After exploring the Sand Dunes Saturday afternoon, we continued on our way to Albuquerque.   Along the way we stopped in Alamosa, Colorado for lunch at San Luis Valley Brewing Company.   Kim and I shared both the Chicken Hot Italian Sausage and the Chicken Skewer appetizer. I washed it all down with a Grande River IPA. I definitely enjoyed the beer more than the food, but it is still worth a stop if you are in the area. We eventually arrived in Albuquerque in the early evening and checked into our hotel for the night, the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque. I had won it on Priceline for $42 and it was well worth that price. We had a room on the fifteenth floor with a view of the city. I would have preferred a mountain view, but the room amenities were still great.

For dinner on Saturday, we decided to venture to Sadie’s, a local institution that serves up simple but spicy New Mexican food. We arrived close to eight in the evening and there was still a wait for a table. We found the self-service chips and salsa station and make a basket to hold us over. Immediately we were hit with spiciness from the salsa, and that was just the beginning. Once seated we feasted on a variety of enchiladas, tacos, and chile rellenos. The green vegetarian chile was very spicy as well, but oh so good. We don’t have much to compare it to in Albuquerque, but I would highly recommend Sadie’s.

After dinner we drove over to the area of town known as Old Town. By this time it was getting late, and most of Old Town was pretty deserted. This area of town is famous for its adobe building dating back to 1706. Though most of the shops were already closed, we took a leisurely stroll through the streets of Old Town and enjoyed the nice weather. We were back at the hotel and in bed by eleven.

To start off Sunday morning we drove over to the University of New Mexico and walked through the adobe filled campus. Once we had worked up a good appetite we crossed over the street to the Frontier Restaurant. This restaurant must be packed when school is in session, as it was very crowded on an otherwise quiet Sunday morning. The line wrapped halfway through the long rectangular restaurant. I decided to just sample one of their enormous cinnamon rolls and Kim had a breakfast burrito of some sort. It’s an interesting place, but was dirt cheap and pretty good. Breakfast for the both of us was under $10 total.

On our way out of Albuquerque we stopped at the Sandia Peak Tramway for a ride on the world’s longest passenger aerial tramway. It is a fifteen minute ride from the base to the top, covering 3,819 ft in elevation gain. The slope of the mountain is very steep and picturesque as viewed on the ride up. Once at the top, the Sandia Peak Ski Area offers both winter skiing and summer mountain-biking. There is also acres of forest with many trails to hike along. We hiked for around five miles or so, and then decided we had better get moving on to Santa Fe if we wanted to enjoy our time there.

Albuquerque on Dwellable

On our way down to New Mexico for the long weekend, we stopped at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in south central Colorado.   This has been on our list of things to see for a while, and since it was only about an hour and half out-of-the-way, we decided that this would be the trip.   We left bright and early on Saturday morning and arrived at the Sand Dunes in the early afternoon.   After a quick stop at the visitors center, we headed toward the main parking area near the dunes.   We were warned that this was traditionally the busiest day in the entire year, and though there were many cars overflowing the lots, there didn’t seem to be too many people out on the dunes.   The biggest draw of the park seems to be Medano Creek, which flows only from spring to early summer.   The majority of the people in the park appeared to be enjoying the shallow and wide creek.

After parking the car in a picnic area near Medano Creek, we waded across the creek and on to the sand sheet.   We quickly realized that the sand was quite hot in spots, and that our sandals would have to stay on most of the time.   Our initial goal was to hike to the top of High Dune, which is around 650 feet tall.   That didn’t sound like it would be too tough, but once we were out in the dunefield, we realized it was harder than expected.   First, everyone should be able to imagine what hiking in sand is like.   Every step forward is like three steps backward.   And on top of that, the winds that whip through the dunes carry sand and small rocks with them.   At times this was very painful and we were finding sand all over ourselves even days after the hike.

