Colorado – Treat Yourself to Travel

2,019 for 2019! (National Parks-NM, CO, TX)

February 21, 2019April 11, 2020Posted in National Parks, Read Them All, State CapitolTagged Carlsbad Caverns, Coffee shop, Colorado, National Monuments, National Park Pass, National Parks, New Mexico, Road Trip, USA Travel3 Comments

We couldn’t do it again if we tried! We drove exactly 2,019 miles on our first trip of 2019. We visited 5 National Monuments, 3 National Parks, a National Wildlife Refuge, a State Capitol and lots of other points of interest in between. Did I mention we did this with our 4 month old baby? #TeamTravelsBaby ! Check out our 5 day trip report (February 15-20).

Lucky for us, Spirit Airlines often flies for ~$100 round-trip to Denver from Baltimore. Even better is Denver is situated in the perfect place to take all kinds of amazing National Park trips. Check out our long October weekend to the Badlands and Wind Cave National Parks or our 7 day National Park trip that ended with Rocky Mountain National Park (an easy 90 minutes from Denver).

We are National Park junkies and have made it a goal to try and explore them all and we’re almost halfway there (Mike and I have visited 27 together)! My sister-in-law shares our love of hiking and adventuring and joined us on this ambitious trip out west (luckily Spirit offers a similarly priced trip from Detroit)! February is a COLD month to visit Colorado and New Mexico (think negative 12 degrees at one point) and we literally would not have been able to cover as much ground or have the five day trip we did without her help.

Day 1 (approximate miles driven: 550 miles)

Start Day – Colorado Springs (Day 0, arrived late in the evening to DIA and drove here to sleep)
Bishop Castle – Think crooked, unfinished castle with cool turrets, beautiful stain glass and a unique “found on the side of the road” Colorado vibe. Fun to explore at your own risk!
Capulin Volcano National Monument – Right over the border in New Mexico, you drive to the top of the volcano. It is SUPER windy and there are two hikes at the top – one around the rim and one into the crater. There’s also a nice short round-trip walk near the visitor center. While this park costs $20, if you buy the $80 America the Beautiful National Park pass, you can get your monies worth in no time by visiting a handful of parks in a year. The ergo baby was perfect here, but our Addy hated the wind.
Las Vegas – If you know geography, you’ll know we didn’t drive to the real Las Vegas. Las Vegas is a small town with a historic hotel, some graffiti and a town square with some statues. A good pit stop to stretch your legs on the way to something cooler.
End Day – Roswell

Day 2 (approximate miles driven: 484 miles)

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge – We woke up in Roswell (yep, the alien city with the alleged UFO citing). First thing in the morning, we drove the 8-mile wildlife loop. It was a very serene drive and a nice place to start the day.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park – This was one of the highlights of the trip and also covered by the America the Beautiful Pass (instead of $15 per person, the pass covers up to 4 people). The drive up the mountain to get the visitor’s center is beautiful as well as the one-way loop on Walnut Canyon Desert Drive. The walk down to the Big Room in the cave as well as the loop around it is filled with decorations or stalactites and stalagmites. There’s also an elevator option, which we took at the end back to the visitor’s center instead of attempting a steep walk up with Addy. Our ergo baby came in handy and Addy slept almost the entire time we explored. If you’re interested in taking a guided tour, make sure to buy your tickets in advance as they only take small groups and they sell out quickly. Based on our positive experiences of taking guided tours at Wind Cave National Park (SD), Jewel Cave National Monument (SD), Cave of the Winds (CO), and Luray Caverns (VA), this is something we wish we could have done here. We also enjoyed the short nature trail that looped back to the amphitheater (where you enter the cave).
Guadalupe Mountains National Park – This park is extremely close (like a 30 minute drive) from Carlsbad Caverns and right over the border into the northwest corner of Texas. We also went through a time zone change driving here. The scenery is beautiful and shouldn’t be missed. We weren’t here long, but we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over this park on the way back to New Mexico.
End Day – Santa Fe

Day 3 (approximate miles driven: 147 miles)

