Washington State

Washington Coast

First thing we did when we got off the plane was get our rental car and headed to Ocean Shores, WA. We loved Ocean Shores beautiful rocky beaches with a darker sand than we were used to seeing (i'd only been to Florida before this). When we came in the tide was going out so we could walk out really far and saw sand dollars everywhere! The water was chilly we went in November an overcast day but was worth it to see for the day.  

Seattle

The next couple days we spent our time sightseeing Seattle and took in the city’s most famous sights on our short trip. There are so many things to do in Seattle make sure to see these places below. We stayed right in the heart of downtown at the Marriott hotel. The location was perfect with quick access to all of Seattle's best attractions.

The Space Needle

Nothing is more Seattle than the Space Needle. With just one picture of this iconic landmark, you know right where you are. A short walk from downtown this Seattle sight was worth it. Built in 1961 the space needle embraces the mid-century modern design with the sweeping curves and futuristic looking accents. The tower was originally built for the 1962 World’s Fair, but still today the top deck gives a pretty good view of Seattle for tourists and locals.

Pike Place Market

Next on our tour of Seattle was to the iconic Pike Place Market. The market is comprised of hundreds of individual stalls selling anything from flowers to fish. The size of the market is nothing short of impressive. Allow the better half of a day to check out the market. Pike Place Market covers roughly 12 square city blocks along the water’s edge. We enjoyed lunch at the deli.

Whale watching tour





On our last day we took a drive up to Everett to do a whale watching tour with Island Adventures. We thought because they guarantee that you will see whales or they will take you out another time we would use them. Unfortunately we did not see whales on our trip but they did give us passes to come back for another complimentary ride and hopefully will have better luck next time. Nonetheless the boat ride was gorgeous going out from Everett through the straights and seeing all the islands and marine life we saw sea lions and birds. We still haven't been back to use our passes but hoping to go back soon Washington State is beautiful and has a lot of to see.










Have you been to Washington? What would you add to our route?
 As always all of our opinions are our own.

Four Corners Monument (Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah)

An interesting roadside attraction to visit if you find yourself driving through Southwestern Colorado, Northwestern New Mexico, Southeastern Utah, or Northeastern Arizona is Four Corners Monument, a sight to behold, as it is the only place in the country where 4 states intersect. When visiting the Four Corners monument, you will have the opportunity to stand in all 4 states at the same time. Although there is not much to actually do in the area besides photographing the monument and browsing through Native American crafts, it’s one of those unique things to do just to say that you did it.

You can stand in each state separately or in the middle of the marker, which is the technical spot where all 4 states meet. During your visit, you are bound to see people doing all sorts of crazy poses to get their hands and feet within all 4 states at the same time (back handstands, down on their hands and knees, etc.). One of the best photos is a group of 4 each standing in a different state or a couple each planting their feet in 2 different states. Regardless, while standing in line waiting your turn, it is quite entertaining to watch the creative ways everyone is taking their photos. The line is long too we ended up waiting 45 minutes and in the desert make sure to bring an umbrella help get you out of the sun. Sign posted also says limit of 3 photos only to keep the line moving faster so think of those poses while in line.

While I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to visit Four  Corners, it’s a cool thing to say you’ve done. I'm always saying I wish I could be in more than one place at once and since seeing "A Walk to Remember" when Landon takes Jamie to the state line, I thought it was the sweetest thing ever! I've wanted to go and say I've been in four places at once!!

Tips

*Fill up your tank well ahead of reaching the monument as there are no gas stations around and the next is at least a 30 minute drive. Also use the restroom at this time if needed.

*Bring with a water bottle and snacks. Driving in this desolate area of the country, restaurants are few and far between.

*Be aware that the National Parks Pass is not valid at this attraction.

*Bring with a camera in order to take your photograph by the monument.


*Bring sunscreen and an umbrella.

*Bring with plenty of cash if you plan on buying Native American crafts. Prices can add up quickly and most vendors do not accept credit/debit cards.

Address, Pricing, and Hours

Location: 597 NM-597, Teec Nos Pos, NM 86514

Pricing: $5 per person they say cash not accepted on the website but we paid with VISA, I think it speeds the line up to pay cash so that's why they prefer it.

