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Mesa Verde and more 2023 - Colorado / Arizona USA

the Southwest

sunny 75 °F
View Southwest US on MurkTravels's travel map.

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

see more on Facebook Murk Travels recent photos

Arizona
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Horseshoe Bend
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Antelope Canyon
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4 corners
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Monument Valley
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Mesa Verde
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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

Posted by MurkTravels 13:25 Archived in USA Tagged mountains arizona colorado utah valley murktravels northamerica murk 2023 Comments (0)

2021

time to move

sunny 85 °F
View Peru 2021-2022 on MurkTravels's travel map.

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

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:

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

Posted by MurkTravels 17:51 Archived in Peru Tagged museums food parks beach peru california mexico colorado oregon lima valley music camp machupicchu national usa road sacred trip travels 2021 murk Comments (0)

Arriving in Lima 2021 - Peru

moving to Lima

overcast 60 °F
View Peru 2021-2022 on MurkTravels's travel map.

overview / intro

In September, we took the first step of a plan to explore South America, and specifically the country of Peru. It has the start of the Amazon river, areas of the Amazon jungle, mountain peaks over 22,000 feet, sand desert and a hidden oasis, the coast with beaches. Plus the biggest reasons that visitors come here are the amazing food options and Machu Picchu.

We are basing our stay in Lima, near family. I will learn some basic Spanish and do some remote work. There is also a lot to see and do in Lima, with a lot of Spanish and Inca history. It's home to 11 million people, about 1/3 of the country population. There's lots of restaurants, museums, beaches, and neighborhoods to check out in Lima. Plus a lot of week long trips planned around the country.

Recommend:

  • Peruvian ceviche
  • the Sacred Valley near Cusco
  • Machu Picchu (obviously)
  • spending some time at the beaches
  • catching a local futbol match
  • more Peruvian food
  • Museums & historic sites in Lima

Trip Map

Pictures

Ica & Huacachina oasis
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Lima food
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Lima sites
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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

Posted by MurkTravels 21:06 Archived in Peru Tagged churches food park history peru ice lima travels 2021 murk Comments (0)

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