6/10/09 - San Juan Skyway Scenic Loop - Ouray & Telluride, CO

Celebrating Caroline's 40th birthday in style with some top-notch Colorado soaking, hiking, eating and drinking

5/27/09 - Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, MX

Making a quick trip down to Mexico to pick up our condo deed and check up on Casita Encantada

1/26/09 - Grand Canyon National Park - South Rim

Visiting the Grand Canyon for some winter hiking

1/11/09 - Valles Caldera National Preserve near Jemez Springs, NM

Snowshoeing with friends in the Jemez Mountains north of Albuquerque

The morning was still and clear: a perfect time to head out to the mountains north of Albuquerque and for Caroline and Scott to try out snowshoeing for the first time.  We loaded our rented snowshoes and other gear into the van and after a yummy group breakfast at Weck's Restaurant, friends Naomi, Petra and Tanya piled into the van with us and we headed north into snow country.  It was pretty nerve-racking at first, after driving for more than an hour only to find dry roadways and snow-less mountains.  But we persevered and finally came across the East Fork trail, marked with a small cross-country ski sign on a tree.  The snow looked more than plentiful - we were in business! 

Our party, headed up by Naomi, was comprised of three novices and two experienced snowshoe-ers.  Being two of the three novices, we weren't sure exactly what to expect; snowshoeing always seemed like something that, while handy if you need to walk across snow you might sink into, a lot of work that can be avoided by not snowshoeing.  In some places, it definitely seemed helpful to have the snowshoes, like we were moving with greater ease by not breaking through the top frozen layer of snow.  Since we were mostly walking on a frequently traversed path, however, most of the snow was pretty well packed.  Scott, of course, needed to spend time off the path to make full use of his equipment, and was surprised just how far you can sink into the snow even while wearing snowshoes.  Although fairly easy to move about in - after all, Naomi was able to show us dance poses  (more text & photos)

12/24 - 12/28/08 - Various southeastern Michigan cities

Scott & Caroline visit lots of family and friends during a brief, whirlwind holiday visit

By some amazing winter weather miracle, we arrived at Detroit Metro International Airport shortly after scheduled on Christmas Eve and spent an enjoyable evening at Scott's Mom and Dad's house in Dexter with his brothers and aunt and uncle, drinking Denise's now-famous alcoholic slushies, exchanging gifts and playing Wii bowling.  On Christmas morning, it was off to Lake Orion to celebrate with Caroline's family and to spend some QT with our energetic 2-year-old nephew, Christopher.  After this trip, Christopher definitely has a new 'favorite uncle' (even if he does only have one) - Uncle 'Cott!  Christmas night was the annual Brooks Family party at Aunt Sandy and Uncle Walt's, where we got to catch up with all of Scott's Brooks aunts, uncles and cousins.  Over the weekend, we managed to squeeze in visits with a few friends, Cousin Don's family and a quick visit to the outlet mall before flying home on Sunday night.  Although the trip felt a bit hectic and rushed at times, it was wonderful to see everyone and by Sunday we were ready to return home for some much-needed New Mexico winter sun!  Happy New Year, everyone!  We look forward to seeing some of you here in Albuquerque in 2009!  (more photos)

12/17/08 - Albuquerque, NM

Scott & Caroline's holiday greetings and 2008 Year-in-Review

Holiday greetings to all our Family and Friends!  Once again, we can barely believe another year has slipped by since our last holiday newsletter.  It has been a busy year (of course - we are the Brookses, after all!), but with slightly fewer exciting adventures as in recent years.  As many of you know, we closed on a house here in Albuquerque at the end of January, after living the free-and-easy renters’ life in 2007.  Our ‘new’ 25-year-old home, located in the foothills of Albuquerque’s Sandia Mountains, has required a bit of TLC.  Sometimes we still wonder what we were thinking, becoming homeowners again!

Much of our year revolved around the new house as, in addition to completing repairs typical to a neglected older home, we decided to do a somewhat extensive renovation of the Master Suite.  The renovation project included gutting the master bath, turning the existing hallway into a walk-in closet and building a larger laundry room in what was originally the master closet.  Over-budget and taking far longer than anticipated (of   (more text & photos)

12/14/08 - Albuquerque, NM

Enjoying an afternoon-into-evening of champagne cocktails, eggnog, Scott's delicious hors d'oeuvres and friends - new and old!

