Yukon to Patagonia: Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona

The same storm we miraculously survived in Utah dropped about 6" of snow in the high mountains of the Maroon Bells area which is a day's drive from Moab. It wasn't likely to stay, but it left us with two bad options. Head over right away and suffer through hiking and camping in wet snow for four days, or hang out in Moab and wait for the snow to melt. As much as we liked Moab, we had to be at the Grand Canyon by October 15th, and had lots of places to visit before we got there.

So we reluctantly made the decision to skip Maroon Bells. It was one of the first hikes we'd identified as we were planning our trip, so it was tough to skip it, but we headed south towards warmer weather in New Mexico. Our route to New Mexico took us through the southwest corner of Colorado, and we used up some of our Maroon Bells time hanging out in Durango, Colorado.

Durango is another great place to visit. It was fairly quiet as the tourist season was winding down in Colorado, at least until ski season arrived. But we found lots to do. Cyd did a 5k fun run - her first time running since her half marathon in Vancouver about 6 weeks earlier. She found the elevation of Durango a little tough, but the swag was well worth it. We also drove north for a day trip to the old mining town of Silverton. It's no Dawson City, but still a worthwhile destination.

The real attraction of Silverton was the Ice Lakes Basin day hike. I'd read about it in Backpacker Magazine, and the helpful fellow in the local outdoor store highly recommended it. It was a few hundred miles south of Aspen, a little lower in elevation, and it was three days after the storm, but we still got a little taste of snow on a great day hike and got to sleep in our warm trailer at night.

Stream crossing on the way up to Ice Lakes Basin.

Ice Lake Basin from about 12,800'.

The descent.

Next up was Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The red rock scenery was similar to, if less spectacular than Utah, but the New Mexican food and architecture made for a very different feel. Spanish was widely spoken, particularly in Taos. In some places, except for the obvious economic differences, it really didn't seem that different to places we'd visited in Mexico and Guatemala.

For a few days, it seemed that everything I ate had green or red chile on it or beside it. In Santa Fe, we enjoyed some of the best Mexican food I've had at Maria's. The next day it was fantastic Huevos Rancheros at the highly recommended San Marcos Cafe just south of the city.

Red (and green) chiles everywhere.

Virtually all of the buildings in Taos and Santa Fe are adobe, or a modern facsimile. I really like the look, and it obviously fits in perfectly with the desert surroundings. The one day we had less than perfect weather, the adobe San Marcos Cafe was wonderfully cosy and warm in the cool, rainy weather.

New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe.

Cafe just outside the Santa Fe plaza.

We also managed to fit in a day hike in New Mexico. North of Taos is Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico. The trailhead is at the bottom of the Taos ski area, and the hike really isn't that difficult. With all the hiking at elevation we'd done in the Yosemite area, the 13,161' elevation wasn't a problem, and we scurried up the 2900' to the peak and back by lunchtime.

Wheeler Peak - the highest point in New Mexico at 13,161'.

The trail back down.

From Santa Fe we drove west to Sedona, Arizona. I really struggle trying to describe my impressions of Sedona. The specific location is probably the nicest of any place we've visited so far with spectacular views from every spot in the city. How often do you find yourself in awe of the view from a Safeway parking lot? The infrastructure is immaculate. Every store is architecturally designed, and every street is professionally landscaped. Nothing is out of place.

But Sedona is missing the energy of Moab, and the gritty edges of Taos. There really isn't a lot of character that I could see. Even the local Oak Creek Brewery carefully brews its beer so that it's just barely distinguishable as craft beer. Sedona just seemed like a giant southwestern country club, or Red Rock Disney.

We still managed to find a decent hike and headed up Bear Mountain before we left town for the Grand Canyon.