We were off to Moab and Arches via Scenic Byway 128. Thank you Grandpa Linscott for the route recommendation, it was a beautiful drive along the Colorado River. The drive along the bright red canyons really let us know that we had entered into Utah. Another great thing about this route is that there are quite a few Bureau of Land Management campgrounds the closer one gets to Moab. We stopped at the campground closest to Moab the first night and snatched up the last site in the grounds. The weather, unfortunately, has not been cooperating with us and the first [View Full Entry]

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Alright, last stop in Colorado: Colorado National Monument (CONM). Does anyone else have any clue what Colorado National Monument is like? We didn't. The reason we stopped was we wanted another stamp in our National Parks Passport, and it was along the way to Moab and Arches National Park. We were pleasantly surprised by this afterthought of a stop (which is just outside Grand Junction). CONM was the pet project of John Otto. He moved into the area and loved Grand Junction so much (???) that he moved into the canyons and became a hermit. He became the unofficial caretaker of [View Full Entry]

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So, remember how we said that this was our great adventure...well the real adventure started on Saturday, when we left the Great Sand Dunes. We headed north, went through Creede, an old mining town, and wanted to take "Highway 110" for the 31 miles from Lake City to Silverton, as it would cut about 100 miles off of our trip. It started out fine, albeit a little surprising, as the road was dirt. We should have known. It gradually got steeper, and narrower, and we eventually passed a sign stating "No campers or trailers past this point. No winter maintenance." We [View Full Entry]

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Our first stop on the long leg of our trip was to Alamosa, Colorado. The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad was the first stop, in nearby Antonito. We took the narrow gauge train 64 miles and crossed the Colorado/New Mexico border 11 times in total, finally ending in Chama, New Mexico. The train snaked through the mountains, reaching a peak elevation of 10,022 feet. The narrow gauge designation is given to trains with a rail width of 3 feet, compared to the standard 4'8", a distinct advantage when making the tight turns necessary to traverse such steep terrain. This resulted in [View Full Entry]

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We stayed another week in La Junta following Santa Fe. We were able to visit Bent's Fort, which is just down the road from Cody's house. We also spent time with the animals on the farm, saw "Mame" at Picketwire, the local theater, and got to hang out with his cousins from New York. Here are some of the La Junta highlights. [View Full Entry]

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The second half of the 75th anniversary week for the Koshares included shows, lunches, and presentations. Here are just a few pictures from La Junta and the Koshare Indian Museum and dances. [View Full Entry]

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Day 2 in New Mexico was spent on a day trip to Taos. They say that of the 5,000 people in Taos, 1,000 are artists. We were on a pretty strict schedule so we were only able to step into a few galleries, but I made sure to hit up the local bookstore during lunch. Cody and I both really enjoyed Taos, it was a little bit Evergreen and a little bit La Junta. MORE PICTURES HAVE BEEN POSTED! [View Full Entry]

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I am slowly catching up so that each entry is actually on the current date! Our next destination on the trip was Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico from July 21st to July 24th. During high school, Cody was a member of the Koshare Indian Dancers. This year marks the 75th anniversary of this organization and as part of the celebration a group of alumni Koshares and family members took the train to New Mexico for a guided tour of the region. We were fortunate enough to fill in, last minute, for two people that could not make the trip. I [View Full Entry]

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Well, after a few days in Texas we headed up to Fort Collins, Co for 2 weeks so Cody could turn in his thesis and give his master's defense. Woo Hoo! With only a few glitches during the 2 weeks, he now has completed his masters. We were grateful to our friends Chad and Jen (& Grace) who allowed us to stay at their house in Wellington while Cody worked. I also helped babysit Grace during the 2 weeks so it worked out for everyone. Although we forgot to take the camera, we finished out our weeks with the Hopkins' by [View Full Entry]

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Thankfully, my brother, Leo, lives in Arlington (Go UTA!), so we were able to take advantage of a couple free nights at his house, have a nice time with him, and check out the surrounding Dallas area. I think the previous entries may have been dated incorrectly. We were actually in Dallas on the 4th of July, so there was also a big festival going on in downtown Dallas. [View Full Entry]

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