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Hiking Treasure Falls: Pagosa Springs CO
For those of you who have never been to the Western Slope of Colorado – I just want you to know you’re missing out! My favorite area of Colorado is that southwest corner that includes Pagosa Springs, Durango, the Million Dollar Highway, Ouray and Telluride! So if you’re thinking of visiting Colorado, I strongly suggest looking into this area!! Treasure Falls is located about 15 miles east of Pagosa Springs – one of my favorite small towns in Colorado! It falls an impressive 105 feet and is less than a half mile from the parking area, which makes it pretty accessible without taking too much time from your day! Once…
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Helen Hunt Falls & Silver Cascade Falls: Colorado Springs
Hello again everybody!! Sorry for the long silence, I have spent the last several months dealing with first trimester nausea and all around fatigue!! ….did I mention I’m pregnant?? Well I am! I’m glad we cleared that up 🙂 Anyways, I wanted to post about one of Colorado Spring’s easiest to access waterfalls! For those of you who know the area, you know that Seven Falls is the better known and more touristy of waterfalls to see. It also comes with an admission price and a shuttle bus. Helen Hunt Falls is not nearly as tall or impressive of a waterfall as Seven Falls. Despite this, I’m more into free…
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Manitou Spring’s Graffiti Falls
Ahhhhh the beginning of spring! The trees are budding, the weather is perfect, and the wind is fresh with the smell of…spray-paint? Well, it might be if you take a hike down to Manitou Spring’s Graffiti Falls! So, I’m just gonna send this disclaimer out there right off the bat…I do not support the defacement of nature. It makes me sad when people don’t respect nature, and I try my best to “leave no trace”. That being said, I take exception to Graffiti Falls. This waterfall in Manitou Springs has the official title of Rainbow Falls. “Graffiti Falls” is the nickname the locals gave it, due to the obvious heavy graffiti. In…
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Climb Daring Heights at Bishop’s Castle, CO
Ever since I moved a couple of weeks ago, I’ve spent most of my spare time driving all over the surrounding areas: Buena Vista, Salida, Woodland Park, Divide, Florissant, Cripple Creek, Eleven Mile Lake, Westcliffe…you name it, I’ve driven through it or close to it! However, even with all our driving we really didn’t do anything post-worthy until we visited Bishop’s Castle near Westcliffe, CO. I’d heard of Bishop’s Castle when I lived in the Springs several years ago. Bishop’s Castle is a nice little day trip from Colorado Springs (approximately a 1.5 hour drive), and is certainly an unusual and interesting place to visit! This castle has been entirely built by…
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Telluride, CO: A Traveler’s Perspective
Telluride is without a doubt the most interesting town I have ever been to…and definitely one of the most beautiful. Prior to 2013, I had only heard of Telluride in relation to the Telluride Film Festival that I read about in my grandmother’s highly educational tabloid magazines. I never thought about Telluride again until I was living in Colorado Springs. I was googling “hiking in Colorado” when I saw the Telluride scenery for the first time. I wasn’t sure because I had never been there, but I was pretty certain I had just discovered the most amazing place since the New World. It took me three long years before I…
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4 Wheelin’ in Colorado’s Rio Grande National Forest
A couple of summers ago, I had the amazing opportunity to visit a little known place in Colorado, in the Rio Grande National Forest. Jasper, Colorado is not what I would consider a tourist destination. Jasper is the remnant of an old mining camp from the late 1800s, and it’s really little more than that now! There are no stores, no gas stations – in fact, the only vacation rental that I know of is the Lost Elk Lodge, which is directly across from the above-pictured sign! There are a handful of private residences in the area, and most people don’t live here year round due to the harsh winters…
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Hiking Telluride’s Bridal Veil Falls
So, just to recap, Telluride CO is a must-see destination for you and your loved ones or really anyone that you know. I took the picture below in the middle of town!! I mean, who gets to experience that kind of beauty just lollygagging around town?? That’s right…Telluridians. (I totally just made that word up.) And maybe Switzerlandians. (Or Swiss… but I like my word better.) Once again, I digress! While there are many, many activities that I could recommend for you to do while in Telluride, I think if you only had time to do one thing before skipping town, it should be hiking up to Bridal Veil Falls. It’s not just the…
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Telluride’s 33rd Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival
Guys, if you haven’t been to Telluride, CO, then things need to change. ASAP. By no means have I been everywhere, but I have been a few places! I’ve never seen forests as beautiful as Oregon’s, and I’ve never seen a mountain town more majestic than Telluride! The town of Telluride is nestled in a box canyon surrounded by tall white-capped mountains. The mountainsides are covered in aspen and evergreens, and a rushing river flows through the middle of town (no big deal). It’s pretty much Valhalla, except real…and on Earth. Most people have heard about Telluride in relation to the Telluride Film Festival, but not everybody knows that Telluride is home…
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Telluride’s Best SECRET spot!
Guys, I’m not even gonna lie to y’all…this place is the closest I’ve ever been to having my own “The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music” meadow. What makes a place beautiful? Mountains? Trees? Meadows? Wildflowers? Majestic Views? A Woodland Stream? Check, check, check, check, double check, and check. All it’s really missing is a waterfall and a couple of unicorns. Ok, I don’t wanna oversell it, so I’m just gonna go ahead and tell you how to get there. Disclaimer: You will want to take this ride in a car that can handle rough roads. The footpath that we found was not fenced off, it didn’t have posted private…
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Top 5 Tips for Visiting Pagosa’s Hot Springs!
I recently had the fortune of traveling again through Pagosa Springs this summer, and I decided to make good on a promise I made to myself in December…I would not leave Pagosa again without relaxing in the hot springs! Pagosa Springs is definitely one of our favorite travel destinations. It’s worth a stop all on its own, but it’s also a good one-night-stop as you travel on to other equally awesome spots in the area! If you are coming from the south, the drive from Chama, NM to Pagosa is hard to beat…I pretty much get angry every time I see it! There’s so many things to do in the…