The house was decorated and spotless, the food was bought and prepared, the drinks were chilled and, most importantly, the major renovations of the year were finished - time to invite the friends! We spent a lovely Saturday afternoon and early evening, welcoming friends into our home and celebrating the holidays with food and (alcoholic) cheer!  The champagne cocktails and eggnog were enjoyed by all and the conversation was lively.  We had a wonderful time mingling with old friends and making new ones and hope our guests enjoyed themselves as much as we did.  Thanks to all who attended  for helping make our party a success (and for your wonderful hostess gifts!).  We hope to see you all again soon and wish you a joyful holiday season! (more photos)

11/30/08 - Oakland, San Rafael & San Francisco, CA

Frying turkeys, visiting friends and enjoying a visit to our old hometown

Having left San Francisco for Mexico at about this time 4 years ago, we decided that a visit to one of our favorite residences and some of our best friends was long overdue.  Ignoring the sad state of our finances, we hopped on a plane on Thanksgiving morning and flew to Oakland, home of the Oakland International Airport and conveniently, of our friends Jen and Tod.  After a brief morning stroll (our flight arrived at 8:30am!) on the sunny Alameda waterfront, the fog rolled in and we headed for Jen & Tod's beautiful view-home (although, sadly, we didn't get to see much of the view in the fog) in the Oakland Hills.  A short time after our arrival, friends Mark & Christine arrived and we all cooked dinner together in Jen's gorgeous remodeled (and humongous!) kitchen, while snacking on Jen's delicious baked brie and homemade hummus (ok, some of us were doing more eating than cooking).  Tod broke out some fabulous wines from his floor-to-ceiling-height wine fridge, and we proceeded to imbibe (a lot) while tending the  (more text & photos)

10/21/08 - Colorado Springs, CO - Pikes Peak, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and the Royal Gorge Bridge

Another action-packed overnight trip to Colorado

Even though we've been very busy, what with Scott now working full-time and helping Caroline with home staging activities after-hours, we were feeling anxious to see as much fall color as possible this year, before the leaves are all on the ground.  After working hard all Friday evening to de-stage a home that we were informed on Thursday was scheduled to close just over a week later (giving us only one weekend to dismantle the job), we hit the road at 6:00 am on Saturday and headed to Colorado Springs.  We had been so busy prior to departure that we didn't have much time to plan, and so we didn't really know what to expect (isn't that half the fun?!).  But the weather forecast was warm and sunny (unlike last weekend's thunderstorms, wind and rain) and hey, how bad can Colorado be, we reasoned. 

Upon leaving the New Mexico desert that we call home and entering the mountains of New Mexico as we headed north on I-25, the aspens were in full color and their fiery-yellow leaves were simply ablaze in the warm, fall sunshine.  Pay-dirt!  Our first stop in Colorado was the top of Pikes Peak.  Wow, just wow!  Although it was a difficult (and expensive!) drive to the top - Caroline had difficulty breathing as we climbed in altitude - it was worth it!  The summit, where we ended up, is at 14,115 feet and the vistas all around are so majestic and far-flung that it is similar to the view from an airplane.  Pretty cool.  After coming down the mountain, we took a very pleasant hike in the Red Rock Canyon Open Space (thankfully free-of charge, as we are on quite a budget these days), where we were surrounded by beautiful red rocks and colorful fall foliage.  After briefly scoping out downtown dinner options, we headed to our amazing Priceline score of a hotel, the Crown Plaza, a short drive from downtown and at $42 plus tax, an amazing  (more text & photos)

9/21/08 - Mesa Verde, CO, Four Corners CO/NM/UT/AZ, and Canyon de Chelly, AZ

An overnight trip to four states and another nation

This time of year is a beautiful time to travel in the Southwest (but as we always say, where isn't it?).  So we decided we are going to take full advantage of our weekends this Fall and see some of our local (well, within a 6-hour drive) sites that we've been meaning to check out.  First was a trip up to southwest Colorado to Mesa Verde National Park.  Leaving Albuquerque at 6am, we took a beautiful 4-hour drive up Hwy 550 through Durango, CO to the park.  We passed through the entrance station and took a winding but beautiful drive up to the top of the mesa, where the primary sites and our lodging for the night were located.  Mesa Verde is primarily known for its ruins.  Ancient ancestors of the current Southwest Pueblo tribes built pit houses (~600 A.D.) and more sophisticated cliff dwellings (1000 - 1200 A.D.) in this region, and many of the ruins are still in quite good condition.  We took a couple of very interesting tours (you're only able to visit the good stuff via tour), saw a huge bear, and logged a lot of mesa-top miles on the minivan before topping the day off with a nice evening of drinks and dinner back at the Farview Lodge.  As is often the case during our travels in the National Parks, there were as many Europeans as Americans there (nearly all French, German, and English - in that order), which always makes us think that there must be many Americans missing out on some of this country's 'greatest hits' (the best of America's landscape, history, ecology, geology, etc.).  Guess that means more room for us.