We considered bailing on our initial plans to hike to the top of High Dune, but eventually decided to go for it.   We decided a slow and steady approach would be best, and I think it took us around an hour or so to summit the dune.   Once at the top the winds were so bad that we could only stay for less than a minute before beginning the trek down.   Going down was a blast, as you could easily let yourself go knowing that you wouldn’t run into anything hard or sharp.   I think I ran down most of the way, especially when the winds were kicking up sand again.   I’m not sure if the winds are always this bad, but I would definitely keep that in mind on future visits to the dunes.   Despite the wind, I’m glad we finally had the chance to spend some time exploring these wonderful sand dunes.

Westcliffe on Dwellable

It’s been nearly three weeks since I last posted pictures from our trip to Arizona, and finally today I give you the last installment.   On our second day in Sedona we took a ride with the Pink Jeep Tours along the Broken Arrow trail.   Our group of five was assigned to a jeep, we hopped in and the driver/tour guide started the two-hour tour.   We stopped a little down the road to pick up two others who would be joining us on the adventure.   After driving on the roads for a few minutes, we quickly hit the trail.   At first it was a little bumpy but didn’t seem too bad.   Eventually that thought would change as we went over steep, bumpy, and twisting terrain.

We stopped at Submarine Rock for our first picture opportunity and history lessons.   Later we drove out toward Chicken Point, with great views of the Two Sisters rock formations.   Along with the great scenery, the off-roading was a blast.   The super steep “Road of no Return” was especially fun toward the end of the ride.   This tour is a bit expensive, but I’d say it’s worth every penny and definitely highly recommended.

After the tour, we loaded into our own car and started the drive back to Phoenix.   We took a scenic route rather than taking I-17 back.   Our route followed AZ-89A through Cottonwood and Jerome, eventually taking us to AZ-89 and Prescott.   This part of the drive was very scenic, as Jerome sits high on Cleopatra Hill.   We stopped in Jerome briefly, but there isn’t much to see in the Ghost Town other than the wonderful views.   Once in Prescott we stopped for lunch at, you guess it, Prescott Brewing Company.   I don’t remember much about their beers, but the food was great.

After lunch we continued on AZ-89 and eventually found our way to US-60.   This section of the drive was not nearly as scenic, but slowly the large Saguaro cactus started appearing more frequently.   This took us all the way back to Phoenix, approaching from the northwest.   We headed across town and made our way to the Arizona Grand Resort, our final destination of the trip.   We didn’t do much else for the short remainder of our trip besides hanging at the tiki bar, lounging in the lazy river, and wishing we had time to sneak in a round of golf.   Oh well, next time.

Pictures from this last full day in Arizona are below.   It was a wonderful trip.

Sedona on Dwellable

My week in Kansas City has flown by.   I didn’t even get the chance to write yesterday, which is a pretty rare occurrence, though something that seems to be happening recently much more often.   I’ve seen some friends, hung out with coworkers, eaten some good food, and even taken a ride in a Porsche.   They had a farewell lunch for me today, as I hope this is the last time I’m back in KC for work, though time will tell.   If it is the last time, I’m sure we will be back for a fun weekend in the future.   So long Kansas City.

Great news today for many Denver based travelers, including Kim and myself.   Our beloved Frontier Airlines is staying!   For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, Frontier was acquired late last year by Republic Airways, who also purchased Midwest Airlines earlier last year.   Recently it was announced that the two would be merging into one brand, and many were fearful that the Frontier name, slogan, and animals would be gone forever.   Fortunately, the announcement today was that the merged brand would remain Frontier Airlines.   Over the next twelve to eighteen months, all of Midwest’s planes will be painted with the Frontier livery, complete with their own unique animal on the tail, starting with a yet to be named badger.   In addition, Midwest’s famous freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies will eventually make their way onto all Frontier flights.   What a trade!

