US trip: Aspen and 'the middle bit'

From Moab we continued to drive east... our next overnight accommodation was booked at Denver, Colorado. We had decided to do the drive via Aspen and we couldn't have picked a better time of year to do so! And what a contrast in scenery in just one day...

From hot Utah with it's orange and red hues, we couldn't believe how quickly we started to see snow dusted mountains appearing in the distance. We were amazed but also excited to be entering yet another picturesque part of the world which we had both heard so much about. Once we arrived at Aspen (and after Al purchased a ski helmet to bring back with us!) we discovered that we could drive all the way to Maroon Bells... a road that apparently during the summer is so busy they stop cars from driving up and you need to ride a shuttle to get there, and in the winter the snow prevents vehicles. We were there in the few weeks per year that they let cars through!

Maroon Bells, Aspen, Colorado

We spent awhile walking around Maroon Bells and taking in the beauty of mountains and region in general. There was something magical... and after some adrenalin-pumped days, the calmness of the waterfalls and backdrop just made us want to stop, relax, and take in our captivating surrounds.

Time was quickly ticking past so we soon headed back into Aspen proper for a quick walk around the John Denver Memorial Garden before we continued on our journey.

John Denver Memorial Garden

From Aspen we went via Independence Pass which would take us via Twin Lakes to get to Denver. We had been warned that the road was incredibly narrow in parts across the Pass, but Al did an amazing job driving us safely through the area and in the end it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. It started to snow as we drove through, and the mist and fog meant that the view of Twin Lakes wasn't much like the pictures we had seen when researching the trip!

Independence Pass

We arrived into Denver and our accommodation after dark and quickly crashed. We had a lot of ground to cover the next day... we were pretty much half way through our holiday, but not yet half way across the country!

And make up some ground we did. This drive was the same as that done by Lloyd and Harry in Dumb and Dumber when they drove "a sixth across the country in the wrong direction." So naturally, during this part of the drive (where there's not exactly much to see or do) we quoted memorable lines from the movie... like "what's the most annoying noise in the world?!". This day would be our longest drive—8 hours worth—to get to Omaha, Nebraska. And we saw a lot of very flat landscapes filled with corn. A lot of corn. And just in case we'd missed it, more corn.

From Omaha we set the GPS for Rockford (which meant crossing Iowa), and not much changed with the scenery... except that we started getting more hills as we approached Illinois. We got to the point that we were researching corn—did you know there are three types? The weather was also getting colder and colder (and much colder than we had expected for autumn) so by the time we got to Iowa, we decided made a quick stop to get some warmer clothing. We got into Rockford quite late but in time to have dinner with my uncle and his family... was so good to catch up with my cousin Sunshine—it had only been 20 years since we had last seen each other!

My cousin, Sunshine, and I

More on the trip next time x

US trip: a horseshoe and more bikes

The next morning we said goodbye to Margus and continued our journey east across the US. Our next overnight stop was Moab, where we had a day of mountain biking booked in. To get there though we had a long drive and lots we wanted to see... starting with a drive through Zion National Park.

In Zion National Park

Zion was a complete contrast to Yosemite from a few days earlier, yet still incredibly impressive and spectacular. The vibrant colours were captivating and around every bend was something new and amazing to stop and look at. We hadn't expected Utah to be such a treasure and so unfortunately didn't give ourselves enough time to really absorb the region as much as we would have liked.

Just past Zion

In taking a more scenic route from Zion to Moab, we took a road that first took us slightly south and over the Arizona border. Due to the limited time we had in the region we had skipped going to the Grand Canyon, however in researching the area we had discovered Horseshoe Bend, in Page, Arizona, would be a good alternate to visit. Located further up the Colorado River, the picturesque meander sits just outside of the Grand Canyon National Park and was well worth the drive and then short walk to see it. Al had fight his fear of heights to get as close to the edge as possible to get a good picture... meanwhile, I had heaps of fun seeing what my new wide-angle lens could capture at this stop!

Horseshoe Bend

Al at the edge!

From Horseshoe Bend, we headed back north and back into Utah. Monument Valley was filled with really interesting rock formations—some which we tried to just capture from a moving car, and others that we stopped to have a good look at. 'Mexican Hat' was particularly impressive, and proved a good place to stretch the legs, have a walk around, and break up the drive.

Mexican Hat, Utah

We finally got to Moab, where we had a quick takeaway dinner before settling in for a good nights rest... we had a big day organised the following day, with a guide and rental bikes booked so we could explore one of the best mountain biking areas of the world!

Amazing colours as the sun set over Utah

The trails at Moab were so different from what we're used to in Australia. Overall, instead of single-trail we're used to, we were riding across rocks marked with lines so we knew which way to go. Sections that we wondered how anyone could ride and in Australia we would be slipping on our guide (from Rim Tours—we'd highly recommend them!) reassured us would be grippy... and to our amazement it was, and the bike didn't slip or slide at all!

Al and our guide Sam from Rim Tours

It was a long but fun day in Moab... I enjoyed trying out a different bike (I rented a Juliana Furtado, made by Santa Cruz) and being challenged by different terrain. By the end of the day, we were exhausted and the hotel's heated pool was bliss!

My bike for the day—a Juliana Furtado

More on the trip next time x