'Til the Wheels Come Off: April 2010

Hike to Ensign Peak (SLC)

This morning, we hiked to the top of Ensign Peak, which is just north of downtown. Here's a view of downtown over the hills.

A view of the Oquirrh mountains to the west of the city.

This is slightly to the west, and you can see the Wasatch range beyond the neighborhood below.

A wider view over the city towards the Wasatch Mountains.

We accidentally took a much more difficult and steep trail (which seems to be our M.O. when hiking). But we did reach the top of Ensign Peak. Here's the monument that stands at the top.

Trails extend out into the hills behind the peak.

Here we are at the top, and we certainly look like we've been hiking.

Heading back down the (easier) trail, here's a shot between the hills. You can see the city and the Wasatch Mountains again. At the top right of the photo, you can see the monument on Ensign Peak.

Kate looks out into the city. You can see the State Capitol in the distance.

Dave follows Kate's lead!

Here's a closer shot of the Capitol building. You can see how windy it is - the flag fully extends in the wind.

A fun hike in the hills just north of the city. It's very cool how less than a mile from downtown, you feel like you're nowhere near the city.

Here are some pictures from our trip to New Mexico! We flew into Albuquerque and explored a bit to start things off. After a couple breakfast burritos with red and green chile, we headed to Petroglyph National Monument. It was quite cold and windy!

Dave = all bundled up.

Kate's hair was being thrown around by the wind like crazy!

Here is one of the petroglyphs we saw, left hundreds of years ago by Native Americans. Of the many we captured on film, this was Kate's favorite.

Looking over Albuquerque.

Then we headed to Santa Fe. When we arrived, it was SNOWING. That lasted only an hour or so, and after we got a few crepes from the french pastry shop in Old Santa Fe, we walked around a bit.

St. Francis Cathedral -

The Miraculous Staircase at the Loretto Chapel has no center support beam, yet does two complete 360-degree turns.

Sunset over Santa Fe.

We spent one afternoon exploring Tent Rocks National Monument. Very interesting geology!

Walking through the canyon at Tent Rocks.

A view from the top - you can see the mountain range in the distance.

Kate looks on in awe!

The day before we left, we visited Bandelier National Park. In addition to some amazing rock formations, the Native Americans built settlements here right into the side of the cliffs.

Some of them can be reached by ladder. We explored!

One of the areas high into the cliff was used for ceremonial purposes. You have to climb three tall ladders to get there - a few people realized their fear of heights along the way and turned back. Not us, though!

Here we are inside this settlement area.

Kate looks on in awe (again)!

An extremely fun trip! Aside from the national parks we saw, we also visited the Georgia O'Keefe Museum, strolled along the shops and galleries, and ate some great food. Very fun.

Colorado Springs!

It's been quite awhile since we've blogged! A computer virus interrupted our uploading abilities. We visited our dear pals, Steve and Emily, in Colorado Springs in early March. Since Dave was going to be working in Denver the following week, we flew to Denver and then took a GreyHound bus to Colorado Springs. Needless to say, it was a unique experience complete with a Spanish-dubbed Rob Schneider video and some less-than-lovely characters on the bus. Once we arrived, Steve, Emily, and Benji (our new favorite feline friend) showed us a fantastic time!

While waiting for a table at a local restaurant, we tasted some of the spring water and toddled around at an arcade.