Santa Fe – Waking up here was the best decision because this meant my SIL and I got to try the Christmas chili (red and green chili) breakfast burrito at The New Baking Company. It was DELISH! From here it was a short drive to old town Santa Fe. We parked a few blocks from the State Capitol at a meter (there’s a free week day parking garage, but it fills up quickly). Everywhere you walk there’s red chili hanging. It’s super pretty and unique. The whole city has a unique vibe. We checked out the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis, sipped a matcha latte and chai plus indulged and tried gelato samples from Café Atalaya and toured the utilitarian State Capitol building (found the accessible entrance through the connected Annex). The artwork throughout the Capitol was made by artists who lived in New Mexico at the time of creation and the views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are incredible. This was a stroller friendly couple of hours.
Bandelier National Monument – This was another highlight of the trip! Starting at the visitor center, there’s a great hike up to the first set of houses. There are ladders to climb up and take a peek in the different houses. We continued past these to the Alcove House! This is a 140 foot ascent up multiple ladders (at your own risk) and we did this with our baby in tow! My husband was brave enough to wear her up and down and VERY lucky for us, she slept through it all. The experience is exhilarating and the view from the top is worth the climb. We also saw mule deer and an Abert’s squirrel (they have funny ears).
Albuquerque – We saw the most gorgeous sunset on our drive to ABQ. I would highly recommend finding a good spot to post up for pics! We found an evening coffee spot called Prismatic Coffee, drove around for a bit and then called it a night.
End Day – Albuquerque

Alcove House — Bandelier National Monument

Petroglyphs National Monument — Petroglyphs

Day 4 (approximate miles driven: 330 miles)

Petroglyphs National Monument – We happened to be in ABQ when there was TONS of snow, so there wasn’t a sunrise like we had hoped to see in the Volcanoes Day section of this park. We ended up being able to hike at Piedras Marcadas Canyon. This was a really fun hike to do in the snow (with the place to ourselves) and we were still able to see petroglyphs and lots of black-tailed jackrabbits.
Tent Rocks National Monument – We were super bummed we drove all the way here and it was unexpectedly closed. If you’re in this general area between Santa Fe and ABQ, definitely try to add it to your list! The cone shaped rock formations are reminiscent of the hoodies we saw at Bryce Canyon National Park.
Rio Grande del Norte National Monument – This was a way better stop than we anticipated. The bridge itself and views are amazing. We got super lucky too and saw 5 big horned sheep grazing below, two of which were males with huge horns. There’s ample parking on both sides of the bridge and facilities.
Taos – We didn’t quite make it to the “mountain village”, but we did enjoy a coffee shop here before the rest of our drive to Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve.
Colorful Colorado – Don’t miss the opportunity to jump out of the car and get a picture with the “Colorful Colorado” sign at the border!
End Day – Alamosa (near Great Sand Dunes)

Day 5 (approximate miles driven: 330 miles)

Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve – We drove the park road the night before and saw tons of elk grazing. On our sunrise drive into the park, we got to take in some amazing views and you realize the sand dunes are right before your eyes in front of humungous mountains. We went right past the visitor center and we were able to hike onto the snow covered sand dunes. Again, we had this place to ourselves! It was cool to see different animal prints in the snow covered sand. It’s unlike any place we had ever been before and also one of the highlights of the trip. We didn’t have the right kind of vehicle for the terrain and snow covered incline, but if you do, it looks like nearby Zapata Falls would be an amazing place to see.
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – This wasn’t in the original plan, but when we realized we had a little extra time on our hands, we headed here. There are fossilized redwood stumps and we enjoyed a snow-covered trail here. There were also tons of fossils to see in the visitor center. We didn’t see signs for it, but there’s a new National Monument called Browns Canyon in the general area between Great Sand Dunes and here that looks like it would be fun to see. You can see the Arkansas River when you’re driving.
Colorado Springs – At 4.9 stars when we checked, Story Coffee Company is a super cute, tiny coffee shop located right in the center of town. Our drinks were delicious and kept us warm as we looped around town checking out the street art and beautiful mountain views. With about an hour left before we needed to head to Denver, the Garden of the Gods (free) was a perfect way to spend the sunset. The red rocks make for the ideal photo backdrop. If you have more time, Cave of the Winds is located here.
End Day/Trip – Returned rental car to the Denver airport and took a red eye flight home; Car rentals can be really expensive out of Denver Airport, so make sure to shop around. We got the best deal using Car Rental 8, but in the past I’ve often found the best deal using CarRentals.com .

