I've got a bucket list of sorts and one of the things on it is for us to visit all 59 National Parks. So why not take a nice long trip and knock a few off the list? Well, we just got back (ok, like over a week ago) from a massive road trip around Colorado to do just that. Which means that yes, this is one of those huge vacation blog posts where I go into too much detail about everything we did and post a thousand pictures of it too. So, as always, if you want to just skim through the pictures I won't be offended in the least. But anyway, let's just jump right into it.
We started off with a quick flight from Indy to Denver on Friday afternoon. The landing was a bit rough, but we made it safely and then took a Lyft to our hotel, situated about 5-10 minutes north of downtown, to drop off our bags. We then headed downtown to the 16th Street Mall, which is basically just a long, pedestrian-friendly street with tons of restaurants, bars, cafes, and the like. We walked it for awhile looking for somewhere to grab dinner and eventually landed on Henry's Tavern. After dinner and a few drinks we walked the mall a bit more and then headed back to the hotel. The two hour time difference, plus a long day of airports, flights, etc. had us pretty tired. Plus we had a full schedule for the whole trip - no sense starting it off too sleep deprived!
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| Some amazing onions rings to start with |
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| Bison chili on macaroni and cheese with diced peppers and chipotle ranch |
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| Some fancy grilled cheese that Leslie got |
The next day, Saturday, started off with a quick breakfast at the hotel then a Lyft ride to pick up our 2018 Kia Optima rental car. I know, why didn't we just pick it up at the airport when we arrived? Well, we didn't really need it the first night - downtown was close enough to the hotel that getting a ride was probably about the same price as parking would have been, plus it saved about $150 on the price of the rental to get it the next day and get it from somewhere other than the airport. So why not? Anyway, after picking up the car we headed to the first real stop of the day: the Denver zoo! I think animals are probably Leslie's favorite thing in the world, so whenever we're somewhere with a nice zoo we usually try to visit it. Plus it's a fun way to spend a few hours, especially when the weather was as nice as it was that Saturday.
After spending some time among the Animalia, we took off on our next phase of the trip. That meant a scenic drive through Boulder and up into the mountains on our way to Estes Park. It was a beautiful little trip and we even found time to stop for a quick lunch at Crosscut Pizzeria and Taphouse and pick up some hot drinks from New Moon Bakery and Cafe in the little town of Nederland. Bellies full and warm beverages in hand, we hit the road again and were soon in Estes Park. We dropped off our bags at the hotel then headed into town to walk around and see what's up. Estes Park reminds me a bit of Gatlinburg, TN - lots of little shops featuring local artwork and souvenir shirts, an abundance of candy stores and ice cream parlors, and a bunch of tourists like us walking around it all. That's not a bad thing, though, and we had a good time wandering around town. We even picked up a cool handmade mug from one of the stores, because what's a vacation without a few fun keepsakes?
We explored town for awhile then headed back to the hotel and to get changed for dinner. I had booked us a table at the Twin Owls Steakhouse and we didn't want to show up in just shorts and t-shirts. Dinner was delicious! Elk medallions for me and scallops for Leslie - both were excellent and a great end to the day. So, full of good food and tired from the day's drive (and probably a little jet-lagged still), we ended day two.
Day three, Sunday, started off with a trip to the grocery store. This is a road trip, after all, so you need road trip snacks! We stopped off at a Safeway to get the goods: Cheez-Its, Oreos, Twizzlers, granola bars, and an assortment of other things I'm forgetting. Plus we got a two-gallon jug of water and a pack of Sprite - gotta stay hydrated in these high elevations! Last year I'd gotten this cool little soft-sided cooler from work, so we brought it along so we could have cold drinks while on the road. Smart, right?
Having stocked up on supplies, it was time we headed into Rocky Mountain National Park! The weather was beautiful (which was actually the theme for the entire trip) and we had a great day of sightseeing and hiking. We started off down in the Bear Lake section of the park then traveled through on Trail Ridge Road. This is the road that goes from Estes Park to Grand Lake and takes you through the mountains, peaking at an elevation of over 12,000 feet, featuring spectacular views and and great assortment of scenic overlooks and trail heads. We were there pretty late in the season, but lucked out: there was snow on the mountains, but the roads had been cleared and were open for visitors! Had Trail Ridge not been open I think our visit to RMNP would have been pretty disappointing, so we were very glad to see it was open on Sunday morning.
