How we took the plunge and started living the life we imagined
As our fourth and final stop in Colorado, we are on to another park we have not heard of before our trip – Black Canyon of the Gunnison – a deep gorge with dramatic sheer granite walls in western Colorado.
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Our next stop in Colorado is a park we have never heard of before this trip – Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde National Park is in southwest Colorado. It was established to protect the heritage of the ancient Puebloans and the park contains over 5,000 archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. The cliff dwellings are supposed to be particularly well preserved and spectacular – whole cities tucked underneath cliff ledges. It should be a fascinating visit.
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We are leaving the Rocky Mountains for the tallest sand dunes in North America! Our next park is Great Sand Dunes National Park. We are looking forward to sledding down the giant dunes. The park is located in southern Colorado.
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We are all excited to be going to Colorado. Our first stop will be Rocky Mountain National Park: mountains, wildflowers, alpine tundra, mountain goats, marmots and moose! We are looking forward to the hikes, the views and the animal sightings. And an added bonus – Kay’s brother, Brad, is coming to visit.
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Onward to Great Basin National Park! This park is in eastern Nevada, near the Utah border. The park is located in the Great Basin Desert, but most of the park is actually mountainous terrain, with its centerpiece Wheeler Peak soaring to an elevation of 13,000 feet. We really don’t know much about this park and hadn’t even heard about it before we started planning this trip. Highlights of the park include Lehman Cave, full of beautiful marble and limestone formations, as well as an ancient bristlecone pine cone forest.
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We are so excited for our next stop – Yosemite National Park. Stunning sheer granite walls, meandering rivers and iconic landscapes. We are camping in the park at Lower Pines Campground in the heart of the park – we feel very lucky to have the reservation. There are only a couple spots that our 30-foot Airstream will fit in – we were so happy to get one of them by booking the instant reservations open online five months in advance! We also are relieved that the park is open – it has been closed due to forest fires for weeks and just opened a week and a half before we are scheduled to arrive. We are also concerned about smoke – we are hoping that the park and campground will be clear!
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Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are our next stop. The parks abut one another in Northern California in the southern portion of the Sierra Nevadas. Sequoia National Park is home to groves of enormous towering sequoia trees – the largest trees on earth. And Kings Canyon is one of the deepest canyon’s in North America.
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Our next stop is Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. This park is known for volcanoes – and they are actually active volcanoes, adding a little bit of excitement to the visit. We hope that none of them decide to erupt while we are there. The park sits at the southern end of the Cascades range and is home to all four different kinds of volcanoes: shield, composite, cinder cone, and plug dome. The last eruption here was in 1917 when Lassen Peak erupted in a series of eruptions that started in 1915 and went on through 1917. There is supposed to be great hiking here, but we are a little bit concerned that the smoke from nearby fires will interfere with our plans.
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We are headed south, out of Oregon and into California! Redwood National and State Parks – we are looking forward to walking among the giants… and sleeping among them too!
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We are on to our second stop in Oregon… this is to be the stop of Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake is five trillion gallons of water in a volcano caldera. We are planning some hiking and a boat trip . . . in the caldera. We’ve seen pictures of the stunning deep blue lake . . . however smoke from nearby Oregon forest fires threaten to derail our plans. . .
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