Making the Rounds and Crashing

We left our AirBnb so early in the morning that much of Madrid had not gone to sleep yet.  It was dark out and the night clubs were winding down. Over 24 hours of travel and we were back in New York.

What a great experience this trip has been.  We saw so much, had plenty of time to leave the tourist mode and get into everyday life.  I know we each took different things away from this experience, but I think at the end we were all happy to get back to our "norm" in the U.S.

Since leaving Madrid we have been in NJ getting our camper and storage stuff organized,

The girls are back together :)

South Dakota,I don't love you......in March.

We had a nice two weeks in Colorado.  Hung out in Golden for a few days, stayed at Cherry Creek SP a few nights and the rest of the time we stayed with friends, Rich and Dechay.

Golden, CO

On the Road Again.....

It has been a while since I have written on the blog.  We had a very nice visit with family in Las Vegas.  Went to several Circque du Soleil show's, thanks to our local connections.  Saw Willie Nelson in concert at the Belagio.  Visited Red Rocks and spent lots of family time.

Cousins playing, no fighting, no playing....can't keep it straight :)

Week of Nationals

This was a week of National Parks and Monuments.  We hit three parks.................Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Arches and Canyonlands and two Monuments...........Colorado and Dinosaur.  Did I mention that we were in the high desert heat at about 100 degrees each day.  HELLO! We did not realize that we would be leaving the mountains so soon and entering those kind of temps.  We were not happy campers part of that week.  The humidity is low, so you're not sticky, but it was so hot!!  

We had left Glenwood Springs and had a short drive down the Interstate.  It was amazing how much the climate changed in that 1 hour or so drive. 

We stayed at James M Robb State Park (Island Acres Section) and were sandwiched between two mountains.  The mountains were beautiful however the interstate was sandwiched between those same two mountains, so that was a little weird.  It just became white noise and didn't bother us at all, but might have if we had been at a site closer to the road.  The campground itself was nice, but had a strange crowd of people.

Rocky Mountain High

After leaving St. Vrain we headed south and then west on I-70.  We have been avoiding interstates for the most part, but man are we glad we took this one.  Twisting and turning through mountains, some tunnels through the mountains and the final hour or two were through Glenwood Canyon.  It was just beautiful.

Glenwood Canyon

I Remember This Place

From Golden we traveled north to a state park called St.Vrain.  Ahhhh..... The space of a state park I had missed so much.  State parks are my favorite and we had not been to one since our last stop in New Mexico, so I was very excited.  The park itself was pretty, had nice lakes for fishing, and a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains off in the distance.  It was quite close to the interstate so you didn't quite feel remote, but it was a pretty nice place.  We had a fire pit and put it to good use a few nights.  Attempted cooking our veggies and some other things over the flame, but our wood was a little smokey from being in the back of our truck and exposed to all the rain.  The veggies were a little smokey :)  

Friends and Golden Arches

Keeping our northerly route we headed to a town to the west of Denver called Golden, CO.  We LOVED Golden!



I think it was a combination of reasons.........campsite had an awesome location right on the river and main bike path in town, awesome parks, cute downtown, tons of outdoor activities, sunny cool days, people outside enjoying, tennis courts nearby, and I could go on.  We had a great week and have put it on our short list of favorites.

The Incline

Heading north and avoiding interstates when we can, we took the pass through the mountains on our way to Manitou, Springs (just outside of Colorado Springs, CO).  Beautiful drive through the mountains and following the Arkansas River part of the way.

Manitou Springs is a cute little town and another great walkable place.  


The "springs" are not hot springs like in Pagosa, but mineral springs.  They are located all over town and several right in the middle of downtown.  Known for their healing qualities, they have a sweet taste.

They're Not White

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.  Swimming.  Zapata Falls  Swimming.  Sandboarding. Swimming. Sand Sledding.

Made it to Colorado

Kept heading north on Hwy 64/84 and entered into Rio Grande National Forest.  Another very pretty drive.  We arrived to our reserved campgrounds and after testing our internet and theirs decided that the connection wasn't strong or consistent enough for the work week, so called down the road and found a spot.