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Mike and me
Silverton, Colorado
July 5, 2009

Mike, Ally, and I took a wonderful road trip for the Fourth of July weekend. We spent two nights in Durango, and also visited the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Black Canyon National Park, and many great spots along the way. We hiked, ate great food, listened to concerts in the street, and watched fireworks over the river in Durango.

I took lots of photos, some with my Canon G10, and some with my Canon 5D. Mostly we just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of western Colorado. It's truly beautiful out there.

Our first stop was Great Sand Dunes National Park. It was Ally's first beach-like experience!



My family is cute.



Me and Ally



There was a big storm on the horizon!






Unfortunately the approaching storm gave us only about 30 minutes to explore the dunes. It was a gorgeous park that we'll have to visit again sometime.



We headed west through San Luis Valley into the San Juan mountains.



We stopped on the side of the road so I could take pictures of the evening light hitting this fence.






I did a lot of drive-by shooting. This was a lake in Pagosa Springs.



Sunset over Chimney Rock



We spent the night in Durango, and then found this cool flag mural the next morning. Happy 4th of July!



Ally wasn't allowed into Durango's Independence Day street festival, so the three of us had a picnic in a park nearby.



We spent the afternoon exploring Missionary Ridge, thousands of feet above Durango.



We found a meadow high above town, which was a perfect spot for a Fraulein Maria moment.






The wildflowers are exquisite this time of year.









These appear to be wild irises, perhaps?



Beautiful Ally at Missionary Ridge






I want to come back and camp in this meadow sometime. I loved it.









We did a hike through aspen groves as the sun peeked through the clouds.






The next day we drove north along route 550. We stopped near Molas Lake to enjoy the incredible scenery. Mike and Ally wandered along the trail ahead of me.



I wore my new UCCS t-shirt, in honor of Mike's new job as a lab manager at the University of Colorado.






Molas Lake, near Silverton, Colorado. I want to come back and camp here, too. Gorgeous!



We passed several old mines, including this one at Red Mountain



Another mine near Red Mountain



In Ouray we stopped for my essential daily vanilla nonfat latte.



Ouray is a completely adorable little town in a valley, surrounded by jagged, towering cliffs.



We headed north to Montrose and Black Canyon National Park.



These pictures don't do it justice -- the canyon's cliffs were 2000 feet tall in places.



We headed northeast from Gunnison, to Taylor Reservoir.






Ally was thrilled to be able to fetch tennis balls in the water.



She's so darn cute when she's all wet.



We crossed the Continental Divide at Cottonwood Pass.






After dinner in Buena Vista, we watched the sunset over the Collegiate Peaks on our way home.

It was a wonderful weekend! I wish we could spend a few weeks on vacation here in our state. There is just so much to see and do!