Hours: Friday of Memorial Weekend – Sept. 15: 8:00am – 8:00pm
September 16 – October 31: 8:00am – 6:00pm
November 01- March 31: 8:00am – 5:00pm
April 1 – May – Thursday before Memorial Weekend: 8:00am – 7:00pm

*Park is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Year’s

Zapata Falls, CO

Zapata Falls it's about 12 miles from the sand dunes.  Make sure if you make the trek up there you have a vehicle with four wheel drive, the road up is about 3-4 miles dirt road. Very rocky and a lot of the cars we saw going up kept bottoming out. Once we got to the top we did the half mile hike to the falls since we still wanted to see the sand dunes before heading home.

The hike in is a gradual uphill hike took us half a hour to get to the top and down. Be prepared to get wet once you get to the top you have to cross the river and the water is ice cold! Few times I didn't know if I was going to make it but continued on and once we got to the cave entrance and saw the waterfall.

I was so thankful that I continued on. It was the coolest waterfall I have ever seen. Once you enter the cave you see the little falls and than when you go back alittle further you see the bigger falls. I wish I would have brought my go pro to climb further up into the bigger falls, I didn't trust going in with my iPhone.  I think coming back in the winter would be really pretty to see the waterfall frozen and the river may be froze over so you might not have to get wet to see it.

At the top they also had a campground we had no idea was up there and the sites seemed pretty nice and had nice views. Once you get in though on that road you may not want to leave again, just in case you forget the eggs and have to run into town.

Has anyone else been to Zapata Falls? What did you think?

The Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

Hiking the dunes

Exploring the sand dunes is a must do when visiting this national park. The park entrance is $15 for a week. Hiking is best in the morning or closer to sunset. That’s because the sand is scorching during the heat of day. Just make sure you bring bug spray we noticed as the sun went down we were swarmed with mosquitoes!

Also, bring plenty of water and be prepared for a workout hauling yourself to the top of one of the dunes is no small task you will slide with every step causing double the work. And remember: there aren’t any maintained trails. I carried my phone inside my jacket in an attempt to keep the sand out, but a plastic bag would have been better. I ended up finding grit in various places and it took awhile to clean.

Daytime activities include splashing in Medano Creek, which is always a blast. The water flow changes throughout the year, too. You could have plenty of rushing water or only a small trickle. When we were there, the creek was very cool and reached just below our knees, making for an easy crossing to the dunes.

 Shortly after crossing the river we saw people sledding down a dune. The only person who looked like he was doing anything fun was a guy sliding down while standing on what looked to be a snowboard. I read that some people go to the dunes to ski in the winter, but that would be so much work without ski lifts.

Driving up Medano Pass Primitive Road

If you have a capable 4-wheel drive vehicle with high clearance, driving up Medano Pass Primitive Road will give you another unique perspective into these lands. You’ll have to navigate creek crossings, deep sand, rocks, and other obstacles.

You may even need to deflate your tire pressure to 20 psi when the sand is soft and dry. There’s a free air station in the Amphitheater parking lot, but bringing your own air compressor is a smart move. We didn't know this when we went back so we didn't chance going back as far as some of the other jeeps, being in a bigger Dodge truck and no cell service didn't want to chance it this time. But next time we go up we will be prepared!

The camping at Pinon Flats looks really neat a lot of the sites have views of the sand dunes and I bet the sunset and sunrises are remarkable.




Has anyone been to the Sand Dunes? Have any tips for hiking up the dunes? Or favorite camping sites at Pinon Flats?

Mesa Verde, CO Moorefield Camping

Mesa Verde is a 6 hour drive down from Denver. We left after I got off work at 3 pm so we ended up getting in alittle after midnight and were worried we wouldn't have much to pick from at the Morefield Campground, 4 miles inside the park gate.

Once we arrived we stopped are the trading post and found our name taped to the window with our tag to add to a site of our picking and a map. When we got more into the campground it was really spread out and weren't really sure what we were getting into but we finally picked a site on the UTE Loop and couldn't have been happier with the site when we woke up in the morning. We had a gorgeous view of a couple mountains and deer feeding outside our tent by our picnic table.

