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Eileen Joll
Eileen Joll

Eileen Joll

traveled in 10 countries Read more
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  • Valladolid
    Calzada de Los FrailesThe water mill1Our lunch spot1Above the urinal in St. Patrick's

    Convento de San Bernardino de Siena

    January 4, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    We walked to Convento de San Bernardino de Siena, a monestary completed in 1560. The route there took us along the Calzada de Los Frailes, a colorful street with shops, restaurants, and homes. .There were beautiful flower displays outside the monestary with a Christmas theme. The monestary property housed a water mill that was built over a cenote. Starting in the 1970s, most artifacts were recovered from the cenote, accessed via the water mill, which was much like a well. It is the round structure in the pictures. The grounds were also home to many lizards, much bigger than we are used to seeing.

    We tried to go to the restaurant La Tía for lunch, a recommendation from a local, but it was closed during it's normal hours. We ending up getting cochinita pibil, a marinated barbeque pork sandwich from a street vendor, el tigrillo . Lunch for the two of us was under $4.

    For dinner, we went to St. Patrick's, the local Irish bar. Not a lot Irish about it but it was a nice place and will probably go back Saturday with the hope of watching the Steelers game. The penguin game was on the TV as we entered. We sat outside and had wood fired pizza and a couple beers. I (Jeff) topped off with a couple shots of mezcal (mil diablos and 400 conejos joven).    Read more

  • Valladolid
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    Day 1 - getting a feel for the area

    January 3, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 73 °F

    Today we got a feel for the area around our apartment. A fair amount of walking, along with trying the food and drinks at some local establishments. We are asking for recommendations from the locals we meet.

    We started off with breakfast at Carolin Cocoa Cafe. It's less than a block from where we are staying and had an excellent menu: healthy, well plated, and very tasty. We got there at a good time, there was soon a wait for tables.

    After that, we did the 10:00 free walking tour. Stops included the main church and the public market. We did get to taste a few local delicacies.

    We chilled out for a few hours in the afternoon and then headed to La Joyita Cantina for some beer and tapas. The tapas were complimentary and very tasty. This place was a recommendation of our tour guide from the morning walk when I asked him where he would go. Locals outnumbered the tourists. The place was a dive bar that I am sure we will be back to..... Multiple times.

    Later in the evening we ventured out for dinner at NenaNena. We both had enchiladas and they were great. We sat out back in the courtyard after a few minute wait for a table. While you waited for your food they brought out a little game trip play. The loser had to drink a shot (some cherry liquore, not very good).

    We capped off the evening with another walk, venturing to streets we hadn't been to yet. We came across a bakery where we bought a loaf of almond bread for breakfast, along with a ham and cheese bread.

    Once home, we weren't long out of bed.    Read more

  • Valladolid
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    Travel to Valladolid

    January 2, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 72 °F

    It was a long day of traveling. We left the house at 3:45am and didn't arrive at our destination until 6:00 PM (Central). We flew from Pittsburgh to Miami, then Miami to Mérida, México. After clearing customs and immigration, we had to decide on mode of travel, either ride share or bus. Since taking a bus required also taking 2 buses (first one into downtown Mérida to the bus station), we opted for ride share and decided to try DiDi, an alternative to Uber, which was also available. Didi was significantly less expensive. To catch a ride share vehicle, we had to walk out of the airport property to the main road. Our ride showed up about 15 minutes after ordering it, beginning our 2+ hour road trip. Our driver didn't speak English so it was a pretty quiet trip. We traveled through a number of small towns/ villages that appeared to be pretty poor areas. On arriving in Valladolid, we were surprised at the amount of traffic ... Truly a traffic jam.

    After getting into our 2 room apartment, we unpacked quickly and immediately headed out for dinner. We ended up at La Crujía, which turned out to be an excellent choice. We choose seating in the back courtyard which was full of trees and away from the noise of the traffic. Food was very good as was the service of Catalina. The price for dinner with 2 beers was the equivalent of $25.

    We then walked toward the main square / park, which is only a block from where we are staying. It was a hug of activity, with storefronts surrounding the square and numerous street vendors in the park. We ended up having a churro, complete with Hershey's syrup. We kept the walk short as we were both very tired and lights were out around 930.