So, our drive through the park completed, we ended up on the other side and headed down to Silverthorne, our stop for the night. Once there we grabbed some dinner (well, more like apps and dessert) at Dillon Dam Brewery before turning in for the night. Another great day done!
The only less than ideal weather we had the whole trip was Monday morning. We woke up to a snow-covered car and slick roads - snowy weather was hitting the Rockies and we were in the middle of it. We got some Starbucks and headed out on I-70 going about 45 MPH for most of it, sometimes even slower like when going downhill in white-out conditions. But, after a few hours, the snowfall stopped, the sun came out, and the temperature began to rise. The terrain also began to change quite a bit as we left the slopes of the mountains and made our way northwest into the desert towards Dinosaur National Monument.
While not technically a National Park, Dinosaur made it on the agenda because holy crap come on, there are dinosaur bones here! And yes, I wore my Jurassic Park shirt and kept saying, "Dino DNA," to Leslie the entire time we were there. We first visited the Utah side of the park (there are two entrances, one in Utah and one in Colorado) since that's where the main visitors center is and where the fossils are. After watching the little video about the park and reading through some of the exhibits we headed down to the Quarry Exhibit Hall. This is where they basically built a building around the side of a hill where they found the bones of Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodicus, Stegosaurus and more! There were also some nice hikes along the way and what looked like a really cool campground. Anyone wanna go back with me for a camping trip?
Anyway, after we saw most all of what there was to see on the Utah side we drove back to Colorado to check out that side of the park. This side featured more scenic overlooks and trails, but it was already getting late so we headed towards the canyon overlook after only one short hike to hopefully catch it at sunset. And we did it! The timing worked out pretty well for us to see the sun setting at the overlook and then leave as it began to get dark. Which, since our next activity was stargazing back on the Utah side, was perfect! We left the Colorado side and made it back to the Split Mountain overlook in time to see some amazing views of the night sky, the Milky Way, and just tons of stars.
We spent some time taking it all in and then cold and hunger forced us to move along. We drove to our hotel in Vernal, UT then set out looking for food. One of the very few places open at the time (about 10pm on a Monday night) was a little Mexican restaurant where I had probably my favorite meal of the trip. The food was excellent, but I think the fact that we hadn't eaten much all day played a big part too. After stuffing our faces with food and drink we headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest.
Tuesday, day five, started off with some extra sleep. This was our mid-trip relaxation day. We took our time getting around, had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, then got back in the car for a drive down to the Clifton / Palisade area just outside Grand Junction. Our agenda here was very different than the rest of the trip: no hiking around parks, just wine tasting at some of the many wineries in the area! We made it to five of them (Graystone, Red Fox, Maison La Belle Vie, Meadery of the Rockies, and St. Kathryn's) and ended up buying three bottles, because again, "what's a vacation without a few fun keepsakes?" Especially when some of those keepsakes are in liquid form.
I had originally had us going back into Grand Junction to check out a brewery, but the Airbnb we were staying at was cute and cozy enough that we kinda wanted to just hang out there instead. So we went back into town to pick up a pizza and then just ate that at the Airbnb and watched Netflix. Like I said, this was our relaxing day. And just like that day five was done.
We started off the next day with breakfast and mimosas at Dream Cafe in Grand Junction. Sooo good! Plus, starting your day with mimosas is probably the best vacation move possible. After filling our tummies we were back on the road.
Our next stop was Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. This was probably the biggest surprise for us on the trip. Neither of us had heard of this park so we weren't expecting much. Instead what we found was a canyon that, while certainly different, gives the Grand Canyon a run for its money. The canyon is incredibly deep and the rock formations are very intimidating. We did all the little hikes to scenic overlooks and also a longer hike at the end of the south rim drive. The views were breathtaking and pictures really can't convey the grandeur of it all. I really underestimated this one before going and now I've got to say that this was probably my favorite park from the whole trip. I highly recommend checking it out if you ever get the chance.
