Springtime Has Arrived in the South – Trip Planning Time Underway!!!
By Marcella Meeks
Spring has arrived here in the south. Along with it, a whole lot of allergies going around. So far, I’ve been blessed and never had ailments form allergies but I know what those allergies do to people. I have family who suffer from allergies as well as asthma. Just be careful and well, all…
For several months I have been working on my vacation for this summer and have been trying to get all the kinks out of my itinerary. I know the typical vacation lasts about two weeks, but I am working on a two month vacation and have only got the first 6 weeks planned, booked, paid for and out of the way, so to speak, I have about three weeks left to cover before May! Wish me luck. Now that spring is here, it’s time to get things wrapped up as best as I can before May!
Talk about an epic trip! This year’s vacation is all that and then some. I have put a lot of time, hard work, money that I’ve saved along the way, and patience getting this vacation package together!
Since I am now officially a senior citizen, I am buying a senior’s pass from the National Park Service where I can get in all the national parks along with my family for free. I did it last year and it worked well – saved me hundreds of dollars on our trip last year.
There are state and national parks all over the place where we are going.
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May 31st thru June 3rd
Our first stop will be at Capulin Volcano National Monument. CVNM is an extinct cinder cone volcano – located at 46 Volcano Highway, Capulin, NM near Raton, NM. There are picnic tables available and dogs are allowed so bring a picnic basket for an enjoyable afternoon. https://www.nps.gov/cavo/index.htm
From there we will be heading North to Cuchara, Colorado to Dodgeton Creek Inn. https://thedodgetoncreekinn.com/ We’re staying there four nights. While we’re staying at Cuchara, we’ll drive over to Mosca about 75 miles one way to the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve. I’ll be able to use my senior pass here as well and the boys will be able to spend the entire morning out in the Sand Dunes. Word of caution: the sand dunes can get up to about 135 degrees during the day so it’s best to go out there before daylight and early morning hours. Always bring plenty of water. https://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm
June 4th thru June 6th
When we leave Cuchara, we’re driving over to Canon City, Colorado and spend a few hours at the Royal Gorge Bridge. https://royalgorgebridge.com/ We’ll take a picnic lunch with us and eat before spending the afternoon at the bridge. After a few hours of that, we’re driving over to Leadville (2 ½ drive).
We have a cabin booked for the next three nights at Sugarloafin’ Campgrounds/cabins https://sugarloafin.com/ in Leadville. The next day, we’ll take an afternoon ride on the Leadville train.
June 7th thru June 29th
The next step of our trip, we’ll drive over Gunnison, Colorado and stop off for groceries and much needed supplies (restock our coolers with meats and milk, etc.) before heading up to Lake City where we’re spending the next 22 nights at The Texan Resort. http://www.texanresort.com/new/index.html We’re meeting up with my friend Marjorie Bull and her family from Natchitoches, Louisiana. They’re staying at G & M Cabins https://www.gmcabins.com/ in Lake City for a few nights. My niece Sylvia and her family from Nacogdoches, Texas will also be joining us in Lake City for several nights as well. They, too, have a cabin booked at The Texan Resort for a few nights.
When we all get unpacked, and rested, and we all finally get together, we’re going to grill some burgers, sit at our fire pit and enjoy a long evening of relaxing and enjoying the fresh mountain air. The boys (and niece’s daughter) can fish and enjoy some fun at the park at the resort. Maybe a game or two of basketball or horseshoes!
The next day, we’ll all get our coolers ready for an afternoon picnic and head over to Creede. Between Creede and Lake City there are several waterfalls that we’re going to explore and then we’ll sit down for a long picnic! North Clear Creek Falls; South Clear Creek Falls; Copper Falls; and Treasure Falls. TF’s is located on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass.
By the time we spend the day driving around, and exploring the water falls, we can spend the evening again around the fire pits after having some hot dogs roasted on the grill and covered in hot chili and melted cheese! Who’s up for s’mores? I think all the kids will agree on this special treat – the grownups too!
We’re all going to the Mountaineer Theatre https://mountaineertheatre.com/ in town while they’re all in town and after they leave, every Friday evening we’ll be going as well. I think they have a Sunday matinee that might be fun!
Twenty-two nights is a long time but we need the rest. We need to get away and just enjoy some quiet family time in the mountains after everybody goes home. My grandson Kendray is familiar with Lake City beings as we go every year! He knows how to entertain himself! It will be wonderful as always and I can hardly wait till June.
Since my trailblazer has 4 wheel drive, we’re planning to drive the Alpine Loop pass over to Silverton and possibly Ouray, if we have enough time.
June 29
We’re heading over to Farmington, NM to visit family as we do every year. We’ll eat out and the next day, we’ll get up real early and head up to Cortez, Colorado. We’ll spend most of the afternoon visiting Mesa Verde National Park, https://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm nd have a little picnic lunch- another senior pass special, before heading over to Ouray – there, we’ll drive through town, stop in at a few shops and be on our way to Hanksville, Utah.
June 30th thru July 5th
We’re staying the next six nights at our cabin at Muddy Creek Mining Company.
https://www.muddycreekminingcompany.com/. While we’re there, we;’ll visit some of the state parks along the way such as Goblin Valley State Park and Capitol Reef National Park. We’ll also visit
Robber’s Roost and Hanksville-Burpee Dinosaur Quarry. We’ve never been this far before so it will be an exciting journey for us.
July 6th thru July 10th
If we don’t have a change of plans anytime soon, on July 6th, we’re heading off to Sedona, Arizona for the next five nights. We’re staying at the El Portal Sedona Hotel – A Luxury Inn.
The entire time we’re there, we’ll be out ad about. Sedena has some wonderful places to visit. We’ll have to do a lot of walking out on the trails but this adventure is well worth the wait and the walk. Here are several interesting finds in and around Sedona. Oh, you can bet there is more but this is a good starting place. Of course, we’re only going to be here for five nights and six days but we’ll cram as much in as we can. (Cathedral Rock, Chapel of the Holy Cross, Devil’s Bridge Trail, Bell Rock, Oak Creek Canyon, Broken Arrow Trail, Airport Mesa, Slide Rock State Park, West Fork Oak Creek Trail, Red Rock State Park, Boynton Canyon Trail, and Amitabha Stupa & Peace Park.)
July 11th & 12th
On the 11th, we’re heading back to Carlsbad, New Mexico – we might stop for the night in Tombstone, Arizona – if we do, we’ll be back in Carlsbad on the 12th and hold up there a couple of nights. We’re going through the Carlsbad Caverns this year and try to be out there that evening for the bat flight. We’ve missed this every year so it will be on our to do list when we get there. https://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm
Stay tuned to see where all we go in addition to the places mentioned in this article. If you can, plan a vacation on your own and take the family out.
I know I mention a lot of state parks to visit but years ago, I didn’t know how exciting and adventurous they really were. But we just didn’t or couldn’t fit it in our already bulging budget. Now, I regret that we
missed these things. My children never got to see some of it. My grandkids loves going to these different places, and I love the fact that I have a senior pass that wasn’t expensive at all and that we’re able to get in these national parks at no charge. Otherwise, we’d have to pass it up.
I’ll keep you posted as our itinerary changes…
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