    I was surprised at the number of tourists, including several tourist buses parked by the main square. Although, that location is likely the main tourist spot in town.    Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks

    New Orleans to home

    October 14, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    After one more round of beignets from Cafe de Monde, we headed to Memphis TN for our first night's stay. Along the way we saw many cotton fields and rolls of cotton! We checked in at the T.O.Fuller State
    Park campground and then went to Beale St for dinner and music. We ate at BBKings while being entertained by some great live music. Then we walked the streets checking out various musicians along the way. A short but fun visit. The second day was a shorter drive (4 hours) to St Louis. We were meeting up with Josh and Liz. Since they were still working when we got there, we went to Lumeire Sculpture Park. It is a very nice and spacious park with almost 70 sculptures. It was a great place to stretch our legs and spend a couple of hours. Next we met up with Josh and Liz, drove to what will soon be their new house and then walked to a brewery and a pizza place for dinner. It was another short, but wonderful visit!! We drove about 1.5 hours before spending the night in Effingham. The next morning we started the final leg home driving in and out of rain. It was a great trip!    Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks

    New Orleans

    October 10, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    We traveled from Austin to New Orleans. Jeff had only been there for business and I had never been there. We spent three nights here. The first evening we are at Coop's Place for dinner good Southern Cajun/Creole cooking followed by beignets from Cafe du Mond - yum!!

    Over the next two days we took a tour of the lower garden area seeing historic houses, some owned by famous people now. In the afternoon we took a food walking tour of the French Quarter sampling some iconic food of the area - gumbo, po-boy, muffelata, praline, red beans and rice, and banana foster bread pudding. Both tours included a lot of history of there area.

    We spent a rainy afternoon (almost 5 hours) at the WWII museum. It was very well done and we only saw half of the exhibits. We also saw the French Market, the St Louis Cathedral, and the Riverwalk along the Mississippi River.

     We spent our evenings on Bourbon St and Frenchman St enjoying a lot of different kinds of music and drinks. When we arrived, I (Eileen) wans't overly impressed, but by the time we left, I didn't want to leave. There is so much to do.    Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks

    Santa Fe to Austiin

    October 4, 2023 in the United States

    We drove from Santa Fe to Austin with an overnight stay on Lubbock, TX. We were going to visit Jacque and help her with some house projects. Through New Mexico and West Texas we passed a lot of open fields, cotton plants, oil rigs, and so many wind turbines. We stopped at Cadillac Ranch. - an art exhibit. A man paid some California artists to create an art exhibit on his ranch. They took 10 Cadillacs, one from each year, and buried them nose down so the Cadillac fins stuck up. After a while, people started defacing the Cadillacs with spray paint and eventually it was encouraged to do so. Today they sell paint right on the property. There is so much paint on the cars that you can't identify them as Cadillacs. At Jac's we built a fence, did yardwork, spent time with Bear, and enjoyed family time!Read more

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    Santa Fe day 2

    October 3, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    In 1957 the city of Santa Fe passed a law that all buildings- residential and commercial - had to be of the adobe style to preserve the heritage of the area. So everything is in earth tones and there are more trees here than we have seen in the past 2 weeks making this area a beautiful city. It is also an area of hot springs so today we went to the Ojo Spa and Resort. They have a day pass where you can soak in the multiple hot tubs and use the steam room. We spent about 4 hours soaking, steaming, and just relaxing. We met a man who is a Santa Fe firefighter and martial arts instructor. He comes here once a month to relax. (We need a place like this at home!) He suggested that we go to the Santa Fe Brewing Co headquarters which was nearby. Food was good, (taco truck), beer was good and Jeff says it is the best stout he has ever had. Lastly we went to the Railyard area of town. This is another area of shops, restaurants, and breweries, not quite as boutiqueish as the plaza. Unfortunately, except for the restaurants and breweries, everything is closed up in the evening. We had some ice cream and then went back to camp.Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks

