The Mighty Five!

For those who don’t know, The Mighty Five includes Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Parks. They can all be found in Utah...some in close proximity to each other, and others a longer distance away.  They have all been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember, so I was thrilled to finally see them during the last 2 months that we have been living out West.  If you’ve never taken the opportunity to visit the Mighty Five...I would like to strongly encourage you to do so.  Below, I have listed each park from my least to most favorite, although I want to stress that it is well worth your while to see all five of them. 

Canyonlands National Park

Capitol Reef National Park

Arches National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Zion National Park

We elected to stay in two cities close to where several of the parks are located.  First, we drove from New Mexico to Grand Junction, Colorado.  This city is just two hours from Moab, Utah, where Canyonlands and Arches National Parks are located.  While living in Grand Junction, we also visited the Colorado National Monument, which was a 20 minute drive from our AirBnB home.

We also had a chance to attend a rodeo that was put on by the local university.

After a month in Grand Junction, we departed for Capitol Reef National Park.  We took Scenic Highway 12...which has been designated one of the most beautiful highways in the United States...to Cedar City.  Highway 12 wound us through Escalante National Monument, The Grand Staircase.  It was a fascinating ride through this area, and one I would highly recommend.  

During our stay in Cedar City...we took the opportunity to visit Cedar Breaks National Monument, which is located about 25 miles from where we were staying.  

It was a cold and windy day when we arrived there, with a hint of winter still in the area, but well worth the visit.

We also did an overnight trip to St. George...which is located about an hour from Cedar City.  We went there to attend a play at the Tuacahn Theater...which has been in existence since 1995.  This outdoor theater is located in a canyon right outside the city of St. George.  It is a stunning setting...and well worth attending.  Most of the cast are professional actors and the staging is wonderful.  The production we saw was the musical, Annie.  It started at 8:45...while the temperature outside was still in the 80’s, and ended at midnight.  

We’ve had a wonderful time out West, but in a few days it will be time for us to leave.  However...we have one more stop to make before we head home to see our family and friends in Wisconsin.  That stop is the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  I have been to the south rim several times...but I have never seen the canyon from the north rim.  

As always, thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read about our travels here and abroad.  I appreciate your interest...and hope I inspire some of you to get out and visit your National Parks.  I promise you will not be disappointed.

On the Road Again...in New Mexico

It’s been a long time since my last post on this blog.  And, although we’ve struggled through more than a year of the Coronavirus pandemic, that’s not to say that we haven’t had some interesting and fun experiences during the past 16 months.  Let me bring you up to speed...

We arrived in Las Vegas, New Mexico in May of 2020.  During our first full month there we decided the most important thing we needed to do was buy a car...which is exactly what we did.

Even though owning a car will make it a bit more challenging for us to do any kind of world travel in the future, it really helped us to get around doing the long pandemic lock down.  

Our temporary new home town, Las Vegas, was a fascinating place with over 900 historic buildings...some fully restored, others in various stages of restoration, and a few badly in need of repair.  Below are just a few pictures of the historic downtown.  We lived in Las Vegas for about 8 months before moving closer to Santa Fe.  

During our stay in New Mexico we spent a great deal of time touring around the state.  Below, in no particular order, are just a few of the many places we visited while living there.

Above...Santa Fe Plaza

Below... the Santa Fe Museum of Contemporary Native Arts

Fenton Lake State Park, NM

Georgia O’Keefe’s Ghost Ranch, NM

Bandolier National Monument, NM

White Sands National Park, NM

Montezuma Castle...an old hotel which was turned into a college,

located minutes from our home in Las Vegas

The Blue Swallow Motel on Route 66...where we spent the night

Catwalk Recreation Area, NM

The Rio Grande near Taos, NM

At Christmas, my daughter Erin, and her husband Toby came to spend the holidays with us.  It was wonderful to see both of them.  During their short stay we took them up to the Pecos Wilderness Area...located not far from our home.

We also drove the Enchanted Circle in NM...where we made a stop in Red River...

Over the years, film producers have often used the historic downtown of Las Vegas for their movies and TV shows.  During our time there, Lance and I had several opportunities to see the Netflix TV show, Roswell, being filmed.  

The drug store was turned into the Crash Down Cafe

A stunt woman filmed falling from the roof

Twice, we had the chance to see some live music performed outside, which was a real treat.

Above...Michael Martin Murphy playing an outdoor concert in Red River.

Below...Junior Brown and his wife playing at an outdoor venue in Madrid, NM.

We not only toured the state of New Mexico...but also took several trips outside the state.  One of my favorite trips took place in fall.  We traveled to Colorado and Utah during the first week of October, 2020, and experienced beautiful fall colors and ideal weather.  Take a look...

Canon City, CO...where we took a short train ride into the canyon

The Spanish Peaks in CO

Pagosa Springs, CO

Above and Below...Telluride, CO

Mesa Verde National Park, CO

Ouray, CO

Above and Below...Zion National Park

We also took a trip to the south rim of the Grand Canyon...

Visited Saguaro National Park in Tucson, AZ...

And...Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.

Overall, we stayed busy and kept on traveling...even during this challenging time.  Although we were sad to cancel our plans for Europe, we were excited to see so many new and interesting places in the southwest.  

You might be thinking that Lance and I are surely going to settle down now that we are back in the states full time...but not quite yet.  Now that we are both fully vaccinated, we plan to resume traveling...moving each month to someplace new and exciting.  I hope you follow along as we continue to explore this great country.  Until next time...I hope you continue to stay safe as we all look forward to a new and exciting future.