Our first week of natural wonders of the American South West has been quite a contrast to the man made ‘wonder’ of Disney. The former of which is definitely more our thing!
There is quite an amazing concentration of very diverse parks, meaning we’ve been able to move pretty quickly between them. For something a bit different and to give a bit more flexibility (and affordability!), we’ve decided to splash out on a $50 tent and go camping for this leg of our trip. So far, it’s been excellent and a refreshing break from the drab and homogenous hotel rooms we’d been staying at so far in the US. Also socially, it’s the closest that US has to hostels where we can meet others with a similar mindset.
The fatigue from our travel problems to Denver quickly evaporated as we visited the pretty ‘Garden of the Gods’ near Colorado Springs, and the stunning Great Dunes National Park which seemed oddly out of place against a beautiful backdrop of mountains. The kids had a fantastic time exploring, running and sliding all over the place.
We stopped by next at Mesa Verde near Durango, which is the only national park in the US to preserve the works of man – some spectacular cliff dwellings built over a thousand years ago.
In Moab we visited the incredible Arches National Park, where some of the arches seemed to precariously defy the laws of physics, and Dead Horse Point which overlooked the majestic Canyonlands National Park.
Of course, I couldn’t go to what many consider to be the home of the best mountain biking in the world without trying it out, so I rented a bike for a couple of days and got a small tasted of it at the nearby Brands Trails. It was my first time riding on a 29er and on slickrock so it took a little getting used to, but it really was excellent!
Yesterday we stopped by at Goblin Valley which was impressive, but like Disney, this place was much more fun to visit with the kids than without. Their sense of exploration and excitement is contagious and a great time was had by all exploring the ‘hoodies’ in the alien-like landscape.
Today is a rest day before moving on to explore Bryce Canyon tomorrow.