    Santa Fe

    October 2, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 82 °F

    We traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico where we spent a couple of days. The first day we explored the plaza area and visited the oldest church and home in America. We also visited Loretta Church which has a circular staircase with no central or side supports. Supposedly the nuns needed a way to get to the choir loft but normal steps would take up too much room. They asked a carpenter to build steps in the small church to get to the choir loft. The next day the circular steps were built and the carpenter disappeared. The steps are considered unique. The plaza also has a lot of very nice art galleries. We went to eat at Santa Fe Mac, which is run by a guy from Pittsburgh. He even had a terrible towel hanging in the store. There are a lot of museums in Santa Fe as well. We debated about going to the Georgia O'Keefe or Meow Wolf. We chose Meow Wolf. There was one in Denver as well and it looked interesting. It was completely different, an interactive art, storytelling, problem solving, exhibit. The main part is a house with information about a family. You are supposed to figure out what happened to the family and they were into time machines and messages from outer space. From different places in the house you could get into a different world - the abstract kind of art. You got there through the refrigerator, closet, dryer, etc. So interesting. We solved the 4 questions and got a sticker!! We went to Second Hand Brewery for dinner and then to our very dark and lonely campfire in the national forest. There was no one camping near us!Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks
    Balcony cliff dwelling
    Not what it used to be but still standing (true for both photo subjects)1Cliff dwelling we toured1Our Navajo ranger internPithouseMulti- story stone houseDinty Moore!!

    Mesa Verde National Park

    September 30, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    We spent the night in the national campground. It is run by an outside contractor. The sites were rather close together but not the worst we have had. Mesa Verde is a historical national park. The grounds most recently belonged to the Ute reservation and were home to many indigenous people beginning around 700 AD and lasting until somewhere in the 1200's AD. Archeologists have uncovered many of their homes (pueblos) from pithouses built in the ground, to multilevel stone dwellings, to the cliff dwellings last used in the 1200's. The national park maintains about 35 of these dwellings most of which you can see from short hikes to the canyon edge. They offer tours of three of the pueblos so you can get up close to the sites and get some information from the rangers. We did a short hike on the Sofa Pop Trail where we could see the Balcony cliff dwelling. Next we toured the Cliff Pueblo, a cliff dwelling. To get to it, we had to ascend many stone stairs and a ladder. This particular dwelling had many kivas, a large round area place for social and ceremonial events. One of the rangers was an intern from the Navajo tribe. He talked about some of the rituals and customs of both those of the past and current. The current native Americans hold these pueblos as sacred space of their ancestors. To get out we had to climb up many stone steps and three ladders. We spent the day driving the scenic highway stopping to see many of the dwellings. Back at camp we built a fire and had..... Dinty Moore Stew!Read more

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    Page - kayaking

    September 29, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    We had reserved kayaks for morning. The first part of the paddle was on the lake, which has a fair amount of boat traffic meaning lots of wakes to deal with. Over we turned into Antelope Can yon the water calmed downed and the canyon walls began to close in. After kayaking about 2.5 miles, the water came to an end and we backed the kayaks and began to hike up the canyon. We overheard a guide for group saying earlier in the year the water went up another 200 years.

    The hike in the canyon was beautiful. We came to a small ladder to climb to the next level of the canyon. We stopped hiking after about 1.75 miles and began our way back, done we had a 4.5 hour drive ahead of us.

    Before leaving the lake area we went to the "beach", which wasn't much of a beach but we were able to hike down over the rocks and take a quick dip in the lake.

    Our drive to Mesa Verde NP was mostly over 2 lane roads with nothing around.... and most was through native American territory.

    We stopped in the town of Cortez about 10 miles from the park and had a sandwich and a beer at Wild Edge Brewing Collective.

    We arrived at the campground after dark and after the office was closed. The directions left for us were less than clear. While the paper had a site number on it, the person working had neglected to write "pick any available site". We went to the site printed on the paper and someone was in it. Eileen talked to him and he said it was any available site. Being that it was dark, we took the next available site, which was OK but probably not the site we would have picked in the daylight.    Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks

    Page, AZ - Antelope Canyon/Horseshoe

    September 28, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    We ate breakfast at the hotel before heading out to our tour in Antelope Canyon. As we were heading out, I suddenly realized that Arizona does not recognize daylight savings time and that it was an hour earlier than we thought. Our phones were still showing MDT and hadn't picked up the difference. Someone later said that the Navajos do recognize DST so if phones were picking up off towers from their land, it would explain. Assuming that to be true.

    We decided to drive to tour location just to be certain about time and we were 90 minutes early. We decided to drive back a short distance to the Glenn Canyon Lake Powell access. We checked out the public launch and then the private marina before heading back for tours.

