Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Park

We arrived at Great Sand Dunes National Park (GSDNP) on a Wednesday afternoon. There is a 7 mile road which leads past the park sign and directly to the Visitor Center. As we neared the park sign, we saw red and blue flashing lights approaching our way. About 30 seconds later, a park ranger jumped out of his car, held up both hands, and motioned for us to stop our van. He told us that a lightening strike started a fire in the park, and the road was closed effective immediately.

Because we had camping reservations for the night in GSDNP, we waited in that same spot for nearly 4 hours. Finally, hunger set in and we drove into the nearest town for dinner and a hotel stay for the night. (As an aside, it was our 20th wedding anniversary, so spending the night in air conditioning wasn’t something that I protested!).

We were up early the next morning and drove back to GSDNP. Although the fire was extinguished the night before, several fire fighters were still in the park to monitor any ‘flare ups’. Just outside of the park is Zapata waterfall. The hike is a short 1-mile and the falls still had ice in the canyon (in mid-May)! It was incredibly cool (both literally and figuratively).

Great Sand Dunes National Park is 33,549 acres and the majority of this park is dune fields for as far as the eye can see. There is very little driving within the park without a 4 wheel drive vehicle, and the hiking is all loose sand. We spent our day hiking a bit of the dunes and watching people sand-surf across the beautiful sand. The white dunes were a beautiful sight and a great way to kick off our second trip ‘out west’!

(Click on any image to open the gallery and read the captions)

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

When we were planning this year’s trip, we were advised ‘don’t bother going to Black Canyon of the Gunnison; it is just a big hole in the ground’. Needless to say, we didn’t walk into this national park with high expectations! And, I will admit, that from the park map, it doesn’t appear that there are many trails in this small park. (When I say ‘small’, Black Canyon is half the size of Great Sand Dunes).

As is always the case, our first stop was at the Visitor’s Center and we met a kind ranger. One of our initial questions was ‘how do we get to the bottom of the canyon?’. Personally, I was hoping for an easy response like ‘oh, here is the escalator to the bottom’ or ‘wait just a minute and I will call a helicopter for you’. But, no, the only way to get to the bottom of the canyon is to secure a wilderness permit and hike down.

During our discussion with the Park Ranger about the wilderness permit (where, I assume, he was assessing our middle-aged physical capabilities), he warned us that: (a) there are no trail markers, rock cairns, or signs; (b) the trail descends 1800 feet in 1.5 miles; (c) an 80-foot chain is located 1/3 of the way down; and (d) the terrain includes rock scree fields that make for uneven footing. As we nodded like bobble heads, he seemed unconvinced that we wouldn’t keel over on the way down.

The ranger then asked where else we have hiked. We rattled off our hiking resume with obvious exclusions of the information in italics: ‘Wind River Range’ [last September], ‘part of the John Muir trail’ [in 2019], ‘Grand Canyon’ [in 2004], and a generic ‘we have been all over and have done a ton of hiking’ [omission of recent 3 months lounging at the beach followed by a few day hikes in the Smokies]!

We later bumped into that same park ranger and he said “I have been thinking about you guys – how did you like your hike into the canyon?” My response holds true to this day “I have never simultaneously felt more like a total bad-ass AND a total dumb-ass!”

While my legs were recovering, we drove the scenic road, listened to a geology talk about the creation of the canyon and drove to the East Portal of the park (where we could leisurely stroll along the Gunnison River without hiking the 1800 feet down)!

Black Canyon is a beautiful park that has something for everyone: a scenic drive with stunning overlooks, flat(ish) rim trails, and, of course, a few trails that take you into the canyon!

Mesa Verde National Park

Mark’s family visited Mesa Verde in the early 1980s and retell a traumatic-at-the-time story from their visit (be sure to ask Mark when you see him next). Because this park holds some childhood memories, it seemed only fitting to visit for Mark’s 50th birthday. And let me tell ya, Mesa Verde did not disappoint!

We were able to visit three cliff dwellings and each were interesting in their own right. Step House offers a self guided tour and was the first dwelling we entered. The hiking path to Step House is steep; however, the paved trail made the trek a bit easier. On Mark’s birthday, we visited the Long House. We pre-purchased a timed tour ticket and we were escorted to the dwelling by a Park Ranger. However, once we were in the Long House, we could explore for as much time as we desired. Much of this dwelling has been reconstructed and it was fun to pick out the original construction from the more recent work. Finally, we toured the Mug House and this was our first experience of finding pottery on the trail! An archeologist served as our tour guide!