Would we do it again? Absolutely. Would we recommend waiting until it were slightly warmer out? Perhaps. However, the BEST benefit of traveling during the off season is you get places like National Parks and Monuments all to yourself. At many of the places we visited, we either had the place to ourselves or we saw less than a handful of people. The other BIG benefit is you can find CHEAP hotels in the off season, if you have a baby like us and can no longer carsleep your way around the country. Keep up with us on Instagram @TeamTravelsBaby as we head out on our next adventure!

Cluster your day around Custer

October 29, 2017November 15, 2017Posted in National Parks, Read Them All, State CapitolTagged Coffee shop, Colorado, South Dakota, Travel, USA Travel, Wyoming1 Comment

Sunrise at Custer State Park | Teamtravelsblog

South Dakota amazed us! Sylvan Lake and a drive along the Needles Highway in Custer State Park shouldn’t be missed! Jewel Cave National Monument is incredible and different from nearby Wind Cave. Our whirlwind three day trip wraps up here with a pit stop in Cheyenne and Denver too!

South Dakota Trip Highlights on Sunday, October 29, 2017

The animals – elk, bison, pronghorn, white-tailed deer
Jewel Cave National Monument
Crazy Horse Memorial
Custer State Park – Sylvan Lake and Needles Highway
Cheyenne, WY – Paramount Café, Big Boots
Denver, CO – 16^th Street Mall

I woke up super early, so I decided to get our day started. We headed for 16A (road name) from Rapid City, South Dakota so we could get on Iron Mountain Road. I read online and I was told that Iron Mountain Road was a windy road into Custer State Park that offered cool one lane tunnels. There were a few benefits of going before the sunrise: 1) The night sky is visible and filled with stars; 2) Not a single other car on the road; 3) Tons of deer. The road has a few pull offs and eventually connects in with the Wildlife Loop of Custer State Park by the visitor center. This was great for us because we arrived to the Wildlife Loop right around sunrise (sunrise time: 7:25 am) and the perfect time for animal viewing.

Bison on the Wildlife Loop | Teamtravelsblog

As we began our drive from east to west, we saw two male elk in the distance. As we watched them, they ultimately approached the road and crossed the street in front of us. Talk about good timing! Throughout our drive, we saw many buffalo and some white-tailed deer too. The highlight though was when we saw four pronghorn on the side of the road. I’m really happy they weren’t scared off by our car because we were able to get some great photos and video!

Pronghorn in Custer State Park | Teamtravelsblog

From the Wildlife Loop we headed through Custer to get to Jewel Cave National Monument. The entire time drive is through the Black Hills National Forest, which in and of itself is beautiful. Jewel Cave is often compared with Wind Cave since they’re only about 45 minutes apart from each other. In my opinion, the two caves are quite different and both worth a look. We took the 10 a.m., 80 minute Natural Tour ($12/person). The size of the cave, which is ranked #3 in the world, feels enormous compared with Wind Cave. There are incredible stalactites (icicle-shaped and hang from the cave) and stalagmites (generally under the stalactite and formed from the water dripping). While Wind Cave is known for its boxwork, the stalactites and stalagmites are more abundant in Jewel Cave.

"Bacon" at Jewel Cave — “Bacon” at Jewel Cave | Teamtravelsblog

There’s also a really amazing formation known as “bacon”, which legitimately looks like the world’s biggest bacon strip found in Jewel Cave. We found the tour to be worthwhile and also enjoyed a peaceful “Walk on the Roof” above ground.

After leaving Jewel Cave, we headed back to Custer to check out the Crazy Horse Memorial. Crazy Horse is not an animal, but rather a Native American leader of the Lakota tribe. This Memorial is not a finished work, but rather a work in progress that was started in the 1940s.

Current Crazy Horse Memorial — Crazy Horse Memorial | Teamtravelsblog

If you pay the $12/person, you gain access to a very large museum of Native American history. We found the 23 minute video to be really informative and it talks about the history of the Memorial as well as the continued work. It turns out that a Native American, known as Standing Bear, approached Korczak Ziolkowski, a Polish man to take on the creation of the Crazy Horse Memorial. Mr. Ziolkowski also happened to be a Mount Rushmore sculptor. Since his passing, his family created a foundation that continues to work on the Memorial and the museum offers a large scale statue of what they expect the final Memorial to look like.

