Arches National Park. Moab, Utah

So apparently, the Arches National Park is the top destination for Memorial Day weekend and the Devil's Garden campsite was completely booked. No worries, there were plenty of other campsites outside of the park. We scouted out about 5 different sites along the Colorado River and everything was reserved! I guess, now it was time to stop going down the "oh, I'll just wing it" route and start making reservations... Even for camp grounds! Who would have thought?

We did however find a quite luxurious campsite with electrical outlets, water and free Wi-Fi right at our site. We were ballin'! We had another gourmet meal of hot dogs, with some chili to spice things up, and of course, more s'mores. Ale of course had been keeping a hot dog log. We were both up to 8 each... Nom nom.

The next morning we dragged ourselves out of our sleeping bags and went to the Arches National Park at 6:30 in the morning, which is probably the best time to go. Not only was the lighting stunning, but it was completely empty. This is the best way to explore the park. Since we only had the morning there, we took a couple short hikes to see Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch and Double Arches. Fun fact: there are over 2,500 arches in the entire park! See more of our awesome pictures here!

I also was given my first tribal name... Girl Who Walked Off Path. You can ask me more details about the initiation if you want.

Landscape Arch

Double Arches

Elephant Rock

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Initially, I was going to include our visit to Glenwood Springs in my previous blog post, but I decided that the events which occurred in Glenwood Springs deserve their own post.

First, I have to say that I-70 west from Denver is probably the most beautiful drive I've even done. The Blue Ridge Parkway was gorgeous, but there is nothing that can compare to driving through the Rocky Mountains. We passed through all these cute mountain towns, including Vail and Aspen. It only took us about 3 hours to get to Glenwood Springs where we set up camp at this primitive campsite called Ami's Acres overlooking the Rockies.

Glenwood Springs is known for it's hot springs, and it has the largest natural pool in America. There was a lot to do, including our hike up to Hanging Lake, so we had already stratagized our itinerary and we were planning to spend an hour that evening at these Vapor Caves. THANK goodness they let us look at the caves first. We basically walked into this dungeon that spelled like poo. The combination of the sulphur smell and the heat causing my glasses to fog up caused this overwhelming feeling or claustrophobia and I bolted out of there. Ale went in all the way and said the placed was packed with naked people. So... We went to the hot springs natural pool instead. It was amazing!!! Like, imagine swimming in a giant bathtub that makes you skin baby soft. Heaven. And for those of you who ever visit the pool, don't forget to take 25 cents so you can turn the individual chair bubbles on! We unfortunately missed out on that...

So after a lovely soak, we headed back to camp to make s'mores and drink some Colorado brewed beer. As we were driving along the (dead end) road to our campsite we came upon a GIANT 18-wheeler truck that, while trying to turn around on this tiny street, had managed to get the whole front of the truck stuck in the ditch between the road and the highway. The entire body of the truck was blocking the road. And of course, he pulled this fancy move RIGHT in front of the entrance to our campsite. This would happen to us... But we were smart. We perched ourselves a few blocks down the road in a deserted and totally sketchy parking lot to wait and see when the truck would drive by so we knew he had left. Only 3 hours later, around 12:00, they must have somehow magically lifted this truck out of the ditch, and he was gone. Like no one's night was ruined or anything. Nuts!!

The next morning, we started the 3 mile round trip hike up to Hanging Lake. The lake is nestled up in the mountains and the water is full of minerals that give it a turquoise like color. This was an incredible and very rewarding hike, I totally recommend it. And if you go, make sure you hike the extra 5 minutes up to Spouting Rock.

I am definitely going back to Glenwood Springs. Check out more of the pictures here!

Camping in Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Hike to Hanging Lake in Glenwood Springs

Colorado Springs and Boulder

After our visit to the Great Sand Dunes, we continued heading north on I-25 to Boulder and decided to stop for the night in Colorado Springs and stayed at a campground called LoneDuck. You can imagine how excited I was! We also chose to go to Colorado Springs because we wanted to watch the solar eclipse from Pikes Peak. Our plan didn't exactly go as intended and we ended up having to book it up the mountain before it close at 4:00. Now, rushing up 14,115 feet isn't exactly an easy task. About 1/2 way up it started to blizzard and there were moments when you thought you were driving right into the heaves / off a cliff. There is a permanent grip mark on my steering wheel now. We weren't exactly prepared for the sub-zero temperatures, so when we got to the summit, we took a couple pictures and headed back down. So, in a nutshell, we didn't see the solar eclipse up there.

But we DID see it at the bottom of the mountain. After waiting about 2 hours and nearly blinding ourselves, there it was, the partial solar eclipse. Not something I'd write home about...

The next day we headed up through the Garden Of The Gods to Boulder and stopped in Nederland to see Rachel, Peter's sister. We visited their beautiful mountain house, had a lovely lunch in town and the of course, rode the Carousel of Happiness. Best carousel ever!! Every animal was hand carved out of wood and it even had a traditional Wurlitzer (a.k.a. the machine that plays music)!