After our big hike at the Grand Canyon, we spent the rest of the day working our way to Sedona.   We traveled east out of Grand Canyon National Park along AZ-64 and then south along US-89.   When we reached Flagstaff, we stopped for dinner at the Beaver Street Brewery.   We had excellent meals and beers at this brew pub and continued on our way down to Sedona via AZ-89A.   At this point, it was already getting dark out.   I wish we could have seen more of the scenery in the Oak Creek Canyon, as I’m sure it’s a very pretty drive.   We finally made it to Sedona, checked into the Sedona Real Inn, and called it a night.

The next set of pictures comes from the following day, our third day in Arizona.   We started off the day by driving down to the Montezuma Castle National Monument.   This is one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America, built by the Sinagua Indians around 700AD.   Part of the ruins was built deep inside a cave, and therefore it was protected from the elements.   I wish visitors were still allowed to climb up to the ruins, but that stopped in 1950.   There wasn’t too much to see, so our visit was fairly short.   We also made a quick stop at the Montezuma Well on our way back to Sedona.

Once back in Sedona, we stopped for some information at one of the visitors centers and then drove around looking at some of the amazing rock formations, namely Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, and Courthouse Butte.   After that we stopped for lunch at the Oak Creek Brewery & Grill.   Yes, it was my goal to hit as many breweries as possible!   Again we had another great meal and washed it down with some delicious beers.   We had originally planned to take a ride with the Pink Jeep Tours this day, but decided to wait on that until the next day.   Instead, we decided to rent mountain bikes from Bike and Bean for a couple of hour adventure around the Bell Rock area.   It was so much fun, and I think everyone really enjoyed it!

After beating ourselves up on the bikes, we picked up a few six-packs of local beer and headed over to the west side of Sedona to view the sunset.   We decided on a spot along the Red Rock Loop Road, and enjoyed the amazing views east.   Sunsets in Sedona are viewed looking east, not west.   This is because the setting sun really lights up west-facing faces of the red rocks.   It was beautiful!   From there, we had another late dinner at the Barking Frog Grille.   Their website says they are an American restaurant…with a Southwest bark!   The restaurant is much nicer than their website or even the outside of the building would suggest.   We were all treated to some of the best food of the trip, along with some delicious margaritas.   I even got a belated birthday desert!

As mentioned earlier, my photos from the day are below, and again for more pictures see my mom’s flickr page.   Including this one:

Flagstaff on Dwellable

Earlier this week, I wrote about our big hike into and  out-of  the Grand Canyon.  Today I am posting photos from this amazing day.  For even more photos of our hike, check out my mom’s flickr site.

Arizona on Dwellable

Recently one of my aunts asked me how many of the national parks had I been to.   After visiting the Grand Canyon last week, I am now up to ten of the eighty-five national parks.   I was thinking that the number would have been higher, but an older post on my blog confirms it.   The ones I have visited are as follows:

• Arches, Utah
• Bryce Canyon, Utah
• Canyonlands, Utah
• Denali, Alaska
• Grand Canyon, Arizona
• Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
• Kenai Fjords, Alaska
• Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
• Rocky Mountain, Colorado
• Zion, Utah

There are numerous other parks nearby that I hope to get to sometime soon.   At the top of my list are Yellowstone, Glacier, Great Sand Dunes, and Mesa Verde.   Add your list to the comments, using the full list of national parks as reference.   I’m sure someone out there has to have more than my little list.

As mentioned yesterday Kim, my family, and I all met up in Phoenix last Wednesday to start celebrating my 30th birthday. After everyone had arrived at the airport, we found our rental car and started driving north toward our first destination, the Grand Canyon. Everyone was already pretty hungry, so we decided to stop in Cave Creek for lunch. One of my guide books suggested a place called The Original Crazy Ed’s Satisfied Frog Saloon & Restaurant in the tourist trap Frontier Town. We found Frontier Town without any problems, but couldn’t find the restaurant. Finally we realized that it had changed names and is now the Silver Spur Saloon. Fortunately they still had the same good bar-b-que that the book promised, which we washed down with our first tastes of Oak Creek Amber Ale.