That said, there's only so much to do there if you aren't planning on doing some serious rock climbing or backcountry hiking. So back into the Kia for a drive back to Montrose, our home for the night, and an early dinner at Crash Burger. And oh boy did those burgers hit the spot! Crash Burger is one of those places where they just focus on doing a few things really well. It's located in a converted gas station and the menu is literally just burgers and fries, drinks, and milkshakes (and a grilled cheese kid's meal, but that doesn't really count). We ate our burgers under the shade of an umbrella on their patio and it was heavenly.
Our next stop was at our Airbnb for the night where we cleaned up after a day of hiking around in the hot sun and put our feet up while we watched some TV. But the thing about early dinners is that they're kinda early. So, as it got later in the evening, we decided to go out for some dessert. We ended up at The Stone House where we got an app and a couple of desserts. And I must say, the house-made key lime pie really hit the spot for me. It was a perfect treat at the end of day six.
And just like that it was Thursday, day seven. We had a lot of ground to cover that day so we picked up some McDonald's breakfast and got right to driving. We had two sights to see that day, the first of which was Mesa Verde National Park. We arrived late that morning and went to get tour tickets (the only way get in the cliff dwellings the park is known for is to get tickets) and found out the only tour available was at 5pm that evening. So we decided to change up our plans and hit up destination #2 in the meantime. Where was that? We were so far in Southwest Colorado that Four Corners was only about an hour away! So off we went.
This was another place, like Black Canyon, that I wasn't expecting much of and didn't think we'd spend a lot of time there. But, unlike Black Canyon, I was completely right about this one. This has to be one of the lamest attractions in the US. But there was also no way we'd skip it - everyone's got to go and get that same picture of themselves standing on the four corners. So we went, we got the picture, and left. Yep, it's a one hour trip each way and we spent a total of about eight minutes there. But hey, when in Rome...
So, two hour and eight minute detour out of the way, we arrived back at Mesa Verde with a few hours to spend exploring before our tour of Balcony House. So we drove down the Chapin Mesa loop, did some of the trails to see old kiva ruins, and eventually got to the Balcony House area right in time for our tour. Now, it does cost all of an extra $5 per person for these tours, but I can't recommend it enough. It was fascinating to hear more about these ancient people and how these dwellings were formed. We both loved it and were so glad that we adjusted our schedule to fit this in.
After the tour it was starting to get dark, so we packed it up and headed out. The town we stayed in near Mesa Verde was small. Like, very small. One of the only places open was, yet again, a little Mexican restaurant. So more late night Mexican food it is! We downed some food, this time along with margaritas, and then checked into our little Airbnb for the night. And man, bed felt great after a long day of hiking and driving in the desert sun.
Day eight was another big travel day. We had quite a bit of ground to cover to get our next park, but not so much that we couldn't stop for a hot breakfast. We drove a little ways from the small town of Mancos, where we stayed the night before, to Durango to eat at the College Drive Cafe. This cute little diner was a hopping place that morning. We were seated just as a line of hungry soon-to-be customers started to form in the entry and out the door - definitely a sign that we picked a good place. The definitive proof, however, lay firmly in the first bite. The food was perfect for the cold morning and gave us some great fuel for the long drive.
Back into the car we went and on we drove to Great Sand Dunes National Park, our final park of the trip. This was one that would probably be better another time of the year. We started off with a short little hike which was made extra interesting by a couple of mule deer that hung out near the trail and we pretty unafraid of us. After our short hike there wasn't much left to do but explore the dunes. Now, somehow we managed to be there on an especially windy day, so this wasn't all that fun. The sand was whipping all around us, pelting our skin and getting in our noses and mouths and ears. There's also a seasonal creek that runs through the dunes that would be a lot of fun to play in during the spring months when it's at its strongest and the weather is warmer, but instead we were treated to an ankle-deep creek of freezing water that we had to make our way through before being assaulted by sand as we climbed dunes barefoot. So yeah, an interesting adventure for sure. And not one we look forward to repeating anytime soon.
