Colorado and New Mexico Road Trip

Since neither of us has to report to work any more, we planned a longer road trip for the beginning of the summer. Our garden and chickens can’t be left unattended too long, so we decided on a 2-week trip. We thought we would simply do an easy road trip down the east coast visiting friends, but a few weeks before going, I found direct flights from JFK to Denver that I could travel hack. So we decided to plan out a Colorado and New Mexico Road trip instead.

View of San Isabel National Forest

Choosing a scenic route for a Colorado and New Mexico Road trip

We chose our destinations with a glance at the map and minimal research. Our stops were: Colorado Springs, Taos NM, Pagosa Springs, Durango, Rico, Grand Junction, then back to Denver. Each stop would be 2 nights with the exception of our one-night stay in Rico.

After landing in Denver and picking up our rental car, we headed to our first stay in Colorado Springs. This area turned out to be much more sprawl than we expected. Like most people in the area, our Airbnb host was working for the Air Force which has a huge presence in Colorado Springs. It was a sobering reminder of my own time spent doing work for the DoD. Condo after condo piled upon each other – following along newly built shopping strips with every big retailer one can imagine. On the plus side, the condo we were staying in did have a excellent view of Pikes Peak, so we made dinner and took in the view with a few beers.

Our View of Pikes Peak

Save money by packing picnics

The next morning, we packed some sandwiches and started heading towards Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods. We quickly discovered that Garden of the Gods is a really neat natural feature which is swarmed with tourists even during the weekdays.

After seeing one too many tourists, we opted to skip Pikes Peak and quickly moved on – deciding instead to drive a bit further into the mountains, we headed toward Buena Vista. Now we were starting to see the natural beauty of Colorado we wanted to see. After looking for a nice lunch spot, we stopped on Tarryall Creek, climbed up to some trees for shade, and had a nice picnic.

Lunch near Tarryall Creek

As we crossed through our first mountain passes from Pikes National Forest, we came around a turn to the view of the snow capped peaks that are part of San Isabel National forest. Then, as we passed through those peaks into the valley where Buena Vista is located, we were greeted with even more impressive views. This was about how the whole trip was going to go – one marvel after another.

The view driving into Buena Vista

Consider doing some whitewater rafting

Driving into the valley toward Buena Vista, we came across the Arkansas River. Our rivers on the east coast are lazy and warm. The rivers in Colorado, are fast and cold. Supplied with fresh melted snow, and brown with the sediment picked up while traveling quickly through the mountains, these rivers make for exciting rafting and kayaking.

The rafting looked like a blast, maybe at some point on this trip we would need to get out on the water. For now though, satiated with all the stunning views, we packed up and headed back to Colorado Springs. We would have to get up at a reasonable hour to head to our next stop – Taos, NM.