Obtaining a backcountry permit for Rocky requires similar levels of intensity as many Colorado hiking feats, including summiting a 14er or finding parking at a trailhead or snagging a front country campsite anywhere during the summer. Permits become available each year on March 1 at 8:00am. So on March 1, 2019 at 7:59am, I was… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Thunder Lake
Curecanti National Recreation Area is largely a boating destination and remains, it seems, relatively unknown outside of boating circles. We don’t own a boat, but if you're anything like us then you might be excited to learn that Curecanti just so happens to have one that you can ride. For a fee, of course. The… Continue reading Touring the Gunnison River by Boat – Curecanti National Recreation Area, Colorado
After a stunningly beautiful 24 hours at the Maroon Bells, we packed up camp and headed south to Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I’m not sure what I was expecting Black Canyon to be, but it was wildly different from my expectations... in a good way. In my mind, I guess it was a mini… Continue reading Holy Schist! – Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
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 Day Hikes: West Maroon Creek Trail to Crater Lake
I said when I began this Colorado Bucket List series that some of these “must-do” items are probably a little overrated and/or cliché. Some of them are also excessively popular and crowded. This is absolutely one of the most popular and crowded items on the list, but it’s by no means overrated. There’s a reason… Continue reading Colorado Bucket List: Sunrise at the Maroon Bells
I’m sure my opinion will change as we explore more of Rocky but, so far, Chasm Lake is my absolute favorite hike in the park. It's actually my favorite trail in all of Colorado so far as well. I’ve done this hike twice; first with a friend in late August two summers back, and second… Continue reading Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Chasm Lake
Last week, I wrote up a long and detailed post about the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway, which passes through the scenic mountain town of Ouray (pronounced ‘you-ray’). We were only in town for a few hours so there’s a lot I still don’t know about the town. But I do know that the Ouray… Continue reading Colorado Day Hikes: Ouray Perimeter Trail
It only takes a few minutes of researching “best things to do in Colorado” – or some form of that sentence – before the Million Dollar Highway turns up. This 23 mile (37 km) section of Highway 550 stretches from Ouray to Silverton, and it’s iconic for a reason. The views are indescribable, the steep… Continue reading Colorado Bucket List: Driving the Million Dollar Highway
(Read part I of this post here) Most people don’t know this, but one of my majors in college was anthropology. Granted, it was anthropology with a biological focus. But I still took all the introductory classes, including archaeology. In fact, I initially signed up for an anthropology course because I wanted to be an… Continue reading Life on the Edge of a Cliff – Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado (part II)
A couple years ago, I wrote all about Mesa Verde based on my visit to this fascinating park back in 2010. But Pat had never been there and it’s a place I was happy to return to, so in early July of last year we headed out for a week long exploration of southwestern Colorado,… Continue reading Into the Past – Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado (part I)