After our time at Sand Dunes we headed to our Airbnb where we spent some time until dinner. This whole area, the San Luis Valley, was probably our least favorite stop as well. It's a giant valley that's as flat as the Midwest, except with a mountainous backdrop. It's windy and dusty and just... barren. It was probably the only stop that didn't further inspire me to move to Colorado. But at least dinner was pretty good. We ended up at San Luis Valley Brewing Company for beers and burgers. The kitchen was terribly slow, but at least the final product hit the spot. Then it was back to the Airbnb for the night, including a bit of time spent outside the cabin checking out another fantastic starry sky.
Our last full day, Saturday, was upon us. We kicked it off with breakfast on the road (Taco Bell this time!) as we traveled up to Colorado Springs. There we met up with one of our friends from college before going to Manitou Springs to board the cog railway to Pikes Peak. I'd never done the train before and, I've gotta say, after driving so much on this trip it was nice to be going somewhere without being the one taking us there. The train ride was nice and relaxing (I may have fallen asleep once or twice...) but also informative as our conductor did a good job telling all the terrible jokes and historical facts that you expect from an operation like this. We arrived at the top after almost an hour of train travel and were greeted by the below-freezing temperatures and strong winds of the peak. We of course took the typical picture in front of the sign and bought some of the high altitude doughnuts for sale in the shop, because duh. We snapped a few more pictures and just like that our time at the top was over and back on the train we went.
After we got back down we drove back to our friend's apartment and killed some time until her husband got off work. We then met him at Salsa Brava, a local Mexican eatery (yep, third time this trip) where we had some delicious queso, ribs, and one too many margaritas. Full of Mexican food yet again, we traveled back to their apartment where we spent the rest of the evening catching up with them and another couple we knew from Purdue. Eventually it got late and we grew sleepy, and just like that our last full day was ended.
Here we were at last - the end of our trip. Sunday had rolled around and that meant it was time to get packed up for our return flight. We had managed to completely change the way our bags were packed throughout the trip, plus had souvenirs like my mug and two bottles of wine (yeah... we drank one in Montrose) to bring home too. After a bit of trial and error we eventually got everything packed up how we wanted it and with all the bags under the weight limit - no easy feat.
Then, off to one last breakfast. We checked out Over Easy and managed to get there right with the Sunday morning crowd. We had factored in plenty of time to wait if needed, but we managed to score some open seating at one of the communal tables they had, turning that 40 minute wait into about four! We're old and both had plenty of 'rita the night before, so we decided to skip the mimosas this morning and instead went all out on breakfast. This was a very close second I think to Dream Cafe. Everything was simply amazing and I had no problem seeing why people were waiting an hour for breakfast.
From there it was off to the airport to turn in the rental car and wait for our flight. We made it home around 7pm thanks to the time difference and spent the rest of the night hanging out with the pets and dreading going back to work after such a wonderful time away.
And that's vacation for ya. This was probably our most intense trip to date. I normally go pretty nuts planning for our little excursions, but I really pulled out all the stops on this one. Past the normal spreadsheet I put together for our trips (complete with hour by hour breakdowns of each day's activities, addresses and websites for each destination, and daily weather info), I even made a little binder to hold that along with printed maps of each park, hotel confirmations, and various other guides to the areas/attractions. So yeah, I'm a little crazy... but we also had a lot to do and see, so this way we were sure to hit it all as efficiently as possible.
Oh, and total mileage for the trip? We put just over 1,870 miles on our little Kia. While it wasn't my ideal ride, it did provide something very important: excellent fuel efficiency. It averaged about 40 MPG for the trip and saved us a good amount in gas vs. getting like a Jeep or something instead.
Ten days in Colorado and Utah. Nine nights in nine different hotels/Airbnbs. Four National Parks and two National Monuments. 1,870 miles driven through mountains and deserts, on interstates and back roads. And it all adds up to one great vacation.
Thanks for reading and we'll catch you next time!
