Our First Week

Greetings from Denver! We are fortunate to have friends to drop in on across the country, and the Noonans are no exception. We are enjoying an “administrative day” by doing some laundry and updating our blog at Casa de Noonan. It has been an incredible trip already and we can’t believe it has only been six days! This is just the beginning, but we feel like we’ve already seen and done a lot.

After leaving the friendly confines of the Hsia House (thanks Marcus and Jocelyn!), we barreled northwest through Texas and spent three nights between Caprock Canyons and Palo Duro TX State Parks. Both delivered some scenic hikes, horned toad sightings and scorching, dry weather. Our biggest treat was sleeping with the rain fly off the tent and lavishing ourselves with the cool desert breeze at night. From Palo Duro, we set our sights westward and made for New Mexico. After ~700 miles and a quick stop at the Cadillac Ranch, we finally made it out of Texas.

We had never been to Northern New Mexico and took some time to explore Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Our interest in cities is generally less powerful than the pull of wide open spaces, so it wasn’t long before we turned north and picked our way through the towering cliffs and the beginnings of pine forests. We camped at the Echo Amphitheater in the Carson National Forest. It felt great to leave the high plains behind and feel enough chill in the air to build a roaring campfire.

From New Mexico, we headed north to Colorado and took a soak in the natural hot springs in Pagosa Springs. Then it was on to Mesa Verde National Park to explore some Anasazi ruins. We toured the impressive Cliff Palace and Balcony House cliff dwellings, built nearly 800 years ago. Rain chased us to Durango, where we were lucky enough to get a roof over our heads (thanks Anne!).

The next day, we rolled to Great Sand Dunes National Park, before again being driven onward by rain. We paid a visit to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and then made it to Denver in time to have a Leinenkugel’s nightcap with Noonan and Gina. This morning we woke to little Noonans jumping on the bed (and us). We followed that with a lung-searing run through Red Rocks amphitheater and now we’re relaxing in anticipation of the Oakhurst concert tonight.

It is probably premature to make this call, but we love being on the road. We met a guy at Mesa Verde who has been traveling for 10 years straight. He left on a trip like ours and has been everywhere at some point and nowhere permanently ever since. We don’t aspire to anything that audacious, but it is inspiring to see people following their hearts even when it doesn’t fit society’s norms. That’s all for this week – much more to come as we again turn west and head towards the hoodoos of Southern Utah!

P.S. Sorry Mom. Despite your request that we pick up any hitchhikers we come across, we’re a bit tight on space and won’t be able to accommodate any other unshowered souls at this juncture.