Monday, September 5, 2011

Silverton & Ouray


For the last full day we drove the Durango-Silverton-Ouray route through the mountains. It was so green compared to the orange and rust colors of Canyonlands.

The road was crazy curvy and really narrow at times!We stopped at the cute towns of Silverton & Ouray and checked out some of the stores and sights. There was also a motorcycle rally that weekend.

A steam train runs from Durango to Silverton.
It was such a fun trip and was so glad to be able to spend such an extra long weekend with Lisa & Erik!

More pictures...

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Canyonlands & Mesa Verde

We hiked the 6 miles round trip trail to Chesler Viewpoint had some outstanding views.
After the hike we drove about 2 ½ hours to Mesa Verde and caught a tour of the Cliff Palace.

Friday, September 2, 2011

The Four Corners & Canyonlands


The ranger at the Aztec ruins inspired us to go to Canyonlands with a detour at the Four Corners.

The drive leading up to our camp site took us on top of mesa and through so many different landscapes. Our red Nissan Sentry got hit by a rock when we passed a trunk on a gravel road. Two cracks traveled almost halfway through the windshield. That was the only hiccup to the road trip.

We set up camp and blew up our pool floaties as our camping pad which worked fairly well for $2 a pop.



We took a couple short walks near by to admire the bright sunset.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Kokopelli’s Cave B&B

Manager, Gayle and Terrell, guided us to the amazing 300+ acre property on top of a cliff. The cave was originally meant to be an office for a geologist but later turned into a B&B.

We explored the property and were awed by the beauty and privacy of the place. Each step brought us to more and more amazing views. A sunset, some lightning and even a sunrise!


The managers encouraged us to feed the ring-tailed cats and chipmunks who came to visit us. They had containers of cat food for them.

Durango Road Trip


Lisa and Erik both got to Durango earlier in the day and picked me up from the airport a little before midnight. Erik had endured a 36-hour Amtrak/Grayhound journey to get there. During the day they bought our trip food which included many of my guilty pleasures: Little Debbie oatmeal pies, Spaghetti-O’s and Velveeta Mac & Cheese!

We woke up early the next day and headed to Farmington, New Mexico. We checked out some Aztec (not of Mexico) ruins.



More pictures on Flickr.com