After spending some time among the Animalia, we took off on our next phase of the trip. That meant a scenic drive through Boulder and up into the mountains on our way to Estes Park. It was a beautiful little trip and we even found time to stop for a quick lunch at Crosscut Pizzeria and Taphouse and pick up some hot drinks from New Moon Bakery and Cafe in the little town of Nederland. Bellies full and warm beverages in hand, we hit the road again and were soon in Estes Park. We dropped off our bags at the hotel then headed into town to walk around and see what's up. Estes Park reminds me a bit of Gatlinburg, TN - lots of little shops featuring local artwork and souvenir shirts, an abundance of candy stores and ice cream parlors, and a bunch of tourists like us walking around it all. That's not a bad thing, though, and we had a good time wandering around town. We even picked up a cool handmade mug from one of the stores, because what's a vacation without a few fun keepsakes?
We explored town for awhile then headed back to the hotel and to get changed for dinner. I had booked us a table at the Twin Owls Steakhouse and we didn't want to show up in just shorts and t-shirts. Dinner was delicious! Elk medallions for me and scallops for Leslie - both were excellent and a great end to the day. So, full of good food and tired from the day's drive (and probably a little jet-lagged still), we ended day two.
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| The Denver Zoo was all decorated for Halloween |
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| Took this photo only because this little dik-dik is barely bigger than our cat Franklin |
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| We happened to be in Denver at the same time as all the butterflies |
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| Lake outside Nederland, CO |
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| Pizza at Crosscut |
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| Yummy snacks at New Moon |
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| Brainard Lake on the way to Estes Park |
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| Yep, elk just hang out in downtown Estes Park like a bunch of idiots |
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| Coolest mug ever! |
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| Elk medallions, roasted sweet potato, sauteed veggies |
Day three, Sunday, started off with a trip to the grocery store. This is a road trip, after all, so you need road trip snacks! We stopped off at a Safeway to get the goods: Cheez-Its, Oreos, Twizzlers, granola bars, and an assortment of other things I'm forgetting. Plus we got a two-gallon jug of water and a pack of Sprite - gotta stay hydrated in these high elevations! Last year I'd gotten this cool little soft-sided cooler from work, so we brought it along so we could have cold drinks while on the road. Smart, right?
Having stocked up on supplies, it was time we headed into Rocky Mountain National Park! The weather was beautiful (which was actually the theme for the entire trip) and we had a great day of sightseeing and hiking. We started off down in the Bear Lake section of the park then traveled through on Trail Ridge Road. This is the road that goes from Estes Park to Grand Lake and takes you through the mountains, peaking at an elevation of over 12,000 feet, featuring spectacular views and and great assortment of scenic overlooks and trail heads. We were there pretty late in the season, but lucked out: there was snow on the mountains, but the roads had been cleared and were open for visitors! Had Trail Ridge not been open I think our visit to RMNP would have been pretty disappointing, so we were very glad to see it was open on Sunday morning.
So, our drive through the park completed, we ended up on the other side and headed down to Silverthorne, our stop for the night. Once there we grabbed some dinner (well, more like apps and dessert) at Dillon Dam Brewery before turning in for the night. Another great day done!
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| Got a new 12mm fisheye lens for the trip... so had some fun with that |
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| Snowball fight in October |
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| Gotta get that sign picture before leaving the park! |
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| Pretzel Bites and Bison Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage Skewers, Smoked Wings in Chipotle Sauce, Vienna Beer Cheese Soup |
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| Monster Brownie Mini-Me |
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| S'mores Bread Pudding |
The only less than ideal weather we had the whole trip was Monday morning. We woke up to a snow-covered car and slick roads - snowy weather was hitting the Rockies and we were in the middle of it. We got some Starbucks and headed out on I-70 going about 45 MPH for most of it, sometimes even slower like when going downhill in white-out conditions. But, after a few hours, the snowfall stopped, the sun came out, and the temperature began to rise. The terrain also began to change quite a bit as we left the slopes of the mountains and made our way northwest into the desert towards Dinosaur National Monument.
While not technically a National Park, Dinosaur made it on the agenda because holy crap come on, there are dinosaur bones here! And yes, I wore my Jurassic Park shirt and kept saying, "Dino DNA," to Leslie the entire time we were there. We first visited the Utah side of the park (there are two entrances, one in Utah and one in Colorado) since that's where the main visitors center is and where the fossils are. After watching the little video about the park and reading through some of the exhibits we headed down to the Quarry Exhibit Hall. This is where they basically built a building around the side of a hill where they found the bones of Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodicus, Stegosaurus and more! There were also some nice hikes along the way and what looked like a really cool campground. Anyone wanna go back with me for a camping trip?