Multiple bathrooms around the campground so you didn't have to walk far and they were lite all night long. Also had heavy duty garbage containers to keep bear out. Showers were at the trading post which was within walking distance but we ended up driving over when we needed to shower it was kind of far away and didn't want to walk back with wet flip flops.

Camping fee was $30 a night and an additional fee for the park pass to get in was $20 so it was really reasonable the only downfall was that we couldn't have a campfire but that wasn't the campgrounds fault. Colorado has been really dry and to be expected mid summer to have a fire ban.

Later that day we about 18 miles further into the park to the cliff dwellings and they were incredible. My family went a few years back without me, I had to work :(. So I had only seen pictures which didn't really intrigued me to want to drive down. But I'm glad we finally did it. You won't be disappointed if you have never seen them.

One of the things I didn't realize is you have to buy tickets to take a tour of the cliff dwellings they sell them at the museum right before entering into the cliff palace so just keep that in mind. It was amazing to think this was carved by our ancestors years ago. The hike to get up to the dwellings was intense hard to know what they were thinking or how they picked/ended up in this area.

Has anyone else gone to Mesa Verde? What was your favorite part?

The Springs Resort and Spa in Pagosa Springs, CO

As we were driving down to Mesa Verde we thought we would stop at the Springs Resort. Living in Colorado for 10 years we have never gone and are really glad we did. It's a five hour drive from Denver so hard to get down unless you plan a weekend trip down.

Enjoy the relaxation of natural hot springs at The Springs Resort & Spa in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. These waters have been utilized for hundreds of years for healing and relaxation. Soak and relax in the 23 different hot mineral pools. Home of the World's Deepest Geo-thermal Hot Spring at an astounding 1,002 feet deep and feeds all of the resort's soaking pools.

Here are the temperatures of each of the pools, I copied from the website.

Overlook - 108

Sunset Social Club - 106

Tranquility - 100

Boulder - 101

Blue Lagoon -

Dancing Waters -

Columbine - 109

The Burg - 92

Treasure - 100

Paradise - 100

Aspen - 103

Lobster Pot - 109

Crick Tub - 92

Marco Polo - 98

San Juan River - 56

Waterfall - 102

Venetian - 104

Serendipity - 100

Clouds in my Coffee - 102

Summer Breeze - 108

Cozy Cove - 110

Top O' The Mornin' - 98

Twilight - 106

River Bend - 105

The Cliffs - 105

They also have an adults only area on the upper deck with a tropical feel, palm tree umbrellas and fire pits. Which was one of our favorite areas and have cocktail servers coming around taking drink orders. Next time we go up there I hope we can stay the night at the resort and enjoy soaking in the pools alittle longer our favorite was the waterfall or the burg which was in alittle pod by the cold river but had hot water pumped in to make it the perfect temperature. These have to be my favorite hot springs in Colorado thus far.

Have you been to Pagosa Springs? What do you like to do there? Any hot springs that you have been to that you would recommend we check out, please comment below. We are always up to going to hot springs.

Steamboat Springs, CO KOA camping

The KOA is next to the highway we didn't hear anyone in our area mention anything about highway noise from US40. We stayed for the weekend in a deluxe campsite. Some of the other sites are closer together, they only allow one tent per site for 6 people, but we really enjoyed site 135 since it was alittle bigger. It was second to the last campsite along the river and was the only site that had an opening into the river. Not that you really wanted to go into the water, way too cold still from the snow run off. Also, running faster than I've seen in the past, but still nice to be able to walk over and rinse your hands off.

Since I was last at this campground they have made a few changes. Bathrooms have been totally redone. Grounds, pool and overall facilities are excellent. They have mini golf for the kids nothing fancy but something for them to do. In front of our site they had a horse shoe pit and a big open space, we brought corn hole to play with friends and plenty of room to do that.

We saw a lot of people come by fishing and paddle boarding, braver than we are!  Steamboat is a gem of a mountain town. Off the hook hiking, kayaking, skiing and mountain biking.

Fish Creek falls short hike in from the park entrance. Small fee to enter $5 per vehicle, but worth it.

Has anyone else gone camping up in Steamboat? Where do you like to stay? Any must see hikes or events we should see?