| When: January, 2007 Companions: Julia Trip NotesThis trip came out of a combination of Julia (a friend I met on the Haute Route) wanting to visit the US, and me planning on moving back to San Francisco from Colorado. As my last hurrah I wanted to have a chance to see more of the Southwest. Granted January is not exactly the perfect time to do this, but when did rationality ever slow me down :) This was our path starting and ending in Boulder, CO:Santa Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe was amazing! It was high and cold but beautiful. The southwestern architecture was unlike any city I had been to. We spent lots of time walking around town. We even walked all the way to the Kakawa Chocolate House through miles of snow and ice, to, um, find out it was closed :) I liked it so much that I later brough Cara there to check it out for ourselves.Grand Canyon National ParkThis was my first time at the Grand Canyon and it was damn impressive. Granted we arrived at sundown and left at sunrise. I love to see National Parks with few people around and there is nothing to keep people away like sub-freezing temps. We sadly didn't hike down into the Canyon because of the weather and time, but it helped me understand why people travel from all over the world to see it.Las VegasA trip around the Southwest isn't complete without a bit of time in Vegas. We did stop by the Hoover Damn on the way. We stayed at the MGM and I did quite a bit of gambling. This was Julia's first time gambling and she decided to dive in with craps. Yea, I know, not for beginners, but as luck would have it, she made about $600 :)Zion/Bryce/ArchesIf you haven't been to Utah's national parks, you are seriously missing out. During the busy months you have to take a bus through Zion, luckily we were going in such low season there wasn't actually anyone at the front gate :) This means that you can drive wherever you want in the park! We did a short hike over some icy trails and enjoyed some glorious vistas. After this we went on to Bryce to stay in the Bryce hotel (and by "the" I mean the only one anywhere nearby, it is i-so-lated). This did mean we got to see the sun rise over the hoodoos, mmmm, hoodoos. After that it was off to Arches, there were more folks around here but it was still empty enough for us to do anything we wanted. Lots of arches, lots of wandering...HighlightsThe highlights for me had to be Bryce's Hoodoos and Santa Fe, both were interesting, original, and a place I could go back to repeatedly!LowlightsWhile it kept the (other) tourists away, the cold was quite, um, cold. I could've done without it. |
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/gdalesandre/2007Roadtrip |
|
Past >
Southwest, USA - Roadtrip with Julia |