ON my way to the GRand CANyon

headed to the grand canyon after a night of sleeping in below freezing temperatures. i was in the mountains of colorado at a free camp site by a beautiful lake. there was no one around. i was scared. when the full moon came over the hills i thought a car had pulled up with its headlights pointed at the tent. i could have sworn the coyote howls were getting closer. and the noises the elk make ... twilight zone?

anyways i made it though the night. pictures to follow.

Taos, NEw MExico

With the last moments of Internet before departing on the next leg of the SOuthwestern Roadtrip, I bring you a small portion of the many photos I took during my week in Taos. At first Taos seemed a little rough around the edges compared to its highly polished neighbor, Santa Fe. But after sinking into its slower way of life & delving behind the scenes of its main tourist attractions, there is a very quirky little town with a lot to offer from Native American history to wild rivers to Americana thrift store shopping.

the not so humble dwelling/majestic adobe on the mountain side above taos. to reach it there is 1 mile of steep dirt road which made for an interesting adventure in the 2wd Pri Pri. especially in the rain.

yellow flowers coated the countryside

many old adobe churches

Taos Farmers Market: dahlia's

farmers markets are the best way to do a quick assessment of the local flavor
(sage figurines & decorated corn)

Taos Pueblo
(undercover picture taken during the "Blue Lake Celebration" we attended/no cameras allowed)

undercover picture taken of pueblo graveyard.

on the banks of the Arroyo Hondo
(fast forward an hour & i am swimming in my bra & undies)

this is a picture taken off the 2nd highest (620 ft), vertigo inducing suspension bridge in the USA. let me tell ya, when you walk across you stay far from the railing.
(Rio GRande)

patriotic side of the road craft seller

think 'A River Runs Through It' new mexico style
Pillar section of the Arroyo Hondo

A beautiful TAos summer storm

aftermath of the storm

on the way to Eagle NEst
(yellow wild flowers & yellow bug)

the timeless Eagle NEst diner
(very friendly toothless man in overalls)

CHristian missionary fishing friend

Big Arsenic SPrings hike, RIo Grande
(descends 780 ft in 1 mile)

the ENd

NAturally NEw Mexico...

ARizona adventures.

interesting place this USa is.
one of my main hopes for this exploration was to come home a proud American.in many ways i am very impressed by the motherland. Its natural beauty rivals the far away places in my dreams... but something even more noteworthy is just how bizarre everything "in between" is...i never realized how many maniac's are out there. between the common highway wanderer, the meth-heads & the true "Americans" - I am practically running home in my cowboy boots. i thought living "off the grid" was what i wanted...but really it is the concept of living off the grid...Whole Foods style? Note taken. I guess I will need to start working again. But until then I will continue to report what nice/weird/interesting things I have seen on my SOuthwestern Roadtrip.

Sedona, Arizona: insanely beautiful. All the New Age, vortex seeking, crystal loving things aside, you can't deny the intensity of this place. The beauty alone does enough to propel you into an alternate state of being.

I thought this was interesting: a Church built in between 2 rocks!
They call it the Chapel of the Holy Cross, 1956.
It was considered bold & daring for its time.

The only way Sedona would allow a McDonalds into town was if they could chose the color scheme. It is the only one in the nation without the traditional red & yellow. This is a side view but from the street it is completely anonymous without any logo.

Just north of Sedona, hiking the Oak Creek trail.

Navajo Nation! this is the land we gave the Native Americans in return.

SOUthwestern Roadtrip has begun!