Archive for category Travel
Cannon Beach Overnight
As a birthday gift to my sister, we did a short overnight trip to Tillamook and Cannon Beach; her first visit to Oregon. We stayed at the Hallmark Resort in Canon Beach.
Craters of the Moon
On our way to Utah, we decided to include Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. It’s a pretty remote spot and isn’t on the way to anywhere else so this seemed like our only opportunity to visit. “Weirdly beautiful” describes it for me.
US Route 20 heading east from Boise was an astoundingly stark setting.
North Cascades
With Trisha’s sister, Tessa, we drove the North Cascades Highway to Ross Lake. I must say, I was underwhelmed. Ross Lake is nice enough but otherwise the scenery was not very impressive.
Great Sand Dunes
Monday’s destination was Great Sand Dunes National Park, one of the few remaining National Parks on our target list. We had another perfectly clear day and an easy, three-hour drive from Colorado Springs to the Park.
Royal Gorge
We spent today exploring Colorado’s Royal Gorge and the famous Royal Gorge Bridge. The Gorge is one of the deepest in Colorado and the bridge was for many years the highest in the world. In the morning we took a very chilly and dusty jeep tour over Colorado back roads and, eventually, over the bridge. In the afternoon, we boarded the Royal Gorge Route train for a leisurely trip along the Arkansas River and under the bridge. The journey included a yummy lunch. Here’s an album of photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FP4tPct3h3pngAtt2
Giraffes
We had been excited to visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo since we saw the photos of their giraffes. Expectations were meant and exceeded. It was a very nice zoo but the giraffes were simply magical. With the elevated platforms visitors are eye-to-eye with the giants and they are just soooo amazing.
Link to more Cheyenne Mountain Zoo photos.
Morning at Garden of the Gods
We decided to get up early to see sunrise at Garden of the Gods. The clouds and lighting weren’t great but it was still a lovely sight. Then we stopped for a quick Starbuck’s latte before heading to the zoo.
Garden of the Gods
We were able to make a quick visit to the Garden of the Gods park before dinner.
Museum of the Rockies
Today we visited the Museum of the Rockies, home of the famous T-Rex specimen. We expected to spend a couple of hours here but there was so much to see and read we ended up staying the entire morning. It was terrific.
Here’s a link to an album of photos.
Beartooth Highway
The Beartooth Highway has been on my travel destination list for many years and we finally made it. The voyage did not disappoint. What marvelous scenery. At almost 11,000 feet the views were spectacular and ever so varied. There were extensive plateaus, snow-covered peaks, glacial lakes, deep valleys….
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