    We toured Canyon X, one of the slot canyons in Antelope Canyon. Those canyons are very interesting: so narrow and such exotic shapes. There was another smaller slot canyon we got to visit, also. We chose this tour rather than the Upper or Lower Antelope Canyon tours because of price and were glad we did. From a photo opp perspective, unless you had a higher end camera (not cell phone), I don't think it would be worth it. These canyons are all on Navajo land and you have to pay for a tour to access them.

    Next stop was for a burger and beer at Slackers, followed by a milk shake at RD's Drive In. We are sticking to a healthy diet even though traveling !

    We headed over to Horseshoe Bend, a bend in the river in the shape of a horseshoe, which has lots of people walking to the observation point. Once there, were we able to continue walking to a less crowded area and scramble on the rocks for even better views. Only source of irritation were the people who ignored the signs to stay on the path and took the straight line because it saved them a hundred yards or so.

    Our camping spot for the eve was a tent spot in an RV park that didn't have much ( or any) shade..... one of the downfalls of camping in the desert. So, we decided to find a place to get a beer. We ended up at the State 48 tavern sitting next to 2 young pilots (ages 29, 32) who were private pilots for someone out of the Tampa, St Pete area. They typically do 2 or 3 trips per month. Sounded like a great gig. We talked with them for a couple hours before heading to the camp site.    Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks
    Waiting for a park bus

    Zion National Park

    September 27, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Our night in Zion National Park campground was very interesting. The canyon got very windy. While our tent was secure, the noise of the flaps and the wind made sleeping interesting. We made coffee, had something to eat and then packed up. We considered doing a hike in the Virgin River where we definitely would get wet, but the temps were only in the 60's. Instead we hiked the Angels Landing trail to Scout Lookout. It was a very steep climb with a lot of switchbacks. The views were worth it though. Unfortunately, at this time of year you need a permit to go the additional .5 mile to Angels Landing. This distance is over rock with chains built in to assist hikers. It is also a one way trail so a group goes up and then comes back before the next group goes. We couldn't get permits so we just had to watch others make the climb. After a snack we headed back down. It is easier on the heart but harder on the knees going down. At the bottom we soaked our feet in the river. We walked to the Zion Lodge and had a well deserved beer. After that we rode the bus along the scenic road. Only buses are allowed on the road. Returning to the visitor center we found our car and headed to Page, AZ where we had secured a hotel. On our way out of the park we were stopped by a herd of mountain sheep coming over the hill and crossing the road!!Our takes on Zion NP - it is a very nice park with very majestic looking rock formations, but a very popular one. We were not impressed with their transit system though it got us where we needed to be. It is one of those parks where getting there early before the crowds is a great idea .Read more

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    Bryce to Zion

    September 26, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    After a leftover pizza breakfast, we packed up and drove the scenic road through Bryce stopping at some of the overlooks. The views just continue to amaze! We parked and hiked the Rim Trail from Sunset Point to Inspiration Point to Bryce Point. While we were looking at the same area the whole time, with every bend it brought a different perspective. The views never got old or boring, just more beautiful. I think this has to be my favorite park by far. We rode the shuttle back to our parking spot and said goodbye, heading to our next destination - Zion National Park. As we drove, the landscape changed dramatically. We entered from the west side and drove through a couple of small rock tunnels and then one very long tunnel, where they only let one direction go at a time. We finally arrived at the campground. Our site is a walk in site so we have to use the tent we have been carrying with us this entire trip. Since we have to carry everything into our site and park elsewhere, and because it was very hot, we decided this was a good night to eat out. We went to the Zion Brewery in Springdale where there happened to be live music. It was 88° when we left the campsite and it is supposed to go down to about 55° tonight.Read more

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    Bryce Canyon National Park

    September 25, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    We got into Bryce around 13:00 and went straight to our camp site which was very close to the park entrance. The campground has running water but no showers. Sites are pretty nice but fairly open.

    After some lunch, we started hiking to the Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop trails via the Rim Trail. It had been 24 years since we had been here and I wasn't sure if the actual park would live up to the memories. The park did not disappoint. The hoodoos, with their fantastic shapes and colors are incredible. The hike ended up being 5 miles, a nice distance for an afternoon outing.

    Dinner ended up being pizza from a small shop right next to the park Lodge. Beer was served in a Starbucks cup. Might be my new morning drink.