Anyway, after we saw most all of what there was to see on the Utah side we drove back to Colorado to check out that side of the park. This side featured more scenic overlooks and trails, but it was already getting late so we headed towards the canyon overlook after only one short hike to hopefully catch it at sunset. And we did it! The timing worked out pretty well for us to see the sun setting at the overlook and then leave as it began to get dark. Which, since our next activity was stargazing back on the Utah side, was perfect! We left the Colorado side and made it back to the Split Mountain overlook in time to see some amazing views of the night sky, the Milky Way, and just tons of stars.
We spent some time taking it all in and then cold and hunger forced us to move along. We drove to our hotel in Vernal, UT then set out looking for food. One of the very few places open at the time (about 10pm on a Monday night) was a little Mexican restaurant where I had probably my favorite meal of the trip. The food was excellent, but I think the fact that we hadn't eaten much all day played a big part too. After stuffing our faces with food and drink we headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest.
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| Picture Leslie snapped out the window during our snowy drive |
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| Best part of a road trip - views like this just driving from A to B |
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| Love those Toy Story clouds |
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| Yes, those are real dino fossils! |
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| My wife is a very talented photographer! |
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| Chimichanga sampler and the best Mexican rice I've ever had - AMAZING |
Tuesday, day five, started off with some extra sleep. This was our mid-trip relaxation day. We took our time getting around, had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, then got back in the car for a drive down to the Clifton / Palisade area just outside Grand Junction. Our agenda here was very different than the rest of the trip: no hiking around parks, just wine tasting at some of the many wineries in the area! We made it to five of them (Graystone, Red Fox, Maison La Belle Vie, Meadery of the Rockies, and St. Kathryn's) and ended up buying three bottles, because again, "what's a vacation without a few fun keepsakes?" Especially when some of those keepsakes are in liquid form.
I had originally had us going back into Grand Junction to check out a brewery, but the Airbnb we were staying at was cute and cozy enough that we kinda wanted to just hang out there instead. So we went back into town to pick up a pizza and then just ate that at the Airbnb and watched Netflix. Like I said, this was our relaxing day. And just like that day five was done.
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| Graystone - specializing in Ports |
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| Red Fox - dry, fruity wines with a lot of cool ciders too |
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| Maison La Belle Vie - huge variety and generous pours |
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| Meadery of the Rockies - mulled mead is our new favorite thing |
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| St. Kathryn's - forgot to take a picture of the outside, but their fruit wines were quite good |
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| Sunrise at our Airbnb |
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| A little boutique farm, complete with alpacas, peacocks, goats, and a pig that thinks it's a dog |
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| Also this cat |
We started off the next day with breakfast and mimosas at Dream Cafe in Grand Junction. Sooo good! Plus, starting your day with mimosas is probably the best vacation move possible. After filling our tummies we were back on the road.
Our next stop was Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. This was probably the biggest surprise for us on the trip. Neither of us had heard of this park so we weren't expecting much. Instead what we found was a canyon that, while certainly different, gives the Grand Canyon a run for its money. The canyon is incredibly deep and the rock formations are very intimidating. We did all the little hikes to scenic overlooks and also a longer hike at the end of the south rim drive. The views were breathtaking and pictures really can't convey the grandeur of it all. I really underestimated this one before going and now I've got to say that this was probably my favorite park from the whole trip. I highly recommend checking it out if you ever get the chance.
That said, there's only so much to do there if you aren't planning on doing some serious rock climbing or backcountry hiking. So back into the Kia for a drive back to Montrose, our home for the night, and an early dinner at Crash Burger. And oh boy did those burgers hit the spot! Crash Burger is one of those places where they just focus on doing a few things really well. It's located in a converted gas station and the menu is literally just burgers and fries, drinks, and milkshakes (and a grilled cheese kid's meal, but that doesn't really count). We ate our burgers under the shade of an umbrella on their patio and it was heavenly.