Crazy Horse Mini Version | Teamtravelsblog

You can definitely get a view of the Memorial without entering the Crazy Horse Memorial area. This may interest you, especially since it’s another $4 if you want to take a school bus closer to the Memorial, which is an active construction site. Nevertheless, we both learned a lot in our short visit.

From here, we knew we wanted to try to see Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park and drive along the Needles Highway. As we drove toward the Sylvan Lake Entrance, we saw some enormous longhorn cattle. Past the Custer State Park pay station, there is a parking lot for Sylvan Lake. This lake is an absolute hidden gem – it’s beautiful! While it was very cold out, we braced it to take a short walk by the lake which boasts enormous rocks.

We then followed the signs for the Needles Highway. It’s a very windy road, has an 8-foot wide tunnel that I was sure we wouldn’t fit through and views similar to what you’d experience at Zion National Park. This part of Custer State Park could definitely be a national park – it’s incredible! One curve after the tunnel, we saw a man with binoculars pulled over. We joined him and after our eyes adjusted, we realized he had spotted mountain goats blending into the side of the mountain. What a treat! If we come back, we will definitely spend more time exploring here.

Needles Highway | Teamtravelsblog

Sylvan Lake | Teamtravelsblog

We hit the road to start our ride back to Denver, Colorado. The drive is beautiful and you can enjoy fast speeds and see animals like horses, cows and bison on both sides of the road. It was a few hours before we made it to Cheyenne, Wyoming. This is the capitol, but unfortunately their state capitol building was under construction so we didn’t get a good picture of the building or a chance to tour the inside. A few minutes up the street we found free parking and walked to the Paramount Café located at 1607 Capitol Avenue so I could get a coffee treat.

Paramount Cafe in Cheyenne | Teamtravelsblog

This place was decorated for Halloween and I ordered a Casa Bonita (honey, cinnamon + vanilla latte) from their “super secret menu”. This is one of the most reasonably priced coffee shops I’ve been in to, which is probably a little insight into the cost of living here.

Up the street from the Paramount Café, you can discover a few of the “Big Boots of Cheyenne”. There are a few around the Depot Plaza and Museum. Even the clock on the old train station was decked out for Halloween with an orange color and cat-like eyes. This was a good pit stop on our journey back to Denver. Since we made surprisingly good time, and it was Sunday, we found a free parking spot on Champa Street only a few blocks from the 16^th Street Mall. You’ll have to read about our previous and more complete Denver experience in another blog post.

"Big Boot" at Cheyenne Depot Plaza — “Big Boot” at Cheyenne Depot Plaza | Teamtravelsblog

We returned our rental car and made our red eye Frontier flight without issue. This concludes our incredible three day adventure in South Dakota with a side of Cheyenne and a sip of Denver. We hope you’ll follow us to our next adventure!

Moose, Elk and a Black Bear, Oh My!

September 5, 2017November 4, 2017Posted in National Parks, Read Them AllTagged Colorado, National Park Pass, Travel, USA Travel, Weekend Trip2 Comments

Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado can’t be missed. If you can travel from Grand Lake on the west side to Estes Park on the east side, you won’t regret it! On our journey from west to east we saw moose, elk and a black bear!

Rocky Mountain National Park Highlights on Monday, September 4 and Tuesday, September 5, 2017

The animals – moose, elk, black bear, Stellar’s Jay (bird)
Adams Falls (west side)
Continental Divide (middle)
Many Parks Curve Overlook (middle/east side)
Alberta Falls (east side)
Bear Lake (east side)

I had done all of the driving up to this point of the trip and as we were leaving Maroon Bells, it finally caught up to me. Mike’s foot was starting to feel better, so he offered to drive us to the Grand Lake entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). While I-70 east was easy, cruise control driving, the way the GPS took us to RMNP was insane! It was up and down a mountainside, narrow roads, and quite honestly, made my heart skip some beats. Luckily, it didn’t snow or rain, so we made it to the RMNP without incident. We started our trip with the traditional “National Park” sign and then drove by the lodge to get a picture and view of Grand Lake. If you have a few minutes to spare, it’s worth parking in the lot and seeing the beautiful lake.