Sunday morning we woke up and decided to take a different route home.  We first headed for the nearby landmark known as The Four Corners, the only place in the country where four states meet (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico), ironically located in the Navajo Nation (more text & photos)

9/18/08 - Albuquerque, NM

Scott goes to work at a "real" job

Their accounts have lost significant value, their infrastructure crumbling... Will the government come in and save them?  If only we were talking about huge insurance companies or investment banks the answer might be yes, but as you can probably guess this little story is not about those storied financial institutions about which you've heard so much.  No, this sad tale is about the namesake of this website... namely, Scott.  Nearly four years after ditching their employment back in San Francisco, the money has finally run out.  The remodel and the trip to Africa pushed us over the edge, and Scott has decided to dust off his MBA and see if he can't put it to work (after all, there are still business school loans to pay, too!).  Although we had been warned by several people that our 'resume gap' (please see scottandcaroline.com for details on said gap) would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible for us to get so much as a job cleaning port-a-potties at the State Fair, it turned out that apparently people don't seem to care that much.  A week or two after applying for a few jobs, Scott was hired as a Financial Analyst (aaaahhh, the good ole days) at the University of New Mexico Hospital here in Albuquerque.  Will it be easy to head back to the 8 to 5?  Hardly.  I mean, two weeks of vacation per year?  You've gotta be kidding.  But the paychecks have started rolling in and we'll start settling into some normalcy for a while.  Hopefully not too normal.

Some of you might be asking yourselves, "what about that home staging business...you know, what's it called...oh yeah!  The Alluring Home.  Right, what happened to that whole deal?"  Well, it's still lumbering along.  While we really haven't actively sought business since last January  (more text & photos)

9/1/08 - Albuquerque, NM  (Shutterfly photo album)

Chris, Jacque, and not-yet-born baby Larry pay a Labor Day weekend visit

After plans to visit us last Memorial Day fell through, Chris & Jacque made the commitment to travel out to Albuquerque over Labor Day weekend to visit Scott, Caroline, and the snakes of New Mexico.  They arrived the Friday of Scott's first week of work, and he was already raring to enjoy his much needed long weekend with the Letts. 

Friday night was off to El Pinto restaurant to introduce our guests to the local cuisine and margaritas - though Jacque's 'condition' prevented her from partaking of any tequila (which served as an advantage later that weekend - pregnant ladies make great designated drivers!). (more text & photos)

8/18/08 - Kano, Zaria, Kaduna & Abuja, Nigeria; Atlanta & Albuquerque, USA  (Shutterfly photo album - Nigeria-Kano, Zaria, Abuja)

We experience a Muslim prayer service of grand proportions and make our way back to Western-style living at the Abuja Sheraton, before flying home

We would have like to stay another day and hire the same guide again, but in the morning (Friday), we decided to quickly visit the Mosque in Kano and drive on, in the hopes of making it to Zaria in time for the weekly Friday prayer service (like Sunday for Catholics).  First, we found the Emir's Palace (with more of the same "WHEYA IZ IT?!!!," from Gausil), which we weren't allowed to go into since we had no appointment.  It seemed to be bustling with visitors (we're doubting they all had appointments) and plenty of goats out front - which were everywhere in Kano, including being transported on okadas.  Then it was off to the Mosque.  Again, we were only allowed in the courtyard and not inside the Mosque due to our apparently obviously non-Muslim status.  We did get approached by a group of angry men telling us we were not allowed to be in the courtyard either, but Gausil yelled at them, telling them he was Muslim and we could be there if we wanted.  He claimed we wouldn't have been able to get as close as we did had we not been wearing our African clothes - another great reason for the Nigerian threads!

