This came from the archives! We were camped just outside of Lake City, Colorado, in July 2005 and took a day trip to Creede. The falls are located within the Rio Grande National Forest. North Clear Creek is a tributary of, and not far from the headwaters of, the Rio Grande River. The scenery in this part of the state is spectacular.
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The Denver Botanic Gardens are a real Colorado treasure. This is the Monet Pool and it’s probably my favorite spot there. Our visit last July was to attend the wedding of our best friends’ daughter, who we’ve known since she was born. It was the perfect setting to celebrate their union.
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If you read my post about 2022 Plan Your Vacation Day, and I hope you did, you know that I’ve resolved to go somewhere at least once a month this year. We hit the ground running in January with a mini-staycation, just one night away, that set the pace for the year. You know that I love traveling and wine, and this quick trip let me enjoy both.
First stop, Palisade—the heart of Colorado’s Grand Valley AVA. According to Coloradowine.com, it’s 75,990 acres along the Colorado River, once called the Grand River, forty miles east of the Utah border— beginning in Palisade. Sheltered by the largest flattop mountain in the world, Grand Mesa, the AVA then spills up onto East Orchard Mesa and Orchard Mesa along the south bank of the river, and stretches right to the foot of the Colorado National Monument west of Grand Junction. (Map of wineries in the Grand Valley AVA)
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Tuesday, January 25, is National Plan for Vacation Day. According to USTravel.org, it’s celebrated the last Tuesday of January to encourager Americans to plan their vacation days for the whole year and to inspire them to travel within the U.S.
I’m certainly not going to discourage you from traveling abroad. If you can, go. If not, there’s no shortage of destinations right here in the ol’ U.S. of A. Many are right in your backyard. USTravel.org reports that more than two-thirds of American workers feel at least moderately burned out after the last two years, and almost three-fourths are prioritizing a change of scenery in 2022.
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One of the best things about living where we do (near Glenwood Springs, Colorado), and one of the reasons we’ve chosen to live here twice, is its proximity to so many wonderful places. Within three hours we can be in Denver, Breckenridge, Rocky Mountain National Park, Moab, Ouray and Ridgway, Steamboat Springs, Grand Junction…you get the idea. That makes it easy to get away for a week or just a weekend without traveling too far.
Sometimes, though, we can’t get away for a whole weekend (one of the downsides of owning a retail store) but still need to leave the house and yard work. It will always be here when we get back. I keep hoping that won’t be the case, but time and again it’s still here.
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Sunrise at Stagecoach State Park
Our first official outing with our new truck camper was at Stagecoach State Park, about half an hour outside of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. We’ve camped there a couple of times over the years, but this campsite was the best yet. We completely lucked into it, too. It was the very last site available, and just so happened to be right on the lake. Score! Continue reading
Riding the Paiute Trail
Happy 2017! Facebook has been quite diligent in reminding me weekly that the Tales From the Empty Nest page is woefully inactive, so I thought I’d start the year off with a blog post in hopes that I’m a little more consistent over the next 12 months. No promises, but I’m hoping to spend more time writing this year. Continue reading
We’re not kidding around when we say we’re taking the long way home. After weekend visits with our daughter in Denver and son in Colorado Springs, we took the scenic route back to our home in New Castle. This included some of my favorite scenery in the state. Continue reading
The Capitol building in Colonial Williamsburg.
Looking back on 2014, some of it is a little fuzzy. Change was definitely the word of the year. To recap, we put our house on the market in the spring, sold it in June and then had 40 days to cut our possessions in half, pack and move what we kept into storage. Scott and I headed out in the RV in early July with no plans other than to see a lot of the country and visit with friends and family. Road trip! Continue reading
Twenty-six states and more than 18,000 miles since July.
Wow, the five-month mark has come…and gone. Since the beginning of November, we’ve stayed in Ashland, West Virginia; St. Charles and Grain Valley, Missouri; Castle Rock, Englewood and Glenwood Springs, Colorado; Deming, New Mexico; and San Tan Valley, Arizona. The tally since July 9: We’ve been to 26 states and traveled more than 18,000 miles. Whew! Continue reading
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