View of Grand Lake from the Lodge | Teamtravelsblog

You’ll start to contemplate your existing retirement plans and see yourself here. It is so peaceful! Again, make sure you have the Annual National Park Pass for $80 or risk spending $30 just for this park. If you want a map of the park, here it is: https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/upload/ROMOmap1_small.pdf

From here, we stopped at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, where we made it in the door about a minute before closing. The park ranger was kind enough to give us a map and make a few recommendations. His best advice was to drive up and down the main street, especially at dawn or dusk for the best opportunity to see animals like elk or moose. He also heeded us that if we saw two cars pulled over, to go ahead and be the third, because this meant animals! We drove the main strip and pulled into a few of the points of interest, but we didn’t do any hiking until we got to the last pull off on the left, which was the Colorado River Trailhead. The first part of the walk is a bit steep, but then it’s quite level after that and has a main intersection that allows you to choose different trails. During one of the sections, we looked up and spotted an animal. We were so caught off guard that we ended up scaring the “elk-moose”, whatever it was, before we got a good look. We’re convinced it was a moose, but without our photographic evidence, we couldn’t say for sure.

As the sun started to set, we did as the ranger advised and drove the main strip. It didn’t take long before we saw groups of cars pulled over looking at herds of elk. We were lucky that people were willing to share their binoculars for better views and a park ranger was also present at one of the stops offering information about bugling (the noise that elk make). We didn’t get any elk close ups and didn’t see a moose, but we were exhausted and knew it would be a good idea to get some sleep so we could return to the main road before the sunrise. We filled the car with gas in Grand Lake and then we used Booking.com* to find a nearby, last minute hotel for the night. We stayed at America’s Best Value Inn-Bighorn Lodge. The receptionist office is not 24 hours, so make sure you check the closing time for any hotel you’re considering. We arrived at the receptionist office shortly before closing and got a nice, clean room. After two nights in the car and five out of the previous six nights, I was ready for a shower and a bed to rest my head.

Our plan worked! Early to bed and early to rise! We dropped our room key in the dropbox and were back on the main strip before the sunrise (sunrise was: 6:35 am). We couldn’t believe it – there were SO MANY UP CLOSE ELK! We had a blast stopping in the pull offs and on the side of the road to capture photos and video of the adult and young elk. We got some great ones of elk crossing the street and grazing on the side of the road.

Once we were satisfied with our elk experience, we drove back out of the park and to a separate section of the park where Adams Falls is located. You actually drive through part of downtown Grand Lake to get there. There’s a large parking lot, facilities and a short hike to a beautiful waterfall. We even got lucky and saw a deer here! As our seventh national park on this trip, Arches National Park was the only one where we didn’t come across a deer. I’m not sure if it was the time of day or if it was because it was the Tuesday after Labor Day, but we got the place to ourselves. We also got another wonderful view of Grand Lake.

Back in the car, we drove back into the rest of the park and past the Kawuneeche Visitor Center. We drove slowly, as we wanted to see animals. We saw a car pulled over and decided to go see what they were looking at. We were rewarded and saw a moose grazing. At one point, the moose even looked straight at us and I got some cool shots with my Nikon Coolpix L340*.

Just when we thought the show might be over, an adolescent moose appeared out of nowhere. Our car and the one in front of us, inched forward and then we got to see the momma moose cross the street and the adolescent one scurry across close behind. I was so happy that Mike was ready with the camera and got a video of the whole thing!

At this point, we were satisfied and started our drive to the tundra. On the way, we stopped to take a look at Lake Irene, which was pretty and the Continental Divide. By the Alpine Visitor Center, which was actually quite busy, we made the extremely windy and cold walk up the stairs on the Alpine Ridge Trail. There’s a sign at the top that says “elevation 12,005 feet above sea level” which makes for a good photo op. We continued our journey east through the park toward Estes Park. We made a few stops at places like the Lava Cliffs and Forest Canyon Overlook. While we were at Many Parks Curve Overlook and enjoying the panoramic viewing platform, we saw a group of people gathered and sure enough, they were looking at a black bear! It wasn’t super close, but luckily the zoom feature on my camera really helped us to get a better view.

Continuing through the park, we followed the signs to Bear Lake. A huge sign said there were no parking spots and to take the shuttle, but we took our chances. We found a spot in the Bear Lake parking lot and hiked to Alberta Falls. This waterfall is incredible!

