Birthday Dunes
Palo Duro
First stop, Palo Duro. This has been on the list for a few years now and we finally found ourselves with a quick overnight stay. We arrived just in time to make camp, eat dinner, and watch a quick sunset. For those of you that don’t know, Palo Duro is the second largest canyon in the states, behind the Grand Canyon. Almost everything is bigger in Texas.
Driving into the canyon I spotted what might be a good shot of the Milky Way. As the sun fell and the stars came out, we headed back to the location to see what we could make of it. It ended up being a perfect spot…until the clouds rolled in. Even with the clouds though, it ended up being a fun shot. The clouds have some interesting color to them from the moon light and kind of naturally framed the Milky Way. I only got a handful of shots in before the clouds covered it up, but I think it turned out alright.
It was a quick stay and one that left us excited to come back. When it’s not 100deg outside.
Santa Fe
The next stop for the trip was a Santa Fe. What a cool city. I would seriously consider moving here if there was anywhere to work. Anyone in need of a design engineer? The people were great, the weather was perfect, and the landscape was beautiful.
Kelly has a good hike lined up for us, like she usually does. We met a nice family exploring the trails with their dog. We both ended up figuring out how to push our dogs up a ledge to get to the “waterfall”. What we soon found out was the waterfall was very seasonal, with barely a trickle coming out. At least we now know Darcy can kind of boulder.
We stayed in the mountains in our tent and the night was perfect. Cool, crisp, and quiet. After a solid day of driving and hiking it was exactly what we needed.
Milky Way
We lucked out and had clear skies for a good bit of the night, letting me play with my new star tracker. What a great investment into my never ending pile of photography gear. It wasn’t cheap but boy does it make a difference in quality. Below was our view for the night.
Hiking with Tori and Blue
The next morning we got up for breakfast and a day hike with Tori and her dog Blue. Tori is one of Kelly’s best friends from college and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. She and Blue showed us around the city before we headed up the mountain, and Kelly found her usual turquoise jewelry when anywhere near the real stuff. I’m not complaining, it’s a way cheaper indulgence than diamonds.
The hike was fantastic. We played in streams, watched the butterflies, and found every stick on the trail. It was really fun to watch Darcy learn how to be a trail dog. We’ll get there one day.
A good hike is never complete without a good meal. Tori took us to a great place on our way out where we had a few more laughs before heading to Taos for the night.
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
Just before getting into Taos you come up to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. It’s the fifth highest in the US and second highest on the US highway system.
The winds were whipping through the canyon and across the bridge. Darcy was not a fan. At all. She was a trooper but she was pretty stressed out there. We hopped off the bridge and walked down the trail to get a picture of the bridge and the obligatory family photo. The light in the sky that followed was a nice surprise. I don’t think it gets much better.
Great Sand Dunes National Park
And the grand finale, Great Sand Dunes National Park. We tried to make this a stop on our Cali road trip with Darcy but it’s just a little out of the way. This terrain is absolutely incredible and I wish we had another day or two out there. It’s hard hiking, it’s hot, but man is it full of views.
We got to the park around 10am and made our way to the dunes. After all of about 50ft, we made a 180 back to the car to figure out plan b. The sand was already so hot I could barely walk on it, much less Darcy. Some people that went out further were walking back carrying their dogs. Be careful if you go out there in full sun.
There are a few trails with mixed shade that we went on before a storm rolled through and cooled things down. With the lower temps and falling sun, we raced back to the dunes before we lost light. Mind you, we’re 7-8mi into our hiking day. Oh, and I forgot to mention Darcy sat in tree sap. For those of you that don’t know, olive oil takes it right out. We didn’t know this until getting back to Texas with our child covered in sticky sand.
We got back to the foot of the dunes and I geared back up to hike up to the top for some photos. Kelly stayed back with Darcy to chill a bit. I started out excited and giddy. My mood quickly changed after hiking for about 30min. This was by far one of the hardest things I’ve done. Including any half Ironman. Two hours of climbing a mountain of dry sand. Without any food and only 20oz of water. Carrying a backpack of camera gear. Prepare better than I did.
While the hike was tough, the shapes and light on the dunes was so rewarding. I could spend days out there and find something new every time. The day finished with a sunset towards the bottom with Kelly, Darcy, and a pair of screaming legs.
We camped about 30min south of the park in a very primitive spot. So primitive there wasn’t a trail. Or signs. Nothing. Just gps coordinates with pitch black skies. After some adventure we found the spot and setup for the night. I wanted to shoot the night sky one more time but was just spent after the last few days. We were all pooped.
After a good night’s sleep, we packed up and headed back to Texas. Another jam packed road trip in the books and hopefully a good birthday week for the birthday girl. I can’t wait to see what next year brings.
