Category: Road Trips
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Colorado mountain majesty offers thrills and chills
You may have trouble imagining a Toyota Prius as a roller-coaster car, but that’s how it felt today. It took us over passes topping 11,000 feet, through tunnels covered with rocks and ice, and within a few feet of sheer drop offs at dizzying heights. Guard rails? Nah. Sweaty palms and white knuckles? For sure.…
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Durango – old west boomtown
In 1860, centuries after the Puebloan culture disappeared, the discovery of gold and silver in southwestern Colorado brought a flood of new settlers to the Animas Valley and what would soon be known as Durango. Many were hoping to strike it rich while others earned their living supplying necessities for life in the mining…
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Mesa Verde: Home to Pueblo people in the 13th Century
The Anasazis, now referred to as Ancenstral Pueblo people, built some of the most impressive North American structures during the 1100s and 1200s in what is now southwestern Colorado. Known as Mesa Verde, the villages were built beneath cliffs using sandstone. Circular kivas were used for ceremonies. The Pueblo people lived in the cliff dwellings…
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We blow into Aztec
Aztec Ruins National Monument In northwestern New Mexico provides a trip back in time, but don't let the name fool you. When discovered by Anglo settlers, they mistakenly believed these ruins were built by the Aztecs of central Mexico. In fact, these ruins are what remain of the community built from the late 1000s to…
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Apache Nugget saves the day
The weather report called for high winds today and boy were they ever! We drove north from Santa Fe, cutting west on scenic Highway 96 towards Highway 550, which would take us into Colorado. The gusts blew anything and everything that wasn't nailed down…including us. A veil of dust covered the landscape, creating a…
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Santa Fe is a restful stop on Southwest tour
After driving nearly 2,000 miles in eight days, we found a rest stop in Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. We found excellent food with a Southwest flavor, more than 200 art galleries, and a city dominated by pueblo architecture. Santa Fe is the oldest and highest-elevation (7,200 feet) capital in the United…
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Window Rock: A porthole to the sky
Window Rock is the capital city of the Navajo Nation and also the name of this geologic wonder about a mile from town in Arizona near the New Mexico border. The Navajos have a nice park next to the rock that features a memorial to the Code Talkers of World War Two. We booked a…
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Canyon de Chelly National Monument
This is what we hoped to see, however we had no idea how spectacular the remains of these ancient dwellings would be. Below, The White House is the only site that visitors can access without a guide. There is a two and a half mile trail from the rim to the valley floor…but more about…
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Monument Valley provides iconic views
We took a short side trip yesterday as we continued across Arizona. Anyone who has ever watched a western will recognize the soaring buttes and mesas of Monument Valley. This landscape has provided a backdrop for movies, TV shows and commercials since the 1930s. The valley is situated on Navajo Reservation land so access is…
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