a former gymnast with a neverending case of wanderlust
When we told people we were headed to New Mexico for Thanksgiving, they all assured us we would really enjoy our time in Santa Fe and Los Alamos. And we did (posts on those cities coming soon). But when we mentioned we were also spending time in Albuquerque, the universal response was: why? Well, I’ll… Continue reading 48 hours in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Day 2 of our New Mexico road trip was somewhat of a failure in planning. I did plan. I planned a lot. Too much, in fact. And had it been July, with 14 hours of daylight and the endless motivation that can only be found during summer break, we might have pulled it off. But… Continue reading Bad country – El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico
Thanksgiving road trip has become a tradition for us. I always have the entire week off from work (well, sort of… I have the week off from classes but not from grading, so my work laptop definitely came with us), and it turns out that November is a pretty good time of year to travel… Continue reading A smattering of New Mexico history
Well, another year has come and gone, and I'm not entirely sure how it happened. For us, 2022 was both more and less eventful than previous years. I admit, I may have been a little too ambitious for our first three years in Colorado. At the time, we didn't know if we would be staying… Continue reading A year in review: 2022
I have a terrible tendency to discount shorter or easier or lower elevation hikes because I'd much rather be above tree line on a summit or way in the backcountry at an alpine lake. I'm certain this bias has caused me to overlook many hiking opportunities over the years. But Colorado continues to remind me… Continue reading Day Hikes in: Evergreen, Colorado
Three years ago, Pat and I attended Upslope Brewing’s annual Backcountry Taproom and had a blast. After one year off due to Covid, the event was resurrected last year and we attended again. In the aftermath, I was telling my mom about it and she mentioned she’d like to come with us sometime. So this… Continue reading Colorado Fall Colors: Backcountry Taproom and Caribou Ranch Open Space
On September 24, 2022, two of my travel goals collided when I summited my eighth Colorado 14er… which also happens to be the highest point in Colorado! A few days later, as I sit down to begin writing this post, I’m conflicted about whether to title it ‘Colorado 14ers’ to match my other 14ers posts… Continue reading On Top of Colorado (and Colorado 14er #8): Mount Elbert
Up until June 2022, Lake Haiyaha looked like this. Image source On June 28, 2022, there was a rockslide on the mountainside above Lake Haiyaha. On this peaceful, sunny morning, a large section of the landscape broke free and began to tumble down Chaos Canyon. Rocks ranging in size from small pebbles to apartment-sized boulders… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Lake Haiyaha
Two years ago, Savannah and I made plans to hike to Tuhare Lakes with our husbands. Two years ago was also an absolutely awful summer for wildfires in Colorado; forest closures, evacuation zones, and suffocating smoke thwarted many plans… including this one. The original plan was to reschedule for summer 2021 instead, but we just… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Tuhare Lakes
You know how sometimes you’ve been wanting to do something for so long and you’ve built it up in your head, and then you finally get to do it and it’s not as amazing as you were hoping, and you end up being really disappointed? This was not that. It was, however, something I’d been… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Upper Glacier Gorge Lakes
Handstands Around the World 