As we prepared to leave the Black Canyon area to head towards Great Sand Dunes, we took a few hours to simply relax, read The New York Times, blog, and enjoy brunch. We pulled out of Montrose in the mid-afternoon and began our 185-mile trek to Alamosa, the “gateway” to Great Sand Dunes. Our destination:…
We dedicated the fourth day of our trip to exploring the floor beneath the South Rim of the Black Canyon, including the Gunnison River. We began the day at the Glass Doctor, having our driver’s window replaced and our windshield repaired. Five-hundred dollars later, we decided to get lunch while further supporting the local economy.…
By the third day of our adventure, we finally made our way to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, featuring some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America. Our hikes along the rim were limited to the distance from our truck to the overlooks, but the spectacular views were…
The morning after the Great Storm, we emerged to survey the damage to the Amarillo KOA. Many people were walking around doing the same thing, and all were in a state of disbelief. We had survived the equivalent of a category 1 hurricane, with 70- to 80-mph straight-winds and 2-inch hail. The KOA had plenty…
After our stressful preparation, we finally set off for our first overnight stay at the Amarillo KOA, a familiar stopping point along the way to many western destinations. The six-hour drive was uneventful, but as we pulled in to the campground, we could see some rather ominous-looking clouds on the horizon. A quick check of…
After a nearly two-month camping hiatus, we were finally able to prepare for what we called our Black Canyon, Brown Sands vacation–a visit to Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Great Sand Dunes national parks. We had wanted to visit both parks during our Rocky Mountain Adventure, but there wasn’t enough time. Our Fourth…
It’s been said that all good things must come to an end, and so we concluded our coastal Christmas with a typical “weekday” breakfast before packing up and heading home to Dallas. Our days at the beach were made memorable by spectacular sunsets, mild temperatures, warm ocean breezes, waves crashing on the shore, and the…
The fourth day of our coastal Christmas found us at the beach, walking barefoot in the surf as we collected seashells. There’s nothing quite like the sensation of warm, wet sand between your toes. At one point, Cliff cleaned his shoes on some Sargassum (seaweed) that had washed ashore. The name seaweed is actually a…
Our third day at the Gulf coast held an unexpected encounter with friends from one of our Airstream groups, an evening campfire, and an unplanned viewing of a classic movie. The day began as expected, with coffee, Bloody Mary’s, and The New York Times. But as Jon was setting the picnic table for our al…
The second day of our Coastal Christmas found us engaged in our typical Sunday activities: enjoying Bloody Mary’s, watching “CBS Sunday Morning,” reading The New York Times. After brunching and napping, we took a long walk along the beach and the seawall, observing pelicans, sandpipers, egrets, herons, gulls and terns along the way. We were…
