Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

[zanzibar138]

I thought the horseback riding tour would appeal to you. It's run by the native Indians and I think that there is even one company that uses Native Indian horses.

OMG that is AWESOME! Monument Valley has just moved up a few spaces on the wishlist

 

[dgbg100106]

breathtaking... I loved this tour of Monument Valley.

You are inspiring me!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Amazing pictures from these updates. The star shots were great and I might be thinking of trying that one day.

 

[spiritsim]

Love the night pics so beautiful........

 

[Pinkocto]

I am just thoroughly enjoying this stunning photo tour, thank you so much for sharing all your gorgeous photos. So many of these places I had no idea even existed. Your hotel view is amazing.

 

[PrincessInOz]

OMG that is AWESOME! Monument Valley has just moved up a few spaces on the wishlist

Excellent. I should ask for a commission from the Navajo.

breathtaking... I loved this tour of Monument Valley.

You are inspiring me!

I know it's not a National Park; but it really is so beautiful.

Great pics!

Thank you.

Amazing pictures from these updates. The star shots were great and I might be thinking of trying that one day.

I hope you'll share your picture when you do.

Love the night pics so beautiful........

Thanks.

I am just thoroughly enjoying this stunning photo tour, thank you so much for sharing all your gorgeous photos. So many of these places I had no idea even existed. Your hotel view is amazing.

Thanks, Pam. There are so many beautiful places to visit in the US.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Road to Pagosa Springs 25 September 2013



Monumental Sunrise




It was yet another early start for me today; and I didn't even need the alarm to wake me up.

Have you ever thought about the irony of being on vacay when it comes to waking up early? I do.
I am, by choice, an early bird in real life but it's usually with the help of an alarm. However, if anyone were to ask me to get up extra early for work, I will resent doing so and will carry on like a pork chop. So why is it that when on holiday, you do the things that you intensely dislike when at home with such pleasure?


I think I may have mentioned that DH and I had the privilege of listening to the Australian photographer, Ken Duncan, speak in 2013. One of the things that I remember most about his talk was how he thinks the best light for shooting landscape is before the sun rises or after the sun has set. I was to remember his advise again this morning.

I hadn't really planned on getting up early on this morning. It just happened. Something woke me up and when I checked the time, I was surprised to see that I had been woken up at 5 am. Yes. Could you hear me screaming internally? I could. Are you frigging kidding me? 5 am.

But remembering where I was and inadvertently thinking about Ken Duncan, I decided to get out of bed to take a quick look outside. It was enough to snap me fully awake immediately and reach for camera and tripod; and with a great deal of pleasure. It was to be a Monumental sort of sunrise this morning; and it was almost as if the sunrise that I saw this morning was like a kaleidoscope into my soul and mind.



It was on this morning that I figured out the solution I had been seeking with regards to work. Remember that I had come to that realisation that my work situation needed to change during Mickey and the Magical Map at Disneyland? It was whilst watching the sunrise that I figured out three options that was acceptable to me with regards to work. And having resolved it internally, I gained a great deal of equilibrium back. Well.....at least I didn't feel like doing someone physical bodily harm whenever I thought about work anymore after this morning. It came down to me sitting down and having a chat with management about those options, which I did on my return home.



I took a few shots this morning and I had to do significant culling to get down to these few. These are among my favourite sets for this whole holiday. I hope you enjoy the pictures too.



5.15 am in the morning. Just me on the balcony and this view.






5.20 am. Someone else is out there.













5.30 am. That dirt road is starting to get a work out! There are other early birds out there.







5.45 am.







Its after 6 am now.








The sun is starting to rise above the horizon.







White light time.













Good morning sunshine.








East Mitten Butte








West Mitten Butte







Watching the sun climb over Merrick Butte


















And just like the promise of a new day, this year promises much for me on the work front. I successfully negotiated my first preference with work and am looking forward to the promise of a work situation for this year that is saner and more balanced than last year.