Alberta Falls in RMNP — Alberta Falls | Teamtravelsblog

There are huge rocks alongside it that you can climb on and find great places for selfies! From here, we went to Bear Lake and watched the birds. The blue and black bird known as Steller’s Jay was here and really beautiful to see. On our drive down from Bear Lake, we found another great opportunity to see male and female elk. We pulled the car over and took advantage of the photo opportunity.

We absolutely LOVED RMNP and will be back again! We made the easy 90 minute trip to Denver and I hope to tell you all about this wonderful city soon!

Steller's Jay by Bear Lake — Steller’s Jay by Bear Lake | Teamtravelsblog

My Aspen to Maroon Bells

September 4, 2017October 25, 2017Posted in National Parks, Read Them AllTagged Colorado, National Park Pass, Travel, USA Travel1 Comment

Maroon Bells and Crater Lake are located in the White River National Forest near Aspen, Colorado. Both lakes are picturesque and shouldn’t be missed on your trip to Colorado.

White River National Forest Highlights on Monday, September 4, 2017

Maroon Bells
Crater Lake

We woke up early and on a mission! From my research, I knew we had to arrive at Maroon Bells before 8 am if we wanted a chance to park in the Maroon Bells parking lot. The drive through Aspen, Colorado on the way to Maroon Bells is beautiful. In the GPS, I used 76 Boomerang Rd, Aspen, CO 81611 to guide our drive, which I believe is a parking structure. Instead of stopping here, we continued along the road for a few more minutes until we came to a toll booth at the entrance of the White River National Forest. It was a definite bonus to learn that the Annual National Park Pass that I’ve written so much about works here too and saves you $10! Once we showed our pass and got a map, we followed the signs to the day parking where there were rangers who guided us to an open parking spot. We were parked by 7:30 am and thankful because the lot filled up quickly and if you can’t find day parking before 8 am, you have to park in the parking garage and pay for a shuttle. I found this site as well as this other site to be super informative as I was planning. From everything I had read, Maroon Bells is one of the most photographed sites in Colorado and after a visit, this is no surprise.

The walk up to the lake, Maroon Bells, is incredible. In the morning, the reflections of the mountain on the water will fill up your iPhone memory space. I still can’t believe we were here. There were families posing by the lake, dogs being walked and kids laughing. There are a few different hikes you can take. We started off by walking around Maroon Lake on the Maroon Lake Trail and then continued to the Scenic Loop Trail. Take your time and remember to look up and behind you to really appreciate its beauty. Don’t miss the beaver dam either.

Start of the Scenic Loop Trail | TeamTravelsBlog

We saw signs for Crater Lake Trail and decided to check it out. The map says it’s a 3.6 mile round-trip hike. The hike is a bit intense as it’s primarily uphill and there are different terrains, including sections that are rocky. There are different spots along the trail to “pull over” and let people pass you that are inclined to walk faster. We were tired, so we gladly let people pass as we made our way to the top. Once you clear the final trees at the top, there is a magnificent lake called Crater Lake.

There are lots of logs you can sit on and enjoy your snack or lunch. Tons of ducks were relaxing on the logs in the water, while others were dipping their heads in the water for their own lunch.

The walk down was much easier than the hike up. As you make your way down, make sure to keep an eye out for the opening where you can get some good shots of Maroon Bells. There are also tons of lovely birch trees to photograph too.

Birch Trees in the White River National Forest | TeamTravelsBlog

We probably could have stayed here all day, but we got to the car, where the parking lot had significantly emptied since the morning and made the approximately 3.5 hour drive to the Grand Lake entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. This was recommended to us by the ranger at Canyonlands and we are so thankful we took her advice! When we saw Grand Lake, we started to reminisce about our time walking and biking along Lake Zurich in Switzerland.

Check out our article tomorrow about our evening and following morning exploring Rocky Mountain National Park before we round out our trip in Denver.

Mes-a-round with Canyonlands

September 3, 2017October 22, 2017Posted in National Parks, Read Them AllTagged Colorado, National Park Pass, Travel, USA Travel, Utah, Weekend Trip2 Comments

Mesa Arch at Canyonlands National Park | TeamTravelsBlog

The Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands gives you views of the Colorado and Green Rivers, beautiful overlooks and unique points of interest like Whale Rock and Upheaval Dome. Of course, a stop here wouldn’t be complete without photographing Mesa Arch.