We also spent a day driving along the Chapin Mesa scenic road to see dozens more cliff dwellings. At one point, we gazed into a valley and counted at least 15 cliff dwellings in our line of sight! We hiked the 2.5 mile Petroglyph Point Trail, which led to more cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, and a beautiful overlook.

Archeologists estimate that over 30,000 people lived in Mesa Verde during the height of the cliff dwellings (until around 1250). As of the last census, 24,000 people currently live in the area!

Canyon of the Ancients and Hovenweep National Monument

While the majority of the visible cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde have been reconstructed, the dwellings in both Canyon of the Ancients and Hovenweep have been stabilized but not reconstructed. This made for a different but equally as interesting experience. Both parks are located near Mesa Verde; however, Hovenweep is more accessible with dwellings that are close in proximity. When planning a trip to Mesa Verde, do yourself a favor and plan a day in these smaller parks!

New Mexico

Chaco Culture National Historical Park and World Heritage Site

An interesting side note, one day we hiked to the Pueblo Alto site and there was a large, grass covered mound nearby. The mound was roped off with ‘caution’ tape, so we didn’t enter but we were obviously curious about what lay under the dirt. We later found out that part of the spiritual ceremony included breaking pots. The taped-off mound consisted of hundreds of years of broken pottery! This also helps to explain the pottery that we found within other structures. It is illegal to remove any artifacts from protected sites (besides, who wants to risk any negative juju? – certainly not us!), so we left everything as we found it. Enjoy a few of our pictures below!

Within two generations, Chaco Canyon was vacated and the mystery remains: why? What happened here? Archeologists have noted that it wasn’t a quick exit. There is evidence that the doors were blockaded and several of the rooms show evidence of fire. Descendants cite that the time had simply come to move on; however, several theories include internal fighting, an outside invasion and/or an extended drought may have prompted the people to leave.

We would encourage a visit to the cultural area. Just be aware that there is no on-site lodging except for the primitive campground. Also, the roads leading into the park are 20 miles of dirt and gravel (some is completely unmaintained). Bring a sturdy vehicle and a sense of adventure – you won’t regret it!

Arizona

Petrified Forest National Park

On the map, Petrified Forest NP looks like a drive through park. Like Black Canyon of the Gunnison, there is a main scenic drive with several pull offs and short trails. It connects between Route 40 (to the north) and Route 180 (to the south). Since both roads run east-west, you easily take this short detour and continue your journey.

As you know by now, this is not how we typically roll (see Black Canyon above). We pulled into the Visitor Center and asked the park volunteer where to hike (little did we know that it was his first day on the job – whoops!). The volunteer referred to the driving map and short trails, but, called to a ranger once he could tell that we were looking for a bit more. Once the ranger was summoned to answer our [seemingly] crazy question, then the narrative suddenly changed. Petrified Forest NP is a wilderness, which means that the entire park can be explored by foot!

The park rangers have an arsenal of leaflets called ‘off the beaten path’ that they will share. As was with Black Canyon, there are landmarks but no formal trails to follow. A keen eye and a compass are your friends when hiking in the remote areas. We hiked to the largest concentration of petrified wood in the entire world. Then, we hiked to a butte of rock art and were the only people admiring the 800 year old pictures (we even found a piece of pottery here). Finally, we hiked along a former carriage trail and saw an old glass jug (complete with a cork) that we can only surmise was tossed from a tourist stagecoach. The park asks that you not take anything, that you not destroy or move any artifacts, and that you not share GPS coordinates.

A park that seems to take 4 hours for ‘normal’ people, took us 3 days to explore. There are over 1100 archeological sites (including pottery, petroglyphs and pueblos) in Petrified Forest NP! We only hiked 3 of the ‘off the beaten path’ recommendations and there was an entire milk crate full of ‘em! Petrified Forest ranks squarely in our Top 5 favorite national parks because of the awesome rocks, archeological sites, and the ease of finding quiet and solitude.

And that is it for now! We are driving west toward Kanab, Utah because we have a permit to hike the Wave (located in the Vermillion Cliffs NM). From there, we plan to visit Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon. Later this summer, we will visit Yosemite NP, Lassen Volcanic NP and Olympic NP.

As always, thanks for following along on our crazy adventure! We hope you are doing well and have a fantastic summer!

-Debbie and Mark