May we live in interesting times!



(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Breakfast at the View



The View Hotel only offers a buffet breakfast. On hindsight, we should have bought supplies for breakfast instead of dinner. Buffet breakfast is NOT cheap. For one night's stay, I was always planning on having breakfast here.....and yes, I did check out the price before I came. Our saving grace was that our server charged us the kids price for DS; rather than as the adult that he should have been classed as. And we also got 2 x $5 discount vouchers when we checked in. Between the kid's pricing and the discount vouchers, breakfast ended up being not too bad. But for anyone staying more than 1 night, I highly recommend shopping for microwaveable breakfast supplies as well.


The View restaurant served coffee, fruit juice and a reasonable selection of tea on offer. The coffee was strong; and given little sleep I'd gotten the night before, I wasn't complaining about the taste. I would have been happy to have it anyway it came!






I didn't grab a picture of the buffet area as there were always heaps of people around. The selection is pretty standard; but the Hotel does ration the protein quantities. They don't put out sausage or bacon and your server will grab a plate for you.






My breakfast plate with a selection of hot food. You could help yourself to these.






The pancakes were a hit with DS. They weren't a patch on the ones at Rose Walk Inn but they were good enough.






There was hot oatmeal available.






We also found a wide selection of pastry. I settled on the blueberry muffin.






DS and I lingered a little over breakfast. DH headed to the Trading Post to finish up his silver mining. He did buy a couple of pieces in here. The Trading Post stocks a selection of artisan/designer pieces. They don't compete with the stuff that you will find out on the dirt track, which is more mass produced. However, don't underestimate the stuff you'll find on the dirt track. I did see something I liked out there and regret not getting it.



I had to drag DH out of the Trading Post and push both boys into the car. Today's final destination was about 4 - 5 hours away, according to Google Maps. On our current track record, that was going to take about 8 hours!

 

[tiggrbaby]

What powerful sunrise shots! So glad things are getting better for you at work.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The photos are so beautiful. I am not surprised that this inspired you to come up with some solutions. I am glad that this gave you some peace of mind and better still that work accepted one of your proposals. I hope that you will be in a much better place this year.

Corinna

 

[ACDSNY]

I'm usually more of a sunset than sunrise person, but those pics were worth getting up for.

Cheers to a calmer 2014!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Very nice pictures of the sunrise. What a great start of the morning.

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Beautiful pictures, I'm enjoying a vicarious vacation with you as I'm not sure this road trip is something we will ever get to do.

Glad to hear to have your work situation sorted ... it can be hard to get the balance right. I'm very lucky that my boss is super accommodating and allows me to work family friendly hours throughout the year, but even then I am always exhausted by the end of December and really enjoy my lazy January at home with the kids!

 

[declansdad]

Great sunrise pictures!

 

[jedijill]

Those pictures are stunning! Worth waking up early for. Glad you came to some clarity with your work situation and it is resolving itself.

Jill in CO

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Beautiful pics!

I must admit that that part of the USA has never really interested me as I'm more of a lakes, mountains, and trees person. When I saw the Grand Canyon, I was underwhelmed. But your whole TR is making me rethink. The vibrant reds and oranges you are capturing in your photography are just beautiful. That hotel looks like the kind of place where I could sit out on the deck with a nice drink and just happily let the hours pass by.

Also, good on you for striking some work-life balance. I know exactly what that feels like - it's so relieving.

 

[zanzibar138]

Great shots! Good on you for making the most of being woken up early in the morning

 

[dgbg100106]

Those sunrise pictures are awe inspiring, and I can understand that they put you in a state of mind to sort work things out.

I guess I need to head to out to watch the sunrise for a solution also...

 

[ejud]

It was on this morning that I figured out the solution I had been seeking with regards to work.

Watching the sun climb over Merrick Butte

There ya go! That one!

Oh no- wait! This one!



Jud