Canyonlands National Park Highlights on Sunday, September 3, 2017

Mesa Arch
Grand View Point Overlook
Buck Canyon Overlook
Upheaval Dome
Whale Rock
White Rim Overlook (sign reads “Hiking Trails”)

Sleeping in the car has its advantages! After the financial savings, the next biggest is once you’re awake, you can start moving right away without delay. We followed the GPS and took the most direct way from the Grand Canyon to Canyonlands. We retraced some steps by driving back through Kanab, passing Zion, Bryce and arrived across the street from Arches National Park after 5 hours. One thing to note is we lost one hour when we crossed back into Utah from Arizona. The other most important thing to note is the drive on I-70 is exhausting. There are signs reminding drivers to stay hydrated and to pull over if necessary. This road allows you to legally drive 80 mph! Make sure you have water and gas before making this long drive because there aren’t many options.

It is super important to know that Canyonlands has two completely different park sections and they are not close to one another. The section in the north that is relatively close to Arches National Park is called Island in the Sky (this is the section we went to) and the section in the south is called The Needles. Similar to the other national parks, it’s worth stopping at the Visitor Center to talk with a ranger, use the facilities and get a map. We experienced a cool small world connection here where the ranger’s son lives in Virginia and went to George Washington University for undergrad, which is the same school Mike and I attended for graduate school. If you want to check out a map ahead of your trip, here’s a good one: https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/upload/canymap.pdf

We stopped at the most notable place, Mesa Arch first. Since we arrived in the early afternoon, it was extremely hot out so we loaded up with sunscreen and wore our hats.

Mesa Arch at Canyonlands | TeamTravelsBlog

Mesa Rock is particularly popular for sunrise and sunset views, but it was nice even in the middle of the day. You can hike around the arch, pose for a picture in the archway or use the arch as a frame for what’s beyond. Once we were back in the car, we continued to the fork in the road and headed left. We popped out at the Orange Cliffs Overlook and then continued to the Grand View Point Overlook.

Grand View Point Overlook | TeamTravelsBlog

This is a great spot to catch a glimpse of the Colorado River and to try to find a car or two driving below you on White Rim Road. We found a white SUV that looked like a speck. On your drive back to the fork, Buck Canyon Overlook is another good point of interest if you want to hop out of the car and take a few pictures.

The main road wasn’t busy, so we drove back to the fork and headed left. We got out of the car at the Aztec Butte for a quick picture, but didn’t hike here. Instead, we drove to the end of the road and stopped at the Upheaval Dome. There are two theories about the upheaval dome – personally, I like the meteorite theory. If you’re interested in learning more, you can check out the NPS site.

The trail here is relatively short and has a moderate incline to a good viewing point. We followed the signs to the “First Overlook”, since that’s what the ranger at the visitor center recommended.

Retracing our drive, we stopped at Whale Rock on the left. This hike is not only extremely fun with excellent views from the top, but there’s also legit cell phone service from the top! If you want to quickly send or receive text messages, this is the place. The hike to the top isn’t too difficult, but paying attention to the cairns is important (stacked rocks that serve as guide posts), especially when it’s hot and easy to get disoriented.

Once you’re at the top, the large rocks provide some shade as well. Before the fork in the road, we stopped at the Green River Overlook for a view of the other river.

Since the ranger told us her favorite spot was the White Rim Overlook, we knew we had to go check it out. This is back on the original road as if you’re heading toward the Grand View Point Overlook, but it’s on the left and the sign only reads “Hiking Trails”. In other words, it’s well hidden until you park and find the trailhead sign that indicates the white rim overlook mile level walk is only 0.8 miles away. This place is so cool! There are huge imprints in the rock that look like dinosaur prints. This is another trail that requires paying attention to the cairns. We headed out close to sunset and were rewarded with incredible views. We had the place to ourselves, which was perfect, until the sun went down and we found ourselves here, in the dark, with only our dying phone flashlight to help us find the cairns.

Sunset at White Rim Overlook | TeamTravelsBlog

We were thankful when we made it back to the car and came across a deer on our drive heading out of the park. We stopped at the closed visitor center to refill our water bottles and found there were tons of bats guarding the entrance. This was a bit scary. We took our time driving out of the park, cognizant that animals could appear anywhere and made our way back to I-70 east toward Colorado. We drove about two hours to Parachute, Colorado where we found a good rest station for the night with the best restrooms we had seen in days. In other words, these flushed!