    We were in bed early, as had been the norm, although Eileen tends to read longer than me.

    The night skies continue to be fantastic even though the moon is infringing on the star observation early in the night. The weather has been great, too, with lots of blue skies and good temperatures.    Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks
    Last Mormon home
    One room school houseArch - we hiked to above itPetroglyph2Cows are free range around here

    Capital Reef day 2

    September 24, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    We cooked bacon and eggs this morning before heading back to Capital Reef. Our camp host told us about cinnamon rolls made in the park on the Fruita area so that is where we went first. In what was the last house of the Mormons to live there, they have a store with a lot of country things and homemade cinnamon rolls and pies. We shared a delicious cinnamon roll and bought a strawberry-rubarb pie and a peach pie for later.

    We drove along the main road stopping at the Mormon one room school house and other historical places.

    We started the Grand Wash Hike. It was an easy 4.5 round trip hike through the wall area that had carved out these beautiful walls of rock. There is no water now but there are signs for flash flooding when it rains. When we came to the other end of the trail we saw a sign for the Cassidy Arch trail, mashed for Butch Cassidy who supposedly hid out here. It went up almost a 1000 feet. A hiker coming down said the views were worth it so we decided to do it. It was very steep at first but then a gradual climb. At the top, we were above the arch, and yes, the views were amazing. After a snack and sharing a few nuts with a chippie, we headed back down. Once we got to the bottom, we still had 2 miles back to our car. Our simple hike turned into a 8.5 mile hike. We were tired and ready to be done. A quick stop at the petroglyph path and then back to the campground. There were cattle at the campground entrance to greet us. This is open range area, no fenced to hold them back.

    We had a fire, ate dinner, are our delicious pies, and listened to Jimmy Buffett followed by the Steeler game    Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks
    Jeff picking apples1

    Capital Reef day 1

    September 23, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    We had a leisurely morning at our Airbnb then packed up all fresh and clean. It was about 3 hours to Capital Reef NP. We went to the visitor center and found that we were in the Fruita area. This area is an area where all of the mountains focus together in that area and the water runs there making the area very fertile and where crops grow easily. It looks very weird after being surrounded by nothing but rock and not seeing much grow at all. An Indian group lived here and had set up an gravity irrigation system. This was followed by 10 Mormon families. They planted a lot of orchards and grew about a dozen different fruits along with some vegetables. They had a school and managed to live here for about 30 years. Eventually they all sold their property to the N P service with the last house being sold in 1969. The orchards are now owned and managed by the NP service and they open certain orchards to the public. If you eat the fruit there it doesn't cost anything. If you take it with you you are to use the honor system and pay $2.00 a pound. We got two apples and two peaches for our pound. Next to orchard was a very nice picnic area.

    We did a 4 mile hike (879 ft elevation chg) near there where we played on the rocks and explored some small canyons. Next we drove the scenic road.

    For dinner, we headed into town where we ate at the Rim Rock Restaurant. Jeff had a plate with bison sausage, grouse and trout. Eileen had ribs. Eileen ordered an Irish coffee which was delivered as a cup of black coffee, a shot of Jack Daniels, and several creamers.

     Next stop was the Singletree Campground. It is in the Dixie National Forest. Lots of pine trees in the area although the campsites were fairly open.    Read more

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    Delicate ArchPetroglyphsBroken ArchTapestry ArchFinally got a picture of oneThe scene from my bed (aka the back of the van) the last 3 mornings

    Arches part 2

    September 22, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 79 °F

    Today, after a leisurely morning, we left our very nice BLM campsite and went back to Arches NP. We hiked the Delicate Arch trail. We had seen this arch from a viewing point but today we got up close and personal. It was a popular trail and at times we felt like a line of ants climbing up rocks, but the end sight was worth it. After a few pictures we headed back. One of the cool things that happens here is that someone will always offer to take a picture of both of us. In return we have done the same. It is a special kind of understanding among NP travelers.

    Our second hike took us to three more arches. We saw Sand Arch, Broken Arch and Tapestry Arch. It was a 3 mile loop trail that also took us through the camp sites. It was a pretty easy hike but very pretty and mostly quiet. We walked through a lot of sand all of which had come from the weathering of the sandstone rock all around us.

