We took a road trip to Colorado and after staying at the historic Beaumont Hotel in Ouray, we made a quick stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on the way to Grand Lake Lodge and Rocky Mountain National Park. Grand Lake and Estes Park both border Rocky Mountain National Park as its…
We took a road trip to Colorado and after staying at the historic and haunted St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico, and visiting Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, our next stop was the historic Beaumont Hotel In Ouray. History of the Beaumont Hotel The Mining Boom Era (1886): Built in 1886 at…
We took a road trip to Colorado and after staying at the historic and haunted St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico, Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve was our first stop in Colorado. Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve Geological Mechanics: The dune field covers over 30 square miles, with dunes reaching…
We took a road trip to Colorado but before we arrived, we stopped for a night at the historic and haunted St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico. We spent the night in Jesse James’ old room but as we told our daughter, we did not give the enemy a foothold (no ghosts seen). Founded…
First, if you came here looking for my Top 20 photos, click on this link. This first blog is about the road trip and I promise all of those will be included in the blog series. Some are below. More to come. The Case for the Highway: 35,000 Feet vs. Ground Level Sure, a flight…
How do you cap off two amazing days in New York City? With fireworks and a 4-mile sprint to your hotel to outrun some storms. But before we get to that story, let’s talk about Central Park. Central Park: Olmsted’s Emerald Refuge The third and final morning of a holiday weekend in Manhattan carries a…
I’m not even sure about how to write about this day. Still, months later, I fail to put it into words. It is a day I’ll never forget. It was not simply standing in front of the Statue of Liberty, baking in the morning sun during a historic heatwave in Manhattan. It was an immersion…
As I mentioned in our San Francisco to Yosemite road trip post: “Right as you need a break from the switchbacks, you hit Groveland. We pulled into Mountain Sage Coffee to stretch our legs and get properly caffeinated. It’s an earthy, eclectic spot (some might say a bit weird but we like weird) that perfectly…
If you are driving from the San Francisco Bay Area toward the towering granite of Yosemite, Highway 120 is your primary artery. And right when you hit Manteca, at the intersection of Highway 120 and Jack Tone Road, you’ll find a mandatory pitstop: Ramos Country Corner. It is one of my absolutely favorite finds in…