Tag: National park

Black Canyon to Denver

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Unfortunately not much to report on today as it was mostly travelling.

We did however spend a small amount of time (due to thick fog and not being able to see anything!!) in the Black Canyon of Gunnison. For the first time, I felt sick when looking down into the Canyon. Imagine the Empire State building; if you put that at the bottom of the Canyon it would only reach half way up. It was absolutely stunning when the fog eventually cleared and the photos really don’t do it justice, or show how deep it actually was! The fall colours were beautiful that surrounded the park.

After the Canyon we set off on the very long drive to Denver (thank God for iPlayer downloads and Safeway snacks) but the scenery was stunning, surrounded by the snow capped mountains.

TTFN x

SANTA’S SESH 🎅                                    Had an Oktoberfest beer, unsure of %  came with an orange, thought what the friggin hell is this! Got rid of it, tasted OK.

 

Mesa Verde to Durango

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Poo hotel decided to give us a wake up call 2 hours early.. Not a happy ginger. Breakfast wasn’t as poo this morning, had some oatmeal after I managed to work out how the hell their microwave worked.

We set off for Mesa Verde and our guide decided it would be a good idea to play some Country music.. It was bearable until a 10 minute version of American Pie came on.. I can’t even tell you how close I was to getting the CD (actual dark ages!!) and frisbeeing it out the damn window.

Mesa Verde was totally different to any of the parks I’ve ever been to. Unfortunately we encountered rain and lightening and knowing what my current track record is for breaking technology, I didn’t get as many photos as I had hoped. The park is absolutely steaped in history and it’s amazing to think how these people lived all those years ago, and what they achieved with such little resources. The outskirts of the park also had an enormous amount of trees and seeing the changing colours really makes it feel like Fall (have to use proper terminology whilst I’m here!)

Arrived in Durango where we will spend the night before boarding the train to take us to Silverton. Had a quick browse round the museum but didn’t find a fat controller (except Santa)

TTFN x

SANTA’S SESH 🎅                                      We ate and drank in Steamworks Brewery tonight. Santa tried 2 beers…

1. Colorodo proud 5.6% crisp and hoppy.
2. Conductor 9.1% a nice sweet beer. Heavy in alcohol.. Lovely! Still can’t quite decide what is in this beer, probably dream about it later.

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Arches & Canyonlands

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Woke up ridiculously early again; stupid body clock still hasn’t adjusted yet. Unfortunately poo hotel also provided poo breakfast. Nothing better than a slice of toast that takes over 5 minutes to do and is covered in margarine.

We arrived at Arches NP early to beat the crowds and the park offered another wow experience. So much space for your eyes to stretch out and really appreciate the natural and beautiful arches. Unfortunately we didn’t get chance to visit the iconic ‘Delicate Arch’ but we did manage to spend a few hours with the ‘North and South Window’ and the ‘Double Arch’. I made sure I gave myself enough time to just sit and appreciate what hundreds and thousands of years has produced. One thing I didn’t expect when nature called however, was to be peeing in a shed into what looked like another Canyon below.

After Arches and a spot of lunch at Dennys we set off on our jeep tour of Canyonlands. Thank God for a decent pelvic floor! Again.. Lost for words. What made it more special was we were able to get up close and personal with the views we saw yesterday from Dead Horse Point. We were treated to dramatic landscapes, countless mesas and buttes, beautiful colours, gorgeous skies and of course, sunburn.

After the excitement of today we headed into Moab for food. Tackled a burrito the size of my face and was not defeated.

Back to poo hotel and hopefully will get a better sleep tonight, finally getting a lie in as well!!

TTFN x

SANTA’S SESH 🎅                                    He’s actually awake!! Visited the Moab brewery for a pint of Johnny’s IPA, 7% in a can. Liked it so much, brought one back to the room. Also had a standard draught (unfortunately less than 4% as is custom in Utah) but still typical American IPA; crisp hoppy taste but refreshing after a long day as a tourist.