11. Utah-Beehive st/CO-Centennial st

Hello friends!

I just had the most exhilarating adventure exploring the stunning landscapes of Utah and Colorado, from dessert to alpine mountains. I simply must share the highlights with you.

Our journey in Utah, embarked on a series of nice hikes and sightseeing excursions. We explored the inspiring Navajo and Natural Monuments (where the movie Forest Gump was shot), marveling at their grandeur. One of the most striking sights was the iconic Mexican Hat, a rock formation where you can even climb up with rope but felt quite scary with the wind so we just stayed under the hat 😊. We also visited the Natural Bridges, where we were captivated by the majestic Sipapu and Owachomo bridges.

After a day of adventure, we spent a peaceful night at a trailhead in Dolores, Colorado. The next day was dedicated to some thrilling mountain biking there. We tackled the trails in Dolores Canyon at Phil's World with its famed Rip Cage trail offering a particularly adrenaline-pumping experience. Also saw the famous rock formation: "the sleeping man" on Ute's mountain. Our campsite for the night was conveniently located near Phil's World, allowing us to immerse ourselves fully in the natural beauty of the area.

Our journey continued to the historic Mesa Verde National Park, where we explored the ancient cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans. These structures, built into the cliff faces, are a testament to the ingenuity and resilience of their builders. While there, we had an unexpected but delightful encounter with a brilliantly colored lizard, which added a splash of vibrant life to the arid landscape. We also spotted vultures soaring overhead, adding to the wild and rugged atmosphere.

For a touch of modern-day adventure, we spent again a night at Walmart, which provided an unique and convenient lodging experience with our first beef tenderloin & squash dinner in our motorhome... (Theo was graving for it and begged me for a steak 🥩...so as a nice girlfriend I made his wish come true, which he very much appreciated...) ..as lately we just live our vegetarian life as it is more convenient without fridge...and I don't really grave for any meat.
A little swing to our eating habits (if you're interested - otherwise skip this passage😅. We usually eat what Walmart offers, sometimes rice with some veg like broccoli/ cauliflower/ squash, or macaroni with tomatoes and tuna, or Udon with tofu, BakChoy and poached egg to give it an Asian touch. Even tried PadThai 😂. For breakfast always porridge with granola yoghurt and freeh fruits and for lunch we usually have some whole wheat bread with nuts, cheese (Cheddar or Gouda or Mexican natural cheese which is the best - no better available or too expensive), cucumber and avocado salad with tomatoes and basil and balsamico dressing. Bread is the worst thing available. Unfortunately we always have toast, we haven't found any better than white baguette or whole wheat toast. We tried tacos but they get dry after 2 days...also bakeries are no good...wished for an European bakery or a baking oven 😂. But sometimes you have to make compromises.

From Dolores, our adventure took us to Cortez and Durango, where we once again hit the mountain biking trails. The diverse terrain (some flowy and some technical challenging trails) made for an unforgettable ride experience, which I truely enjoyed...that to say as I am not a real MTB enthusiast but Theo. But now I really start to get the kick of it, haha...
Here slowly the landscape gets more similar to the one we are used to from Europe: fir, pine and aspern trees (similar to our birch trees),...and the cacti are getting scarce and disappear.
At Lemon Reservoir we did some daring river crossing to get to our climbing spot where I led a 10b (French 6b) 😁 which was super spectacular. Cascade Canyon was also nice to climb but freezing cold in the morning 🥶 ❄️ (< 10°C)...and in the mountains and forest there is still snow laying around.. The San Juan Skyway is one of the most scenic drives in America, here you pass 10 of Colorado's 54 peaks over 14'000 feet (> 4000m). Along the way we could find alpine forests, historic mining towns, hot springs and prehistoric Indian ruins. The snow threw a spanner in the works, so we had to skip climbing and made a MTB attempt on the Colorado Trail, turned out to be a short one...also due to snow obstacles...
We crossed the "Million dollars highway". The name came from that the costs were so high 1 million/mile to built the highway or because people earned so much money here... Ouray county is super interesting to explore. Crazy how you can switch between seasons here in one day. This morning I felt like in winter with all the snow on our bike trail, at lunch time we climbed the "Dike wall" it felt like spring/autumn and this afternoon we were biking between cacti 🌵 again like in the desert... unbelievable. We also did a super breathtaking Via Ferrata experience at the Uncompahgre Gorge (name from Indian indigenous, which means first nation). Unfortunately we had another little incident with the MTB, it fell off the car and we had to get it fixed in Montrose. Theo was totally devastated but now I am glad all is fine again. In Montrose we also went for some sightseeing at the "Black Canyon" of the Gunnison Natioanl Park, stunning like Grand Canyon but different, built from Granite, Gneis and pegmatite rocks. We hiked down (almost crawling on all fours) the extremely steep Canyon to the Gannison river and up again. But better than hop from sight to sight. 😅Some people do trad climbing here and some raft and fish along the Gunnison river. We stayed 2 more days in Gunnison for biking the Hartman loop, climbing, relaxing and dipping into the fresh cold waters.
In the evenings we sometimes watch the series "West World", which scenery resembles to the places we pass by, rugged mountains, red rocks, dry bushes, wide land and dry desserts... The most terrible thing here are the mosquito 🦟 the further north we go the more insects... already got more than 10 bites 😭😭😭😫this is my biggest nightmare.
Next heading to the cold and higher area - Mt Created Butte, enough of the heat.

Actually Colorado resembles a bit like Switzerland with its high mountains. There is even a place here called "the Switzerland of America". I think until now Colorado is my favourite state.... (except for the mosquitos). ❤️ It is a paradise for all outdoor lovers, you can practically do everything at anytime because of the different altitudes and temperatures (from hiking, biking, rock climbing, canyoning, rafting, even ski touring..., accept ice climbing only in winter,.. Colorado should be the world's best ice climbing place...I think we need to get back here again in winter, hahaa)

This trip was a perfect blend of natural wonders, historical exploration, and thrilling outdoor activities. If you're longing for some adventure that combines physical challenge with awe-inspiring sights, also vegetation- and temperaturewise. I highly recommend following this route. 😊Read more