Come with us to the White River National Forest near Aspen tomorrow to see one of the most photographed places in all of Colorado – Maroon Bells! From here we will take you to the 7th and final national park of our trip!

Arch You Red?

August 30, 2017October 21, 2017Posted in National Parks, Read Them AllTagged Coffee shop, Colorado, Day Trip, Denver, Moab, National Park Pass, Travel, USA Travel, Utah2 Comments

We visited 7 National Parks in 7 Days! Arches National Park in Utah was our first park of the trip after leaving Denver. Be sure to check out all 7 parks!

Arches National Park Highlights on Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Balanced Rock
Sand Dune Arch
View from La Sal Mountain
Landscape Arch in Garden of the Gods
Note: The Windows Section of the park was closed during our trip and the park was only open from 7 am – 7 pm.

We arrived to the Denver, Colorado airport on Tuesday evening, picked up our full sized rental car and drove to the Wal-mart in Avon, Colorado. Do your due diligence and read the tiny print when booking a Denver rental car. Not all car companies offer out of state driving or unlimited miles. We came across a few companies (the ones with the cheapest rental prices) that had these limitations. We picked this particular Wal-mart as our driving destination for the evening because it’s a 24-hour store, which was perfect for picking up snacks, using the bathroom and finding a quiet corner of the parking lot to sleep.

We woke up super early to drive the remaining 3.5 hours to Arches National Park. There is an Exxon station before you get to the park when approaching from the highway, that’s a bit pricey, but worth it for the peace of mind of having a full tank of gas. Alternatively, you can drive past Arches and into Moab to fill up with gas. Immediately after making the turn into Arches National Park, there’s a place to pull off and pose with the Arches National Park sign. If you arrive before the park opens, there’s no one at the gate, however, if you plan on seeing multiple National Parks, it’s worth spending the $80 to get the Annual National Park Pass as most of the parks average $25 for admittance.

It’s worth printing the map (https://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/upload/archmap.pdf) from the National Park Services (NPS) site before you start your trip and then getting a fancy one at the Visitor Center later in the day. We stopped at the Courthouse Towers Viewpoint first to take in the beautiful red rocks. From here we continued north on the main path to Balanced Rock. One benefit of starting early is you’re likely to beat the tour busses that are bound to come and stop at these points of interest. Balanced Rock is perfect for taking a short stroll and stretching your legs from the car ride.

As I mentioned at the top, the famous Windows Section of the park was closed. We headed east when the road split to see the Delicate Arch. Unfortunately, since Mike was still healing from a broken foot, we didn’t have the opportunity to take the walk up to the arch, where I believe it would have appeared to be much larger than it did from the viewpoint. Everything I read said this is a really nice hike that we will definitely plan to do the next time. From here, we headed back to the fork in the road along the other path to the Sand Dune Arch. This was a highlight for us. It was a fun walk through the sand to see the arch.

There are other places between Sand Dune Arch and the Devils Garden to stop and take pictures.

We stopped a few times before parking by the Devils Garden. It was a decent walk to the Landscape Arch. Make sure to bring tons of water as it can get very hot and there is limited shade for a reprieve. Many people start or end their day at the Devils Garden as the heat can be treacherous. If you plan on doing lots of hiking, I highly recommend my Columbia hiking boots* which aren’t too heavy and are waterproof. We drove back along the main drag and made our last major stop at the La Sal Mountain viewpoint. This is an incredible view with lots of points of interest to take in such as the Three Gossips, the Tower of Babel and the Organ.

We wrapped up our Arches National Park visit at the Visitor Center where we were able to get a map and newspaper, use the facilities and fill up our water bottles. From here we drove about 5 miles to Moab and made it to Wicked Brew Espresso Drive Thru before it closed. This little trailer coffee shop offered delicious iced lattes with unique flavor combinations.

The two and a half hour drive to Capitol Reef National Park had a variety of terrains and seemed as though we were driving through national parks the entire time. It’s essentially a one lane road in each direction the whole way. Check out my next article to learn more about our adventures here and the subsequent ones to read all about our 7 parks in 7 days trip!