Late Summer Colorado and Utah Trip
The red rock desert has been calling my name since I last visited in 2020. It truly is a special place with vast textures and diverse landscapes so Shawn and I were very excited when he was booked for a backpacking elopement in the beautiful mountains of Buena Vista, Colorado.
After a wonderful experience with the wedding couple and their family, we decided to stay at a hot springs to soak our achy muscles. Backpacking with full set of camera gear is no joke and we were definitely feeling it. As we sat in the hot springs, we heard some commotion of two men yelling and screaming at each other which escalated into gunshots being fired. With tires screeching and a man yelling he was shot and to call 911, we hurried ourselves out of the hot springs. Not knowing what is going on, we quickly changed out of our wet bathing suits and inquired at the front lobby while an employee was cleaning blood off of the floor. We couldn’t get any answers so we decided that we needed to get out of there and fast!
After we left Buena Vista, we toured beautiful Colorado, meeting up with friends, location scouting, and dreaming up another trip during fall color. One thing that surprised me about the Colorado mountains was the cacti. I wanted to get a composition with the wild flowers and and the vast mountains so I walked out into a field what I thought only contained sage and rabbit brush not realizing that cacti was sticking to my sandals. When I finally noticed, I had about a dozen clinging to the soles of my sandals and pants, poking my legs. Let me tell you, I am not used to these types of plants and the first time I visited my sister in Tucson led me to the same demise. Except this time it was worse. I let out a surprised yelp while Shawn acted fast and rescued me from the cacti by throwing me over his shoulder. We painstakingly plucked the cacti out of our shoes all the while laughing about our current situation. I don’t think I am fit for cactus terrain. Haha!
We soon found ourselves drawn to Mesa Verde National Park that has a rich history of the Puebloan people who lived there for centuries. Getting to see and experience their ancestral dwellings was truly one of the highlights of the trip. It was fascinating to learn how they lived and survived in this unique environment.
On our way to our next destination, we decided we needed to get gas and food before heading out of town. After the gas station, we both voted on some delicious Mexican food. As we started digging into our fajitas, an intoxicated man came up to our table trying to grab our food. The host and several severs briskly diverted him. In the chaos of the restaurant kicking out the man and his partner, Shawn suddenly realized that at the gas station he never shut the tailgate of his truck which had our cooler sitting on it. He hurriedly jumped in his truck and drove to the gas station hoping to find our missing cooler. Meanwhile, our server looked at me very concerned and asked if we were OK in the middle of the ruckus of them trying to get rid of the intoxicated couple.
Shawn hurriedly drove to the gas station and asked if they had a cooler turned into them. They had not. With his heart sinking into his chest, he hopped back into his truck and noticed a man walking his dog towards the gas station. Shawn had a feeling he should ask this stranger so he pulled over and inquired. The man looked at him and replied, “Well this is your lucky day. I found you're cooler on the road and it is back in my camp.” Shawn and I were very relieved that we found our cooler with our food safe inside. The only casualties were our eggs and we were both very grateful.
Our search for more ancestral dwellings led us to Cedar Mesa. We spent a couple of days here finding more Peubloan history and gorgeous views.
Next up was Monument Valley. There is something very special about this place. We camped on BLM land outside Monument Valley and found some unique perspectives.
On our journey home, we decided to take a detour to Bryce Canyon National Park on a hunch that it might have potential fog. We weren’t disappointed. The fog drifted around the hoodoos, giving us glimpses of the red rock, teasing us viewers. It truly was a special time to visit the park.
We spent four hours at Bryce before heading home to our beloved Eastern Sierra. Here is the full album of our trip.
The trip was definitely eventful with a chaotic shoot out, the missing cooler, and getting attacked in a cactus garden. All in all it was an adventure to be remembered full creativity, awesome people, and lots of laughter.
