Life At The Circus

We left Canyonlands mid day on Monday and got a hotel in Montrose, Co. We were greeted with a fabulous view of the snow topped Rocky Mts.  Scott took the kids swimming while I did laundry.  Then we splurged and went out for dinner at Applebees.  It was a welcome change from fast food/Subway.  The next day we hit Black Canyon of the Gunnison! This was a hard park to fully comprehend.  The canyon here is crazy deep, yet narrow.  As we stood on top and looked down at the Gunnison River our minds couldn’t fully grasp how far down we were looking.  The best view of the canyon was at the Painted Rock overlook.  I hate to use a prop but I think this sign helps give a real appreciation of the depth and magnitude of the canyon.  That’s the cross section at the point in the canyon pictured above.  It really helped us understand what we were looking at. The highlight of our day was a 1.8 mile hike we took.  Interestingly eno...

Scott and I didn’t really know what to expect at Canyonlands.  It is a huge park, I mean HUGE.  The park is as natural and undeveloped as they come.  It’s a big draw for mountain bikers and off roaders.  The park is divided into three main parts… which you can’t reach from each other.  One of those parts is only accessible with off roading vehicles.  The other two have limited paved road access but provide no food, water or electricity.  We visited the Island in the Sky portion… the most easily accessible of the three regions.  We were not disappointed. Canyonlands took my breath away. We felt so small as we sat and gazed out at the canyons.   The Island in the Sky district is a mesa standing over 1400 feet above the “floor” below.  From this height you would actually be looking down on the top floor of the Sears Tower.  That “floor” isn’t really even the floor and is actually the starting point for an intricate sys...

We arrived in Mesa Verde National Park a few hours before sunset.  We had  been hoping to catch the Twilight Tour of  Cliff Palace but tickets are sold on a first come basis and, much like we expected, we weren't the first to come.  We opted for a sunset drive along the loop with some pretty overlooks and booked tours for the following morning.  The sunset drive was really fascinating.  I had long known about (and seen pictures of) the “cliff palace” pictured above, but didn’t realize until that drive that there were over 600 separate living centers buried high in the extensive cliff system. We finished our sunset drive and made it to our campground around 9:00pm.  And showers were a MUST.  Once cleaned, we were feeling refreshed and in need of some dinner, so we trekked back out to town for a LATE drive thru dinner.  (Our kids have blown us away with their flexibility and willingness to go with the flow on this trip).  We mad...

How many times have you wished you could be in more than one place at a time?  I know there’s been many a time that I’ve had that thought…. And Saturday, I had my wish.   We were in four places at once. The circus family stood in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado at the same time. We goofed around a bit and then the big kids got to strike their favorite pose in 4 states at once. It was a fun stop on our way to Mesa Verde National Park.

11 years ago this month Scott and I visited The Grand Canyon.  It was my first time seeing it and it took my breath away.  Now, 31 parks later, it is still my favorite of all the National Parks.  Many rank high on my list, but if you could only see one, I feel like this should be the one. The day before we took the kids, I had a little fear, much like the fear I had before taking them to Disney World.  “What if it isn’t as magical as I remembered?  What if I’ve built it up too big in my memories?”  No worries.  You can’t over hype the Grand Canyon. And pictures don’t do it justice.  Pictures can’t possibly convey its depth and magnitude.  It’s not just about one view from one vantage point.  It’s huge.  You can take a 40 minute bus ride up the cannon and see different part of the canyon that are equally as vast and majestic as the first.  It is AMAZING!   We started the day just taking the kids to the r...