most of… Continue reading
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Colorado Summits: Saint Vrain Mountain
My birthday is at the end of June and, in many areas of the US, you could pretty confidently call that a summer birthday. In the Rocky Mountains, as it turns out, it’s not such a guarantee. In fact, it snowed on my 8th birthday and my planned outdoor party had to be moved indoors;… Continue reading
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Colorado 14ers #14: Mount Sherman via Fourmile Creek Trail
Despite what some people might say, there are no easy 14ers. Unless you spend a substantial portion of your life at very high elevation, nothing over 14,000 feet (4267 m) is ever going to be easy. But there are easier 14ers and, by most accounts, Mount Sherman is one of them. If you can make… Continue reading
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LBJ National Historical Park and Presidential Library, Texas
Despite falling somewhat in the middle of the “which state is home to the most US presidents” list, Texas actually tops the list of “which state has the most presidential libraries” with three. Of those three, though, only one commemorates a president who was actually born in Texas: Lyndon Baines Johnson or, as he’s commonly… Continue reading
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Hiking in Texas Hill Country: Inks Lake State Park and Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
In the past few years, my uncle has rediscovered his love of hiking and has pretty thoroughly explored the trails around Austin. Sharing some of his favorite hikes with us was one of the things he was most excited for during our visit, and my mom and I were looking forward to getting out into… Continue reading
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Spanish colonial history at the San Antonio missions
If you say the words “San Antonio” and “missions,” the first thing to come to mind for most people would probably be the Alamo. And while the Alamo is indeed a former mission, it’s just one of the more than twenty Catholic missions built by the Spanish in the early 1700s. It’s also – and… Continue reading
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Spring break in Austin, Texas
My aunt and uncle moved to the suburbs of Austin, Texas almost six years ago, and they’ve been trying to get us to come visit ever since. But my parents collectively have eight siblings and most of them have adult children who have moved away from home, meaning my aunts and uncles and cousins are… Continue reading
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Chimney Rock, Yucca House, and other southwestern Colorado snapshots
For the past couple weeks, I’ve been recounting our Memorial Day weekend trip to southwestern Colorado to visit the Ancestral Puebloan ruins of Hovenweep and Canyons of the Ancients. We also made brief stops at two other nearby national monuments, a roadside attraction, and spent some time in the town of Cortez. Since none of… Continue reading
ancestral puebloans, chimney rock, chimney rock national monument, CO hikes, Colorado, colorado beer, cortez colorado, craft breweries, major lunar standstill, memorial weekend 2024, national monument, san juan national forest, treasure falls, western slope, yucca house, yucca house national monument -
A guide to visiting Hovenweep National Monument, Colorado & Utah
For at least 10,000 years, the desert southwest has been inhabited by humans. Initially, nomadic groups roamed through the region, but starting in about 500 CE, as farming proliferated and life became more stationary, permanent settlements were constructed. Over the next 700 years, thousands of dwellings of many types were built throughout the region, generally… Continue reading
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Desert dwellings – Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado
Memorial weekend is a tricky time of year for Colorado adventures. Three years ago, we went to the drier and more desert-like western part of the state and the weather was perfect. Two years ago, we went into the mountains and got snowed on. So when I sat down to plan this year’s Memorial Day… Continue reading
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Colorado Day Hikes: Mitchell and Blue Lakes
Last week, I wrote about one of the two most popular hikes in beautiful Brainard Lake Recreation Area in the Indian Peaks Wilderness west of Denver: Lake Isabelle. It’s a close call, but as lovely as Lake Isabelle is, in my opinion it’s actually the least scenic of the two. This one – to one… Continue reading
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Colorado Day Hikes: Long Lake and Lake Isabelle
A couple weeks back, I published an informational post about Brainard Lake Recreation Area, a popular destination that encompasses the eastern side of the Indian Peaks and surrounding wilderness area. This area is popular for a reason. Actually, there are many reasons, including its relatively short distance from Denver, ease of access, and plethora of… Continue reading
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Uncovering my inner umbraphile – total solar eclipse 2024
When I asked Pat what he wanted to do for his birthday this year, he answered immediately and without hesitation: travel to see the total solar eclipse! For perspective, Pat’s birthday is at the end of April, and I typically ask him this question in January because he’s usually quite indecisive. Given the certainty in… Continue reading
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Handstands Around the World 