Colorado
-
A day in Idaho Springs, Colorado
I tend to forget how close Idaho Springs is to the Front Range… likely because we almost always get caught in traffic on our way there, turning it into a much longer drive than it should be. But even with traffic, it’s still not that long a drive. Which makes it even more ridiculous that… Continue reading
-
Campsite roundup: best spots we’ve ever pitched a tent
Back in May, we were relaxing at our campsite in Hovenweep National Monument and enjoying the view, and I remarked that it had been a while since we’d had a scenic campsite like this. My husband agreed, and then joked that I should write a blog post listing our best campsites. He should know better… Continue reading
-
Snapshots from the sky: Colorado to Montana
I know I said a couple weeks ago that posts about our Thanksgiving roadtrip to Utah were upcoming – and they are – but I’ve decided to shake things up a bit and talk about our Christmas trip to Yellowstone National Park first. For the last few years, my family and I have repeatedly found… Continue reading
-
Snapshots from the sky: spring 2024 edition
In retrospect, flying to Seattle for 3 days, Austin for 5 days, and Dallas for 4 days – all in a 5 week period – was overly ambitious. I definitely overbooked myself, and in the aftermath I very much paid the price. I don’t regret it, per se, because all three trips were fun. But… Continue reading
-
A comprehensive guide to visiting Rocky Mountain National Park
(Updated May 2025) Looking back, I realize I always took for granted that I used to live relatively close to a national park. Then I moved to New England, where the nearest “mountains” weren’t really mountains and the nearest national park was a full day’s drive away, and I realized how much I missed it.… Continue reading
-
Colorado sunrises and sunsets
Back in 2020, I created a post to share some of my favorite sunrise and sunset photos. While all the photos in that post are still among the best sunrises and sunsets I’ve captured on camera, three years have passed since then and I’ve accumulated numerous additional sunrise and sunset photos. And so, given that… Continue reading
-
A year in review: 2023
Well, it’s that time again. Time for me to jump on the bandwagon of writing an end-of-the-year wrap-up post. I always enjoy looking back at what I’ve accomplished in the year while also looking forward to the blank slate of the new year that awaits us. So without further ado: January I never really got… Continue reading
-
Snapshots from the sky: Colorado to California
Sometimes I think I should have been a pilot. I’m not actually sure the realities of that job would be the best fit for me – and I love my actual job – but I know for sure that I’d never get sick of gazing down at our beautiful planet from the air. I’m forever… Continue reading
-
A year in review: 2022
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 few years in Colorado. At the time, we didn’t know if we would be staying… Continue reading
-
Visiting the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit
I’m not really into art. I can appreciate the time and effort and talent that goes into creating a piece of art. But you’d have to drag me to an art museum, at which point I’d spend a few seconds looking at each item and then get bored. Then a few months back I read… Continue reading
-
Colorado State Parks: State Forest
A vast majority of Colorado’s state parks are in the plains or foothills in the general vicinity of the main population centers. Many of them – especially the ones on the plains – are centered around bodies of water and geared toward water sports. They’re also crowded. Because of these factors, most of these parks… Continue reading
-
Colorado 13er #3: Mount Audubon
The day began in a fairly typical fashion when it comes to hiking in Colorado: Mount Audubon is a 13er located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado. To reach the trailhead, one must enter through the gates of Brainard Lake Recreation Area, which is (a) gorgeous, (b) exceptionally popular and crowded, and (c) a… Continue reading
-
Colorado Hikes: West Maroon Creek Trail to Crater Lake
There are multiple Crater Lakes in Colorado. There are also multiple Blue Lakes. And Columbine Lakes. And probably lots of other duplicate names as well. Whoever is in charge of the Colorado Lake Naming Commission needs to up their standards for naming creativity. But it’s probably too late for that now, so I’ll just begin… Continue reading
-
Colorado Hikes: Mayflower Gulch (winter version)
Mayflower Gulch is a beautiful winter destination! The only downfall is that to get there from the Front Range, one must brave the ski traffic on I-70. And boy does that suck. We were on the road before dawn and traffic was already building. It took an extra 30 minutes to get there and an… Continue reading
-
A Year in Review: #52HikeChallenge 2019
In 2019, for the first time ever, I participated in the 52 Hike Challenge. This is exactly what it sounds like: the challenge of completing 52 hikes in 52 weeks. The only guidelines are that the hike should be at least 1 mile (1.6 km) long, you can complete a maximum of 1 hike per… Continue reading
-
Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Bear Lake to Fern Lake
Welcome to hike #2 in my Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes series! Rocky Mountain operates a free shuttle system from May to October that allows you to leave your car in Estes Park or at the Park-n-Ride inside the park boundary and take the bus to the trailheads, eliminating the stress of arriving at 6:00am… Continue reading
-
Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Gem Lake
As a perpetual vacation planner, it’s probably not terribly surprising that I started planning Colorado adventures months before our arrival. Nothing too in depth, because reality forced me to balance adventure planning with job applications and house hunting and the like. Nevertheless, I decided early on that we were going to spend as much time… Continue reading
-
Westward Bound, part II – Kentucky to Colorado
(Read part 1 of this post here) Day #5: I pride myself on being a pretty good vacation planner, but the logistics of this portion of our cross-country trip completely slipped through the cracks. I’d done my best to divide up the driving into relatively equal amounts – about 8 hours – each day. But… Continue reading
-
How To: pitch your tent in the sand
I admit, I’ve had a lot of trouble motivating myself to sit down and write my next post, which is why you haven’t heard from me in a couple weeks. I’ve been stubbornly sticking to my original plan of writing about my adventures in chronological order, and as a person who likes things to be… Continue reading
-
Left Foot New Mexico – Four Corners Monument
If you’ve been following me for a while, you may remember our failed attempt to visit Four Corners Monument (and if not, you can read about it here). Well as it happened, we found ourselves in the area once again the very next summer. And so this time – after calling ahead to confirm that they… Continue reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.