    Tonight we are staying in an airbnb. After 17 nights in the van, tonight we will sleep in a bed, get a good hot shower, and do laundry. There also is a pool and hot tub for our use. Living in luxury! Actually, we have 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

    While in the hot tub, we had a nice conversation with a young couple from rural Wisconsin on their honeymoon. He is 19, she is 20. Also talked to a couple about our age from Missouri.    Read more

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    Fred Flintstone's house!Sliding down the Butte on her butt.

    Canyonlands National Park

    September 21, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 72 °F

    Canyonlands is really spread out with the unique sections. We headed to the closest part of the park, known as Island in the Sky. It took us about 50 minutes to reach the entrance, where we encountered a short line of cars to get in.

    The diversity of landscape in just this section of the park is incredible. Our first hike was on Lathrop trail go the canyon rim. The first leg was through a grassy, sandy desert area. We transitioned to a rocky area with beautiful formations before getting to the rim of the canyon.

    Our second stop was at Mesa Arch. This was a relatively crowded half mile hike to a very cool arch. Seemed wrong to me that someone was able to pull into a handicapped parking spot (with permit) and then walk 1/2 mile over rocky, uneven terrain that included some elevation.

    The third hike was at Mesa Butte. There were two parts to the hike. The first took you to a granary storage area built into a cliff , supposedly over 1000 years ago. Most of the bricks were still in place. From there we climbed the Butte. Lots of scrambling and climbing up smooth rock. It was fun, the wind was strong, and the views were incredible. It was a great way to wrap up the day in the park

    Dinner was pizza, unfortunately they did not serve beer.    Read more

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    1Which one is the dark angel?1

    Arches National Park

    September 20, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Our campground, Hal canyon, was about a 15 minutes drive to the park entrance.

    After a stop at the visitors center, we headed to the Devil's Garden hike. This 8 mile hike presented some incredible scenery and by taking the "primitive" route on the way back, it added a little extra challenge to it. The furthest point on the hunt was a rock formation called Dark Angel. Check out the picture and help me figure out which was the real dark angel.

    We did stop at various viewpoints including Delicate Arch.

    The day was completed by a stop at Proper Brewing for a burger and beer.    Read more

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    Black Canyon to Arches

    September 19, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Fairly uneventful day. After getting packed up at Black Canyon, we made a couple stops in Montrose, including replenishing our food supply.

    We took the scenic route 128 from I70 down toward Moab. We ended up with a campsite at the BLM Hall Canyon campground. It has 11 sites, right on the Colorado River. It is about a 15 minute drive from Arches Park and Moab.

    We venture into Moab and stopped at the Moab brewery followed by desert and coffee at Bonjour bakery.

    After we crawled into the van the wind kicked up. It was the first night in a while we had the hatch and windows open, much warmer here. A camper across the way had a tent on top of their van. The winds sent them into the van.

    We plan on spending 3 nights in this site.    Read more

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    Black Canyon of the Gunnison

    September 18, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    While a lot of national parks get over 3 million visits a year, Black Canyon of the Gunnison usually gets around 300,000. An often overlooked park, it has very different and beautiful scenery. The canyon is the longest and deepest canyon in the west . At one point, the two sides are only about 45 feet apart. It is very narrow but deep and impressive. We hiked the Small Oak Trail which went just below the edge of the canyon. Going any lower required a permit and climbing skills. A lot of young'uns will hike to the bottom and climb back up. The trail is lined with oak trees, but given the small amount of water and sun, they grow slowly. A small tree could be over 80 years old. Other than chippies, a snake, and a lot of birds, we didn't see any other wildlife. After the hike we drove the rim and stopped at some of the look out points. There was a little rain in the air. We were staying in the park campground and had a very nice, private site. We went back to the campground, built a fire, and had Jeff's favorite camping meal, mashed potatoes and Dinty Moore Stew . Once the clouds cleared, the sky was filled with stars once again. During the night we heard a pack of some kind of animals - maybe wolves or coyotes, not sure - getting a prey.Read more

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    Great Sand Dunes to Gunnison

