Wednesday, April 30, 2014

#18 - Read the Entire Harry Potter Series

I just finished reading the final pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows... what an incredible journey it has been.  Oh man, my mind has been spinning for the 2 1/2 months I've been completely immersed.

I can't believe it's over...

As I mulled over different ways this post could go, I decided I wanted to keep it simple.  So below I have posted my favorite quotes from each book - each one has given me something.

Next time you see J.K. Rowling, tell her thanks for the ride...

Sorcerer's Stone

Chamber of Secrets

Prisoner of Azkaban

Goblet of Fire

Order of the Phoenix
Half-Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows

Monday, April 14, 2014

#4 - Visit Mesa Verde National Park & the 4 Corners

Over the weekend, I visited the only national park in CO that I had not previously visited - Mesa Verde.  And there was no other way to do it than to make it a weekend adventure with Kristen!

On Friday, we hit the road toward the southwest corner of the state.  We decided to take a more scenic route because spring has finally come to Colorado, so we took the most dangerous road in CO (and one of the most dangerous roads in the world)- the Red Mountain Pass.  Also known as the Million Dollar Highway, this highway lived up to its name and its reputation.  The twists and turns through the jagged mountains and cliffs made for quite the adventure.










Four Corners

Saturday morning, we made our way to Four Corners National Monument.  We were pleasantly surprised by how much fun we actually had spending some time here.  K's highlight was the fact that she got to put A Walk to Remember to shame, and my favorite part was touching 4 different states with one hand, and giving a nod to my grad school classmates for creating an imaginary university for a project located at the 4 Corners.  It was a really surreal feeling walking around all of the Native American shops around the edge, just floating from state to state.





Mesa Verde National Park

We then headed down the road to Mesa Verde National Park, a cool place that is known for its cliff dwellings that housed ancient Puebloans starting at about 400AD.  Although we came during the "off-season" and several areas were closed, we were still able to see some of the ruins - it was fascinating looking around and walking in the homes, cliffs, and mountainsides that they used to live in.








To complete the adventure, we visited one of the most beautiful towns in Colorado - Telluride.  Kristen had never been, so it was fun taking her to another fun place.  Aside from it being the off-season so just about everything was shut down, and the day turned cold and snowy quickly, it was still a wonderful way to end an incredible weekend.