Our next stop was at our Airbnb for the night where we cleaned up after a day of hiking around in the hot sun and put our feet up while we watched some TV. But the thing about early dinners is that they're kinda early. So, as it got later in the evening, we decided to go out for some dessert. We ended up at The Stone House where we got an app and a couple of desserts. And I must say, the house-made key lime pie really hit the spot for me. It was a perfect treat at the end of day six.
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| Peach mimosas! |
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| Cinnamon Roll French Toast Breakfast |
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| Day Dreamers Omelette |
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| The sign picture that involved me sprinting across the road to make it for the self-timer... |
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| Dat fisheye |
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| You know... |
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| ...like the theme park! |
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| Crash Burger triple with cheese! |
And just like that it was Thursday, day seven. We had a lot of ground to cover that day so we picked up some McDonald's breakfast and got right to driving. We had two sights to see that day, the first of which was Mesa Verde National Park. We arrived late that morning and went to get tour tickets (the only way get in the cliff dwellings the park is known for is to get tickets) and found out the only tour available was at 5pm that evening. So we decided to change up our plans and hit up destination #2 in the meantime. Where was that? We were so far in Southwest Colorado that Four Corners was only about an hour away! So off we went.
This was another place, like Black Canyon, that I wasn't expecting much of and didn't think we'd spend a lot of time there. But, unlike Black Canyon, I was completely right about this one. This has to be one of the lamest attractions in the US. But there was also no way we'd skip it - everyone's got to go and get that same picture of themselves standing on the four corners. So we went, we got the picture, and left. Yep, it's a one hour trip each way and we spent a total of about eight minutes there. But hey, when in Rome...
So, two hour and eight minute detour out of the way, we arrived back at Mesa Verde with a few hours to spend exploring before our tour of Balcony House. So we drove down the Chapin Mesa loop, did some of the trails to see old kiva ruins, and eventually got to the Balcony House area right in time for our tour. Now, it does cost all of an extra $5 per person for these tours, but I can't recommend it enough. It was fascinating to hear more about these ancient people and how these dwellings were formed. We both loved it and were so glad that we adjusted our schedule to fit this in.
After the tour it was starting to get dark, so we packed it up and headed out. The town we stayed in near Mesa Verde was small. Like, very small. One of the only places open was, yet again, a little Mexican restaurant. So more late night Mexican food it is! We downed some food, this time along with margaritas, and then checked into our little Airbnb for the night. And man, bed felt great after a long day of hiking and driving in the desert sun.
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| A coyote that just popped out of the brush and walked by... |
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| Our tour of Balcony House |
Day eight was another big travel day. We had quite a bit of ground to cover to get our next park, but not so much that we couldn't stop for a hot breakfast. We drove a little ways from the small town of Mancos, where we stayed the night before, to Durango to eat at the College Drive Cafe. This cute little diner was a hopping place that morning. We were seated just as a line of hungry soon-to-be customers started to form in the entry and out the door - definitely a sign that we picked a good place. The definitive proof, however, lay firmly in the first bite. The food was perfect for the cold morning and gave us some great fuel for the long drive.
Back into the car we went and on we drove to Great Sand Dunes National Park, our final park of the trip. This was one that would probably be better another time of the year. We started off with a short little hike which was made extra interesting by a couple of mule deer that hung out near the trail and we pretty unafraid of us. After our short hike there wasn't much left to do but explore the dunes. Now, somehow we managed to be there on an especially windy day, so this wasn't all that fun. The sand was whipping all around us, pelting our skin and getting in our noses and mouths and ears. There's also a seasonal creek that runs through the dunes that would be a lot of fun to play in during the spring months when it's at its strongest and the weather is warmer, but instead we were treated to an ankle-deep creek of freezing water that we had to make our way through before being assaulted by sand as we climbed dunes barefoot. So yeah, an interesting adventure for sure. And not one we look forward to repeating anytime soon.
