Custer State Park

In the southern part of the Black Hills, the state park is known for its wildlife and scenic drives, two of them (the most spectacular ones) with tunnels too low for my car. I explore the southernLæs mere
Great Sand Dunes to Royal Gorge

The weather was great in the morning and then got progressively worse. I lucked out to get some sunshine for my main activities today: hiking in Great Sand Dunes National Park, a quick stop at the UFOLæs mere
Santa Fe & Co. - Modern Art

Santa Fe and Taos became hotspots of artist from about the 1920s onwards. The density and quality of art galleries is incredible. Just Santa Fe has over 100 world class galleries. Artist were drawn byLæs mere
Taos to Great Sand Dunes

Mainly a driving day today as I leave New Mexico and head north to Colorado. A few short stops along the road, as the weather turns from sunny to scary… I opt for an early night and a more extensiveLæs mere
Santa Fe & Co. - Spanish Heritage

The Spanish or Mexican heritage is very tangible, starting with the predominant Adobe construction in Santa Fe, to the historical churches, the food with the chili everywhere, and a lot of SpanishLæs mere
Santa Fe & Co. - traditional Indian Art

The density of museums between Albuquerque and Taos is unbelievable. I think I visited more than 10 museums over the last couple of days centering it around Indians, Spanish colonial and modern art.Læs mere
Taos Pueblo

Over 1000 years old, Taos Pueblo is the one that best chose the traditional architecture of the Pueblo Indians. In this whole part of town, the inhabitant keep their traditional ways. No electricityLæs mere
Los Alamos / Valle Caldera / Rio Grande

I visit Los Alamos in the morning - now a normal town but still with the National Laboratories and a lot of restricted areas. The division of the surrounding landscape into Technical Areas dating fromLæs mere
Bandelier National Monument

More Ancestral Pueblo Ruins / Cliff Dwellings, but these will be the last ones on my trip. People used natural cavities in the volcanic rock and enlarged them, using them as back walls and storageLæs mere
Santa Fe & Co. - Spanish Settlers

2 old Haciendas in the Rio Grande Valley Are now museums to Spanish / Mexican settlers who arrived starting 1541. Casa San Ysidro in Corrales and Hacienda de los Martinez in Taos. Another old churchLæs mere
Santa Fe Town

Santa Fe decided in the 1930s to adopt the Adobe style all over the city. Even building buildings made out of brick are painted in Adobe color. It works! The images can’t convey it, but driving onLæs mere
Santa Fe & Co. - Ancestral Pueblo

I spent eight days in the area between Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos, driving back and forth quite a bit. Culture, culture, culture! Rather than chronological the next few footprints are rather byLæs mere
Albuquerque

I’ve made it back to civilization, to New Mexico’ biggest city. I explore Old Town with its adobe buildings in the morning. Most of the day I spent in the Indian Pueblo cultural center, watchingLæs mere
Acoma Pueblo

Acoma is one of the 19 Indian Pueblos in New Mexico. The pueblo Indians are descendants of the ancestral pueblo cultures who built all the cliff dwellings, great cities like Chaco etc. After beingLæs mere
El Morro & El Malpais

Spanish names - I’m in New Mexico! I visit the national monuments of El Morro (inscription rock) and the first section of El Malpais (volcanic badlands) in the morning before heading to Acoma PuebloLæs mere
Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation is the largest reservation and indigenous people in the US, spending a large part of Arizona and parts of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. I’ve spent a lot of time driving throughLæs mere
Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly is of remarkable beauty, and full of cliff dwellings and petroglyphs, testimony to human occupation for millennia. It is at the heart of the Navajo Nation and a place of tragedy, asLæs mere
Petrified Forest NP

An afternoon and morning at Petrified Forest National Park, famous for the fossilized trees from the Jurassic period in the south part and the Painted Desert in the north part. My highlight was theLæs mere
Take it eeeeeasy… Winslow, Arizona

I’m leaving Flagstaff to continue on Route 66, stopping in Two Guns, once a thriving little town that died when Route 66 was replaced by the interstate. Very few remains, I’m shocked how quicklyLæs mere
Flagstaff

A major town in Route 66 / railroad / gateway to the Grand Canyon, I greatly enjoy Flagstaff’s down to earth vibe compared to rich-people-golfing-bitching-about-tourists Sedona the days before. ILæs mere
Oak Creek Canyon / Walnut Canyon NM

early in the morning, I hike the famous West Fork of the Oak Creek Canyon between Sedona and Flagstaff - a very nice hike before on the tourists show up.
I stopped at the many cliff dwellings ofLæs mere
Sedona Day 3

Today I crisscrossed the surrounds of Sedona for a variety of destinations. After a bird walk in Red Rock State Park, I visit the Palatki ancestral pueblo ruins and petroglyphs. After a stop atLæs mere
Sedona Day 2

It’s Cathedral Rock Day! The famous landmark in Sedona is really spectacular. I hike up the steep Slickrock to the saddle in the morning, and admire the reflection of it in Oak Creek at CrescentLæs mere
Sedona Day 1

Red Rock Heaven! Be prepared to see a lot of it. The wonderful landscape has attracted a lot of rich and artsy people who live in big villas amongst the rocks. And a fair share of, well, youLæs mere
Colorado National Monument

This morning I drove along the amazing rim of the Colorado NM, a little sunshine and then it actually hailed! The afternoon is spent shopping and sitting in a car repair shop in Grand Junction, theLæs mere