Rainbow Lakes
For the past couple of days, Chris and I have been on the road traversing America from Chicago to California. Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical about the whole driving for hours...and hours....and hours.....thing. And when I told people, they looked at me like I'd just about lost my mind – which made me second guess it all over again. However, I can now say that it's well worth it and I would have flown over some of the most beautiful natural works of art I've ever seen. Not to mention the little adventures we've been able to take on the fly while driving. It's the stuff movies are made of, guys. Plus, we packed a ton of really good snacks and listened to Serial the podcast the whole way, which took up an entire 10 hour drive.
Since then, we've checked out the Grand Canyon (which I will post next). We're currently in Scottsdale, Arizona staying with family and getting in some good pool time, but I wanted to share some photos from our adventures in Colorado. To kick it off we camped at Rainbow Lakes in Nederland, Colorado near Boulder. It was absolutely beautiful and the first taste of camping I've had in a very long time. From there, we stayed with a friend in Grand Junction and explored The Colorado National Monument which is pretty much a mini Grand Canyon, and I couldn't get over the beauty of all of it, particularly how the different hues of blues and greens formed from sky, mountains and land created abstract stripes. Just gorgeous. A few tips so far:
1. If you're looking for adventure and can manage riding in a car for a long time, there's really no better way to see the U.S. It's truly mind blowing – and the options for what you do along the way are endless. You'll be seeing wall paper backgrounds for your computer in real life.
2. Take your time packing. We forgot a few necessities that we had to make a Target run for (wine bottle opener, cups, plastic bags for garbage, paper towels and most importantly toilet paper) that we had at home and simply forgot! Do your best to get everything right the first time so you don't have to spend extra cash for things you already have.
3. Hike-ish. If you plan on visiting The Monument and want some quality site seeing without hiking for miles and miles, just drive it! You can explore numerous points, take pictures and pretend you hiked the whole thing. Our favorite look out (the one in the photos) was at Cold Shivers Point.
4. Wear sunscreen while driving in the car. Yes, those UV rays shine through, and before you know it you will have one tan arm and one super pale arm. It's funny for a while, but then you have to go back to work and everyone will laugh at you. Plus, sunscreen should be worn daily to protect your pretty faces.
5. Get a good night of sleep. Driving wears you out, which is weird because you are sitting in a car basically doing nothing. But it does. When you get the opportunity to sink into a cozy bed, or even in a tent - take those extra hours to rest your eyes because time on the road can get tiresome.
We'll be doing a day trip to Sedona tomorrow, and then onward to San Francisco. We're still trying to figure out where to Hike in Sedona so if anyone has any recommendations, let us know! Hope you're having a great week.
The Colorado National Monument
