On our bike ride around Durango, we briefly met up with a friendly local couple who were riding on Highway 550 like us. They recommended that before we leave the area we drive north up 550 to check out the fall foliage at higher elevation. They had just done that and said that it was beautiful. So, even though it was in the exact opposite direction from where we were heading (Albuquerque), the next morning we decided to head up that way for thirty minutes or so prior to turning south. I absolutely love fall foliage, and Barry was nice enough to accommodate me! O. M. G. It was so, so worth it. I'd heard all about the Colorado Aspens but had never experienced their glory myself. My jaw did literally drop! We pulled over several times to take photos as the scenery got better and better the higher we got up into ski country. It didn't take long, less than thirty minutes of driving, to reach some of the most stunning, brilliant foliage we have ever seen. Even Barry was impressed by it, and he doesn't usually pay it much attention. So without further ado...come along and check it out! Zooming in for a closer look...WOW. I could have stayed and gazed at Aspens all day long, but all too soon it was time to turn the car southward and head to New Mexico, one of our favorite places to hang out. Sure looks a lot different than Colorado! Getting close to Albuquerque now and some very pretty red rock formations.... Stay tuned for plenty from Albuquerque. Our arrival coincided with the annual International Balloon Fiesta, and we couldn't wait!
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On our first (and only) full day in Durango, we made a plan to meet Carson for a bike ride. We'd start by riding the Animas River Trail through town, then Barry and I would continue on to ride some of the local roads. Carson was rehabbing from recent surgery and this would be his first bike ride in awhile, so he'd just stick to the river trail (or so we thought!) The Animas River and trail surroundings are gorgeous, and we had a beautiful day for our ride. We rode by an area where white-water paddlers were practicing their skills. Once we hit the road, the scenery got even more dramatic. The Durango area is known for mountain biking, but the road cycling on the surrounding county roads is fabulous as well. It had warmed up nicely by this time, so we'd peeled off our extra layers. I loved this fall display outside a house we passed. Had to stop and take a photo! Well, well, look who decided to join us for this phase of the ride as well! Carson is an intrepid cyclist, and although I worried that he was doing too much, he rode at his own pace and seemed to enjoy himself. I am not sure his doctor would have approved, though! Barry planned this route for us so we'd go right over Baker's Bridge, best known in recent times for a famous scene in the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where Paul Newman and Robert Redford took a dive off it. Here's the view from the bridge. The water is so green when the sun hits it just right. Soon after crossing Baker's Bridge, we turned onto scenic highway 550 and headed south back towards town. Almost immediately we came across this very interesting hot spring bubbling away. Barry zipped across the highway to grab these photos. Wish it had been on our side of the road! After a good ride back into town and cleaning up, we met Carson and his wife Carol for pizza at Homeslice, right across the road from our hotel. Although Barry thought it was a bit pricey, especially for pizza by the slice, the pizza was really good, and his salad looks yummy too. Great beer selection as well. We had a great time catching up with Carson and Carol and chatted away until well after dark. They have recently embarked on the nomadic traveling lifestyle like us, so we exchanged tips and strategies for living this unconventional life. It was fun to see friends from North Carolina, especially so far from "home" (wherever that is anymore!) Stay tuned as we hit the road again and see some of the best fall foliage ever!
After a brief but excellent time in Salt Lake City, we were finally heading south -- the right direction for us most of the time! The scenery on the drive was absolutely gorgeous. I just love the dramatic, rocky topography of this area, probably because it is so very different from the green, tree-covered east and midwest I'm so used to. Rather abruptly, the rock formations changed from a sandy tan color to the brilliant red that this area is so well-known for. Ahhhhhhh....gorgeous! We took a quick pit stop at the "Hole in the Rock" rest stop south of Moab where we remember stopping (heading north) on our southwest trip in 2006. Back then, we spent quite awhile there watching many birds in the trees, including brilliant orange orioles. But that was in the spring, and today was much less "birdy". Before long, we were in Colorado. In contrast to southern Utah, the topography of this part of the state was much greener, with huge stands of evergreen trees flanked by distant snow-capped mountain peaks. Where there were deciduous trees, they were starting to get some fall color -- but nothing like what we'd see in just a day later. This was our first time in Durango, a very pretty city. That evening we met another former Nortel co-worker and cycling buddy from North Carolina for dinner at Zia Taqueria, right across the road from our hotel. Carson and his wife Carol have recently become traveling nomads like us and are spending the month of October in Durango in a rental home. It was an unexpected surprise to find that we would be crossing paths with them briefly as we zipped through town. We really liked this spot, with its "fresh Mex" style food, featuring plenty of unique, flavorful salsas. My fish tacos (below) were some of the best I've had, especially when topped with hot mango-habanero salsa. Barry went with a massive chicken/bean burrito, his favorite. And we had a trio of salsas to dip our chips into. The white one is a pineapple cream cheese variety that I dubbed a "dessert salsa". Yummy! Carol was feeling a little under the weather, unfortunately, so it was just us and Carson for dinner. It was a lot of fun to catch up, talk about traveling, and plan a bike ride for the next day. More to come from beautiful Durango!
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Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
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