One of our favorite accidental discoveries was Red Rock Park in Gallup NM. After an aborted attempt to camp at another park that left a lot to be desired, Sarah's keen eye caught a sign for Red Rock from the highway. The folks running the park were friendly and full of stories and the setting among the, you guessed it, red rocks was spectacular.
Driving through New Mexico we saw old desolate abandoned buildings everwhere we looked. If we had stopped to see them all we wouldn't yet be past Albuquerque. But we couldn't resist stopping for a few.
We finally got away from the snow and salted roads. The first real leg of our trip started with a car wash and then took us through some amazingly beautiful country, including a wind farm out in the boonies and the stunning Lake Meredith National Recreation Area.
While visiting our good friend Dan in Seattle we made a trip down to where city and sea meet. Being that this leg of the trip was so short, this was our only touristy activity, but it was enough to get some great shots.
We had an incredible time staying at the Izaak Walton Inn just outside of Glacier National Park in Montana. Essex MT is a flag stop along Amtrak's Empire Builder line. We spent a fantastic New Years trying both snowshoeing and cross country skiing for the first time. The latter we found much more difficult because gravity and a lack of friction make staying upright a difficult thing. We made good use of our Think Tank Shapeshifter backpack to keep all of our gear safe from the snow and weather (and falling in the snow) while we were out and about.