After our time at Sand Dunes we headed to our Airbnb where we spent some time until dinner. This whole area, the San Luis Valley, was probably our least favorite stop as well. It's a giant valley that's as flat as the Midwest, except with a mountainous backdrop. It's windy and dusty and just... barren. It was probably the only stop that didn't further inspire me to move to Colorado. But at least dinner was pretty good. We ended up at San Luis Valley Brewing Company for beers and burgers. The kitchen was terribly slow, but at least the final product hit the spot. Then it was back to the Airbnb for the night, including a bit of time spent outside the cabin checking out another fantastic starry sky.
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| Mexican Omelette with Green Chile Sauce |
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| Our beer flight! Too bad we only liked about half of them... |
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| Black & Bleu Burger for me, Smokehouse BBQ Burger for Leslie |
Our last full day, Saturday, was upon us. We kicked it off with breakfast on the road (Taco Bell this time!) as we traveled up to Colorado Springs. There we met up with one of our friends from college before going to Manitou Springs to board the cog railway to Pikes Peak. I'd never done the train before and, I've gotta say, after driving so much on this trip it was nice to be going somewhere without being the one taking us there. The train ride was nice and relaxing (I may have fallen asleep once or twice...) but also informative as our conductor did a good job telling all the terrible jokes and historical facts that you expect from an operation like this. We arrived at the top after almost an hour of train travel and were greeted by the below-freezing temperatures and strong winds of the peak. We of course took the typical picture in front of the sign and bought some of the high altitude doughnuts for sale in the shop, because duh. We snapped a few more pictures and just like that our time at the top was over and back on the train we went.
After we got back down we drove back to our friend's apartment and killed some time until her husband got off work. We then met him at Salsa Brava, a local Mexican eatery (yep, third time this trip) where we had some delicious queso, ribs, and one too many margaritas. Full of Mexican food yet again, we traveled back to their apartment where we spent the rest of the evening catching up with them and another couple we knew from Purdue. Eventually it got late and we grew sleepy, and just like that our last full day was ended.
Here we were at last - the end of our trip. Sunday had rolled around and that meant it was time to get packed up for our return flight. We had managed to completely change the way our bags were packed throughout the trip, plus had souvenirs like my mug and two bottles of wine (yeah... we drank one in Montrose) to bring home too. After a bit of trial and error we eventually got everything packed up how we wanted it and with all the bags under the weight limit - no easy feat.
Then, off to one last breakfast. We checked out Over Easy and managed to get there right with the Sunday morning crowd. We had factored in plenty of time to wait if needed, but we managed to score some open seating at one of the communal tables they had, turning that 40 minute wait into about four! We're old and both had plenty of 'rita the night before, so we decided to skip the mimosas this morning and instead went all out on breakfast. This was a very close second I think to Dream Cafe. Everything was simply amazing and I had no problem seeing why people were waiting an hour for breakfast.
From there it was off to the airport to turn in the rental car and wait for our flight. We made it home around 7pm thanks to the time difference and spent the rest of the night hanging out with the pets and dreading going back to work after such a wonderful time away.
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| Buttermilk Biscuit & Sage Sausage Gravy |
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| Peace, Love & Pancakes Flight - Colorado Blueberry Streusel, Fred's Hawaiian, and New York Cheesecake |
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| Tuscan Eggs Benedict |
And that's vacation for ya. This was probably our most intense trip to date. I normally go pretty nuts planning for our little excursions, but I really pulled out all the stops on this one. Past the normal spreadsheet I put together for our trips (complete with hour by hour breakdowns of each day's activities, addresses and websites for each destination, and daily weather info), I even made a little binder to hold that along with printed maps of each park, hotel confirmations, and various other guides to the areas/attractions. So yeah, I'm a little crazy... but we also had a lot to do and see, so this way we were sure to hit it all as efficiently as possible.
Oh, and total mileage for the trip? We put just over 1,870 miles on our little Kia. While it wasn't my ideal ride, it did provide something very important: excellent fuel efficiency. It averaged about 40 MPG for the trip and saved us a good amount in gas vs. getting like a Jeep or something instead.
Ten days in Colorado and Utah. Nine nights in nine different hotels/Airbnbs. Four National Parks and two National Monuments. 1,870 miles driven through mountains and deserts, on interstates and back roads. And it all adds up to one great vacation.
Thanks for reading and we'll catch you next time!
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