    September 17, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    Happy anniversary to us. We left our campsite and headed towards the Black Canyon of Gunnison. Our friend, Amy from Sanddrifts Board Rental, told us about the Great Sand Recreation Center. It has swimming, basketball, camping and other things. But it has what is called the Greenhouse, which is a real greenhouse where they used to grow tomatoes and other vegetables. The rules for producing and selling became too intense that they quit. The greenhouse then got turned into a 21+ hot tub area with four tubs ranging from 98° to 112°. The tubs are fed from hot springs. There are a lot of plants still in the greenhouse giving it a very peaceful look. We tried out all four tubs and the sauna. There is also a bar and food which we partook. It was a wonderful way to spend a few hours. Sometimes the most interesting stops come from talking to other people. We then got back on the road and traveled to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison where we are camping in the park campground.Read more

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    Great Sand Dunes

    September 16, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    We started off with Eileen cooking breakfast. After that, we hopped on the car for the 80 minute drive to Great Sand Dunes NP. Along the way we stopped at Spindrift Sand Boards to pick up boards to use as sleds, no standing up for us.

    As you approach the park, the view is amazing. At the base of the mountains, there are miles of sand dunes, with the highest being about 750 ft. It doesn't look like it could be real.

    Once in the park, we hiked through the sand to the dunes. We didn't do that well on our first couple attempts, in part by not picking sand that was really dry. We kept turning and flipping. A couple guys told us that for them, the key was to not keep hands on handles, but keeping them outside sled to steer. After that, we picked a fairly steep, long run and had success. We made 4 runs on this (you have to hike back up so it takes a while). Videos are attached, make sure you have volume turned up.

    When we got to the car, we spent 15 minutes getting most of the sand off of us, including eyes, nose, and ears.

    After leaving the park, we stopped at Zapata Falls at the recommendation of Amy, the woman who rented us sand boards. It was a .5 mile hike at 9000 ft. To see the falls, you had to hike up and across the stream at the top. Pretty cool, with the hike.

    After that, we returned the boards and spent 20 minutes talking with Amy. She has big plans to expand to multiple locations and to manufacturer hemp sand boards. She and her husband and 4 dogs live in a tiny house (under 200 SQ ft) off grid.

    Next stop was the Crafty Canary brewery (2nd day) for dinner and beer. The food was great.

    We tried to find a shower in the campground but no luck with that, a problem for tomorrow.    Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks

    Manitou Incline / Manitou Springs

    September 15, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    Yesterday, we saw the Manitou Incline and decided to give it a shot before leaving town. We walked about 1.25 miles from town to get warmed up. We then started up the former incline bed, with the very irregular shaped railroad ties as steps.

    There are 2768 steps that take you up over 2000 feet in elevation in less than a mile, taking you from 6500 ft to 8500 ft elevation. Part of what makes this difficult for us low-landers is the elevation. While we weren't speedy, we completed it in roughly 90 minutes. Our son, Jason, had done it this spring in less than half the time it took us.

    After completing the summit, we returned via a 3 mile downhill trail.

    https://www.pikes-peak.com/manitou-incline-hike…

    Oh, and this hike was done in the rain in 50 deg weather. The weather was actually a plus, kept is cool. We found a Laundromat to dry our clothes while we had a beer and food at the Manitou brewery.

    We then started our drive to Lathrop State Park, with a stop at the crafty canary brewery (it was raining). Tomorrow we will visit Great Sand dunes MP.    Read more

  • Rockies and Red Rocks
    1

    Pikes Peak or bust

    September 14, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    We had a leisurely start to the day highlighted by a shower (no showers the 3 nights in Rocky mountain NP. We then headed into Manitou Falls for a walk around town before our ride on the cog train to Pikes peak. Great scenery and views on the way up .... most of the way. When we got to the top it was snowing, so very limited visibility from there. While on top, we tried the famous pikes peak donuts, which were OK. We returned after about 45 minutes on the peak. The today trip was about 3 hours.

    After the cog ride we went to a western dinner/show at the Flying W Ranch. The ranch has been doing shows since 1953 and was recommended by a friend who was here 25 years ago. The ranch burnt to the ground ( along with over 200 houses) from a forest fire in 2012. They rebuilt and opened again in 2020. First we walked around the ranch where they had some hands on activities for kids and seeing the farm animals. Then we were entertained by native American dancers. Dinner was a chuckwagon meal of brisket, sausage, beans, baked potatoes, applesauce, bread and spice cake served in a tin plate. It was delicious. The final entertainment was a group of 5 guys with string instruments who sang western songs in 4 and 5 part harmonies. They were very good musicians!
    It was a good day!    Read more

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