a film

This is a little movie I made of my family trip to the American West (see post below), summer of 2011. I filmed short clips everywhere we went with a goal of making a short video that would be able to capture the whole vacation in a few minutes.
Filmed throughout Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Music is Death Cab for Cutie's latest single, "You Are A Tourist."

travel essentials

I can't stress enough how important it is to pack your suitcase before the night before or the day of your trip. I can almost guarantee that you will forget something. I usually try to make a list and pack beforehand, but there are some things (like deodorant and mascara) that you can't throw in your suitcase until the last minute. On our last trip, I was really proud of myself for not forgetting anything, but there were several items that I could have left behind. Two summers ago, when we spent a lot of time in Wyoming, it got very cold at night and jeans and heavy sweaters were absolutely necessary. So, this summer, thinking that I knew everything about the climate in the Midwestern U.S., I packed too many heavy sweaters and jeans.

Above:

1. A scarf is a great accessory that can be a more casual substitute for a necklace. 2. Airy, neutral color shirts are perfect for summer vacations and go with everything. 3. Bring an empty water bottle with you through security to stay hydrated on the flight. 4. I love these pants because they are formal enough for a nice dinner and casual enough for the rodeo. 5. Sandals are an absolute must-have! These were fantastic on my last vacation--I was able to wear them out to dinner and while climbing rocks. 6. Always keep eyeliner or mascara with you for a quick touch up. 7. This small backpack is the perfect size to hold daily essentials and is still stylish. 8. Moisturizer is the best way to keep your skin healthy while on vacation. 9. Matching luggage makes you look more put together, and is easy to spot at the baggage claim. 10. I almost always bring my own shampoo with me when travelling. 11. Bring a small bottle of nail polish with you to maintain your manicure. 12. Finally, a camera is absolutely necessary for every trip! Invest in a great digital or film camera to capture all of your favorite moments. 

photo c/o pinterest.com

i can see for miles and miles...

I’ve mentioned my love for the American West several times, so I was thrilled to take a family vacation there this summer. We sped to the airport to catch our flight to Denver after Diana and I took our last exams of the year, and spent the first night at a dude ranch in Saratoga, Wyoming. We rode horses for two days in the beautiful Medicine Bow Forest before returning to Colorado Springs to drive up Pike’s Peak, which was a mistake--we were all nauseous upon reaching the summit, and I had to drive back down the narrow, winding, and unpaved roads. We then drove through the Garden of the Gods just as the sun was setting before heading to the Flying W Ranch for an outdoor cowboy (“chuckwagon”) dinner, complete with live music. The next day, we began our journey to Utah. We visited a ridiculous amount of National Parks, beginning with Arches National Park just outside of Moab, Utah. The four of us went on a sunset hike to one of the arches, which took about an hour round trip. Diana and I signed up to go to canyoneering the next day, which consisted of repelling off of a large rock face into a small cavern, and then off of one of the arch bridges. I’m really glad I did it, but it was slightly terrifying. We drove through Canyonlands National Park on our way out of Moab, which, like Arches, was mostly just red rock, but was still beautiful. 

         Next, we went to Four Corners Monument, which is operated by the Navajo Indians so our National Parks pass wasn't accepted. At the monument, you can stand in the states of Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado at the same time. Native American vendors were selling jewelry and souvenirs at stands surrounding the monument, so we enjoyed shopping while eating traditional fry bread. We moved on to Monument Valley, where my dad's cowboy dreams finally came true. He always talks about "spaghetti westerns" and John Wayne, and he and I rode horses through the Valley for about an hour. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking, and it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

We made our way to Zion National Park, which reminded me of Yosemite, where we went on vacation in 2009. A free one-hour bus tour around the park allowed us to admire all of the scenery, and we spent the rest of the evening browsing through shops downtown. The next day we travelled to Bryce Canyon, which was also beautiful, but I was really too exhausted from the entire trip to care about taking pictures at every look out area. 

I was pleasantly surprised by Capitol Reef National Park, which, in addition to the mountains and rocks, had a small house next to a fruit orchard selling delicious pies. We skipped lunch and went straight to dessert before going on a brief walk through the park. 

We decided to go back to the Dead Horse Point part of Canyonlands on our way back to Denver, from where we flew home. Canyonlands Park is near Moab, so we stayed the night there after going to Dead Horse Point State Park at sunset. It was absolutely beautiful, with rock that reminded me of the Grand Canyon, and would have been a perfect picnic spot had there not been mosquitoes everywhere.

     I did a little research while we were there about local rodeos, because we went to two in Cody, Wyoming last summer and we had a blast. I found one in Colorado that was just a little bit out of our way on the journey back to Denver. While the rodeo in Cody was more of a tourist attraction, this one was pretty authentic. Unfortunately, it started raining and we ran back to the car, and watched the fireworks from inside.

The next morning we drove to Denver, where we had a lot of fun going through security, sitting through a flight delay, and then missing our flight. During our two week adventure, we did a ridiculous amount of driving and exploring, and I had a great time with my family and managed to escape from the real world for a little while.

medicine bow national forest, wyoming

a restaurant in downtown colorado springs, where we had lunch

dad and diana

      

view from the summit of pike's peak

 

the flying w ranch

mom and i at arches national park, utah

diana and i on our mountaineering adventure

(diana)

(me)

four corners national monument: utah, new mexico, arizona, colorado

wild horses at the chevron gas station

entering monument valley

car trouble...

diana at zion national park

pie for lunch!

diana and i at dead horse point state park, utah

pit stop at sonic

rodeo in colorado

heading home