After arches, we were somewhat skeptical about another desert destination (if you missed out on the last post, just think Sandstorm). The desert had proven its ability to be beautiful and challenging in quick succession. We had heard great things about hiking the Narrows (a hike done almost entirely in a stream, with steep cliffs high above on both sides) and figured that hiking in water would offset excessive heat and sandy shoes quite well. Plus, there had be some…
Arches National Park started off great. We drove overnight from Salida and arrived right as the sun was rising, creating magnificent silhouettes from the towering rock formations around us. We luckily pulled into our desired camping area (a first come first serve) just as another group was leaving. Our site was right on the Colorado River which had behind it, an imposing sandstone cliff. After setup, we took a few hour nap to compensate for our overnight travels then headed…
Monday morning we took the 2.5 hour drive from Denver to Westcliffe Colorado. We cut through Colorado Springs, gained a ton of elevation, and saw some great views right from the highway. Once we were within a few miles of the cabin though, the scenery was turned into overdrive. We stopped and took a few pics of some horses with the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo mountain range as the backdrop – stunning! Once settled at the cabin, we headed out…