After lunch we continued on our way north to the Grand Canyon. We didn’t make any other stops along the way, but it was very interesting to see the drastically changing scenery. Around the Phoenix area there were cacti everywhere, especially the Saguaro cactus. The further north we drove, the higher in elevation we gained, and the less cacti we saw. In fact, there are national forests surrounding much of the Phoenix area. As we approached the Grand Canyon we even started spotting patches of snow, along with evergreen trees. The route we took was I-17 to Flagstaff, I-40 west towards Williams, and then finally AZ-64 north.

We arrived at the Grand Canyon as the sun was beginning to set, which was our goal. We quickly found the Maswik Lodge, our home for the night, and then walked swiftly over to the Grand Canyon rim. The colors of the canyon walls were already beginning to glow, so after a few photos near the Bright Angel Trailhead, we walked west along the rim toward Hopi Point. As we reached Maricopa Point, a park shuttle bus was passing by, so we hopped on it and were quickly dropped at Hopi Point. The view from there was amazing, as you could see for many miles west into the canyon as the sun was setting.

After enjoying the sunset views we headed over to the El Tover Dining Room to sample the food of the best restaurant inside the Grand Canyon National Park as well as a nice bottle of wine.   I had the Garden Penne in Lemon Garlic White Wine Reduction with grilled chicken and it was delicious!   I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate my birthday and to kick off my 30th birthday Edventure.   Some photos of our first day are below, and my mom has added her’s to her flickr site.

Cave Creek on Dwellable

I am back from sunny Arizona sunburnt, sore, and a year older than before. To celebrate my 30th birthday Kim and I flew to Phoenix and met up with my parents and brother. From there we were on a long weekend tour of the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Phoenix areas as well as all stops in between. Along the way we hiked, mountain biked, off-roaded, ate great food, and drank good beer.   One of my favorite adventures was hiking in the Grand Canyon. I had never been there before so seeing it at sunset upon our arrival was amazing but nothing can top hiking into it. I had done my research and everything I read said not to attempt hiking down to the Colorado River and back to the rim in one day. I’m assuming that in the summer this can be extremely exhausting due to high temperatures.

Before leaving I talked to a friend who had hiked to the river and back and he said it is definitely doable. My plan was to start on a ranger guided hike on the South Kaibab trail that would go a mike and a half down the trail and to take it from there. Well this hike isn’t actually offered until the summer months. Instead everyone in our group started hiking the trail, with me leading, just after eight in the morning.

As we descended down the South Kaibab the view got better and better. When we reached the mile and a half turnaround, Cedar Ridge, we decided to continue on down the trail. Shortly after we ran into an older couple who said the were going down to the river and back up another trail, Bright Angel. They told us they had done it before and it took only nine hours or so. This is much quicker than the guidebooks say.   I had always wanted to touch the river and go back but was afraid that we didn’t have enough time on this trip. Once I heard their estimated time, I was all for it. Everyone else really liked the idea of doing it and so we hiked down with a new goal!

After around three and a half hours of hiking we had reached the suspension bridge that crosses the Colorado. We crossed and actually went down to the river and felt the frigid water. We took a short break to eat some food and fill our waters and were on our way up shortly afterward.   The hike up started pretty steep. We knew the South Kaibab was steeper than the Bright Angel, but we also knew it was around three miles shorter. We may have started the first set of switchbacks with too much speed, which led to a few extra rests and some tired family members.

Eventually after another four hours of hiking we were all standing back at the top of the Grand Canyon. We had all made it down and back! I was so proud of everyone and so happy that I was able to accomplish this. With stops included, it took us nearly eight hours exactly to hike the 13.5 round-trip miles. It was a hike that I’ll never forget.   Pictures and more adventures coming soon.