Entries about colorado

overview / intro

We biked around the always free Garden of the Gods park just outside Colorado Springs.
Then had lunch in an airplane restaurant.

Pictures

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the Twins:

Central Gardens:

Pikes Peak in the background

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

We took a trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in central Colorado - the steepest, deepest, narrowest canyon in the world, according to the park rangers. It's one of the least visited parks, but also one of the dark skies park where there is minimal light pollution so at night you can see the stars of the galaxy amazingly.

After a few days of working remote in the nearby city of Montrose, we stayed at the campsite with friends for the whole weekend. It was nice to get in hikes, do some biking, view the canyon and river.

Afterwards we went to see family in the Salida and Poncha Springs area. With some more remote work, we also had the time to bike along the Arkansas River around Buena Vista. Right after we got back to Denver, we also packed up the bags again to fly to Iowa to see more family.

Our Stops:

• Montrose, Colorado
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
• Salida, Poncha Springs, Buena Vista, Colorado

Pictures

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It was amazing how different the canyon could look at different times of the day, from different angles or viewpoints, from higher or lower on hikes, or when the sky and sun changed how much light was shining.

Links

MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my more current trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my past trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

We just did a very last minute road trip. Thankfully found someone to watch Prudence and then we jumped in the car. Overall, it was 24+ hours of driving over a long 5 day weekend, but packed in a lot of adventure as we saw the southwest US. That included stops in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and native tribal lands.

Mesa Verde has a lot of good history to learn about. We could view the homes, but couldn't go in them. We did get to go through similar cave dwellings at Bandalier Park in the US and some in Capcadocia Turkey and they were interesting. After a quick stop to stand in 4 states at once, we drove through Monument Valley. It's mostly a self guided driving loop to stop and take pictures every once in a while, at the diverse landscape views. Then onto the Colorado river view at Horseshoe Bend and the canyons around Page, Arizona.
Slot canyons develop with erosion quickly cutting down into layers of rock, but not allowing the time to widen across. So some may be only a few feet across but 50 or 100 feet deep. There are some in Spain and Australia, but the largest and most frequent area to see them are in southern Utah and northern Arizona. Antelope Canyon is a famous and photogenic one on Navajo land. It's tough to describe and capture in pictures, but highly recommended. There is an ever changing view of curved rocks, light, shadow, colors, sky, sounds, and sand that should be experienced.

Our Stops:

• Durango, Colorado
• Mesa Verde National Park
• 4 corners location (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona all at once)
• Monument Valley, Navajo Nation land
• Horseshoe Bend
• Antelope Canyon
• Wind Pebble Canyon
• Page, Arizona

Map

Pictures

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• Utah
• Colorado
• Arizona

Arizona

Horseshoe Bend

Antelope Canyon

4 corners

Monument Valley

Mesa Verde

Links

MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my more current trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my past trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

After a year in Peru, which was amazing, it was also good to get back to Colorado. So one of the first weekends back, it was time to head into the mountains for a hike and a sunset. Lake Isabelle in the Indian Peaks Wilderness near Boulder.

A few weekends after that, we went to Fraser and Winter Park to chill in a cabin in the woods. Such a relaxing weekend, we didn't even take photos.

Lake hike:

Links

MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my more current trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my past trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Looking Back

2021:
Well, the pandemic continued. And I got cabin fever just sitting around in the US, so found ways to travel as usual.
The big news was that I left the boring bank job and moved to Peru to live for a while.

Well, here's the quick review:

Activities

Things that happened in 2021:

Big Travels

• winter festivities in Colorado - January
• Taos and Sante Fe, New Mexico - May
• Mexico - June
• West Coast Road Trip - California and Oregon - July
• Maldives beach resort - August
• Lima & Ica & Huacachina, Peru - September
• Tingo Maria, Peru - October
• Sacred Valley, Peru - November
• Cusco, Peru - November
• Machu Picchu - November

Challenges
Didn't get to do any 14er hikes, or trail runs, or any new crazy challenges this year. But I got to enjoy snorkeling in the Indian Ocean in the Maldives, hiking around Machu Picchu in Peru, and visiting more US National Parks. I count that as a win.

Events & other activities

• bought an investment house in Des Moines - May
• races: none
• continued with volleyball, biking, running, walking, hiking, SUP
• Prudence turned 4 - August
• move to Lima, Peru - September
• concerts: local Peru rock band in Lima - October

previous year reviews:

• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

We checked out the Ice Castle in Dillon, Colorado for some fun. There were ice slides, carvings, lights, fountains, and mazes to explore.

Then went to the Denver Botanical Gardens for winter light displays.

Pictures

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Looking Back

2020:
Well, that was an interesting year.
There was some things that were new and crazy like the pandemic and my truck getting stolen and totaled. Meanwhile other things stayed the same just like any other year with camping, hiking, biking, running, volleyball, moving, and road trips.

Most activities this year was somehow affected by COVID related news, including working remotely for 41 weeks of the year. I had several concerts, events, and international travel cancelled. The trips would have been to Italy, Croatia, Austria, Canada, and the Cayman Islands.

However that allowed me to take more US based trips. I was able to check out a lot of National Parks included Rocky Mountain, Colorado Monument, Dinosaur Monument, Arches, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons. Plus had the time to see a lot of family, friends, and enjoy hobbies (all at a distance of course).

Well, here's the review:

Activities

Things that happened in 2020:

Big Travels

• Egypt - February
• Israel - January
• North Macedonia - December
• Turkey - November

Quick Trips

• Arches National Park & Moab, Utah - June
• Ashley National Forest, Utah - May
• Crested Butte, Colorado - September
• Colorado Hiking - April
• Colorado Monument and Dinosaur Monument, Colorado - May
• Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming - August
• Iowa - May and October
• Leadville and Lake Turquoise camping, Colorado - July
• Long Beach visit, California - June
• Montana camping - August
• Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming - August

Challenges

• 14er hike - Elbert
• 14er hike - Sherman
• 14er hike and FKKT - Shavano and Tabeguache
• Ultra run - Rocky Mountain Continental Divide Trail Loop

Events & other activities

• moved to downtown Denver - February
• had 4Runner stolen, along with all my camping and outdoor gear, to be found a week later totaled and trashed by drug addicts - August
• concerts: none
• races: none
• volleyball, biking, running, walking, hiking
• Denver Travel Show
• Prudence turned 3 - August

previous year reviews:

• 2019
• 2018
• 2017

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen