a former gymnast with a neverending case of wanderlust
Until I moved to Colorado, I wasn’t aware of its plethora of hot springs. But if you spend any amount of time in the state – or do a google search of ‘best things to do in Colorado’ – you will quickly discover the popularity of the state’s many hot springs. While there are a… Continue reading Colorado Destinations: Mount Princeton Hot Springs
About a year and a half ago, Chelsea and I concocted an idea: spend a day in Estes Park. It’s a town we drive through frequently en route to our hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park. But aside from a quick stop for coffee or beer on the way home, neither of us has actually… Continue reading Playing tourist for a day in Estes Park, Colorado
Pat and I haven’t had a lot of luck with this hike. The first time, in August 2018, we began our hike under blue skies, but as soon as we sat down at Lake Helene to eat a snack it began to rain. Between the precipitation and the low-hanging clouds obscuring the mountains, it wasn’t… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Two Rivers Lake & Lake Helene
In early 2020 – before the pandemic bulldozed everyone’s travel plans – my mom went on a group hike to Lava Lake in Montana’s Gallatin National Forest. It’s a hike both of us had done before, but never in the winter. The moment I saw her photos of this snow-covered wonderland, I knew I had… Continue reading Walking in a winter wonderland – Lava Lake, Montana
Well, we’ve finally reached the end of Thanksgiving in New Mexico. After four nights in Albuquerque and one night in Santa Fe, we headed north to Los Alamos for the final three days of our trip. The first two were spent visiting Bandelier and Valles Caldera, leaving the final day to hang around town. Like… Continue reading Nuclear science & history at Manhattan Project National Historical Park – Los Alamos, New Mexico
Last week, I wrote all about Bandelier National Monument, which protects the cliffs, canyons, and Ancestral Puebloan ruins south of Los Alamos, New Mexico. This landscape was created by the two massive eruptions of a nearby volcano more than 1 million years ago. After the final eruption the volcano collapsed, leaving behind a caldera 14… Continue reading Life inside a volcano – Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico
“The grandest thing I ever saw” – Adolph Bandelier, archaeologist Nestled in Frijoles Canyon, which has been carved into the Pajarito Plateau, is an 800-year-old pueblo called Tyuonyi. Tyuonyi (pronounced KYU-weh-nee, and no, that’s not a typo; it’s been three months, and my brain still struggles with seeing a T and having to make a… Continue reading Pueblos and petroglyphs – Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico
Pretty much everyone we talked to prior to our New Mexico road trip assured us we would really enjoy Santa Fe. It’s such a cool place, they said. Quirky and artsy and historic. And it definitely is all of those things. But honestly, I didn’t love it as much as I felt like I should… Continue reading Visiting the nation’s oldest capital city – Santa Fe, New Mexico
Located on the western edge of Albuquerque, New Mexico, hidden amongst the jumbled landscape, are more than 20,000 (not a typo!) historic rock carvings called petroglyphs. This area is part of the Rio Grande rift, formed over millions of years by the movement of tectonic plates. This rift stretches from central Colorado to central New… Continue reading Indigenous inscriptions – Petroglyph National Monument, New Mexico
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
Handstands Around the World 