We stayed the night at Colin's place in Superior, right outside Boulder. I also made sure to visit the Molecular Cellular Biology Department where my Mom got her PHD. I loved Boulder! I would live here in a heart beat. I can only imagine what mischievous things my parents were up to when they lived here.

After having a delicious chicken meal, we were on the road again, no time to waste!

Ale Lifting Rocks at Garden of the Gods

In front of the MCDB Building in Boulder

Inspiration

"You must be swift as the coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon."

That's for Sophia and Ale. Love you both!

On top of Pike's Peak, Colorado

Ale on top of Pike's Peak, Colorado

YoAle Adventure Begins. The Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

By the time I had picked up Ale in Albuquerque, I had driven a total of 3,900 miles! And as much as I was loving the southern heat, I was ready to drive up north. Neither Ale or I have really explored Colorado, and so we were pretty pumped. We started off our road trip by blasting Carly Rae Jepsen and headed first to Santa Fe for some brunch at Pantry Kitchen and then further north of I-25 to the Great Sand Dunes.

As soon as we were about 10 miles over the Colorado boarder, the terrain totally changed and we became surrounded by mountains. Some even had snow on them! By the time we were almost 30 miles away from the Great Sand Dunes, you could already see them, like a Sahara Desert in the middle of a circular mountain range. It was very clear as to why they are called the GREAT Sand Dunes. They were huge! Check out more of our pictures here!

The Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

We lucked out and scored one of the last few campsites inside the park, set up our humble abode, and put on our hiking gear. We were ready to conquer the dunes! We rented a sled, since you know, that’s what you do when you go to a desert, and then began our trek. Initially, we wanted to go to the highest dune, where we saw people walking around like little ants on a hill. It became increasingly tiring to walk in the sand after a couple sled runs and strolls along the crests of the lower dunes, so we just took a ton of pictures and ate a rice crispy treat. Like champs!

Ale sledding down the Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

That night, we had a gourmet meal of hot dogs, beans and s’mores. And since you know how much Ale and I love to camp, once it started to drizzle, we battened down the hatches (a.k.a. went into the tent) and called it a night.

Oh yeah, explanation for why there was a Sahara Desert in the middle of Colorado? I’m not totally sure yet… The pamphlet talked about water and wind, some rocks were involved, but it was pretty vague. 

Hot Springs in Truth or Consequence, New Mexico

So far, I vote New Mexico as having some of the coolest places I’ve visited on this road trip. Kristina told me about the Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences, and after the past 2 days of endless driving, I knew that this would be the perfect way to relax!

I stayed at this cute little motel called Desert View Inn, and the next morning I had brunch at White Coyote Café. I waned to eat early, around 8:00 AM, since I was starving from not having a real meal the day before, and I arrived just in time to have one of their freshly baked scones. Delicious!

After that I spent the better part of the afternoon soaking in the hot springs at Riverbend Hot Springs which had all it’s public baths perfectly located right on the edge of the Rio Grande River. I couldn’t have asked for a more peaceful afternoon with such an epic view. Check out more pictures here!

Riverbend Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences

Later that afternoon, I drove around and went to look at the Elephant Butte dam and then eagerly drove up I-25 north to Albuquerque to meet Ale that evening!

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

After leaving the Carlsbad Caverns, I must admit, I did NOT expect it to take another 4 hours to get to the White Sands. It looked so short on the map… But off I went!

The drive to the White Sands went close along the Mexican boarder, and I had to go through a couple inspection stops. It was like in the movies! They had dogs and a laundry list of questions they went through, including: “are you an American citizen?” I guess my New Jersey license plate didn’t give it away.

I arrived at the White Sands National Monument around 4:00 PM and started the 16 mile loop through the sand dunes. When I got out of the car for the first time, I was hesitant to take my shoes off since the sand looked so hot! But it wasn’t… This was better than the Navarre Florida beach, it felt like COLD whipped cream. The sand was cold because it is made of gypsum.

So, here is my quick history lesson on how the dunes formed, since I know you must be dying to know how on earth these white sand dunes found themselves in the middle of New Mexico. Basically, 250 million years ago, the gypsum was deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea and then turned into rock when the Rocky Mountains formed and the sea evaporated. That then created the Tularosa Basin, and the gypsum rock would dissolve when it rained and the wind would break down the gypsum into sand. Ta-da!

As fun as it was to take photos of the white sand dunes, I wanted to try something a little edgier… I wanted to get an awesome shot of myself jumping high above the sand dunes. After about 20 attempts of jumping up and running back and forth to check the shot, I started to feel a little light headed and nauseous, so I retreated back to my air conditioned car and waited until 7:00 pm for the sunset walk.

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

The sunset walk was guided and just beautiful. Watching the sun set over the white sand dunes with the San Andres Mountains in the background was absolutely magical. After the tour, I walked off and managed to find an isolated dune and just watched as the colors of the sunset in the clouds reflected on the glistening white sand dunes. I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful it was… Check out more pictures here!

Sunset over White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

Around 8:30 PM, although I was so totally tired, I managed the last 2 hour drive to Truth or Consequence where I spent the night.