By the time we hit Zaria, about 90 minutes south of Kano, it was almost 2pm and time for Friday prayers at the Mosque & Emir's Palace compound.  Supposedly a "village," there are about 1 million people living in Zaria, and a good percentage of the men were also heading toward (more text & photos)

8/14/08 - Kano, Nigeria  (Shutterfly photo album - Nigeria-Kano, Zaria, Abuja)

Touring the ancient, walled, trade-route city of Kano

On Thursday after breakfast, we checked out of our hotel, Gausil came to collect us in the Toyota and we set off excitedly for Kano.  Based upon our Lonely Planet research, we had high hopes for what we would see in Kano, due to its status as a largely Muslim, very old walled city that was a major stop on the sub-Saharan trade route across Africa that is a bit of a tourist destination, if there is one in Nigeria.  After a pleasant 2-hour ride, we arrived in town and Gausil easily located our hotel, after a bit of asking around.  A friend of John's had kindly made us a reservation at the Prince Hotel, which also came highly recommended by our Lonely Planet guidebook.  John had written down the room category and the rate of 15,000 Naira on a sheet of paper for us.  They had the reservation for us but they were unwilling to honor the rate given over the phone, saying that the person who made our reservation for us must have made a mistake and wrote down the wrong amount - classic Nigeria (and Mexico, too, for that matter).  Now the  (more text & photos)

8/13/08 - Abuja & Jos, Nigeria  (Shutterfly photo album - Nigeria-Lagos, Abuja, Jos)

We breakfast with the family and leave Abuja solo, Jos-bound

This morning, Wednesday (week one - check!), we had one last breakfast with Trevor, Maria, and her (their) family.  We had a good conversation that morning, where we discovered that Caroline dances like an African (perhaps this explains her spraying wins), and that Maria and Quincy thought Scott was an Arab the first time they saw him (and thus might not stand out too much in the Muslim cities we were heading to).  Quincy marveled over the idea that we wanted to travel around and ‘see’ Nigeria and, upon seeing Scott consulting our Lonely Planet West Africa we had brought with us, the family all were very intrigued that a guidebook –  complete with maps – had been written about their country.  We also discussed some of the racism in Africa, how lighter-skinned Africans are seen as superior (and thus fetch bigger dowries) than dark-skinned Africans – explaining the advertisements for skin-lightening soaps and creams that we had seen.  This, while white people across America are applying sunless tanning lotions and/or subjecting themselves to harmful UV rays… apparently we all want to be the same, olive-y complexioned peoples. 

After discussing our touring plans in more detail, we think that Quincy was finally able to understand the type of travel experience (more text & photos)

8/12/08 - Lagos & Abuja, Nigeria  (Shutterfly photo album - Nigeria-Lagos, Abuja, Jos)

We attend church service with the family, have lunch at the Admiral's in Lagos and travel to the family's home in Abuja

The next day, Sunday, it was up early again, this time to go (back) to church for the usual weekly service.  It was the family's day to do thanksgiving and the remaining Americans (Greg and Geoff left on a morning flight today) participated in the ceremony (are you surprised?), with Scott offering a yam and Caroline a very ripe pineapple.  Post-service, we piled back in the van for a lunch of ram stew and jollof rice (very spicy, of course) at the house.  After a little visiting amongst ourselves, the Americans begged off, in desperate need of a nap after 3 busy days in a row.  We were taken back to the hotel, where we all passed out in our rooms and then enjoyed a pleasantly familiar meal together at the Italian restaurant in the hotel compound.

On Monday, feeling rested after yesterday's wedding recovery day, it was back to action.  First stop was lunch at “The Chairman’s” (aka “The Admiral”, aka “Favorite Uncle”) house.  Trevor needed to thank him for being the Chairman of the wedding.  While lunch was delicious (chicken, shrimp salad, moi moi, jollof & fried rice, Coke, Star beer and some Elvis Presley on the menu), the real treat was the tour of The Admiral’s water-  (more text & photos)

8/09/08 - Lagos, Nigeria  (Shutterfly photo album - Nigeria-Catholic church wedding!)

We attend the Catholic Church wedding ceremony and western-style reception for Trevor & Maria

8/08/08 - Lagos, Nigeria  (Shutterfly photo album - Nigeria-traditional wedding!)

We attend the Traditional Engagement/Wedding ceremony for Trevor & Maria

On Friday morning, we awoke to the sound of rainwater rushing in torrents out of the gutter outside our room at the Eko Hotel.  "Oh, no," we thought, "it's going to be pouring rain on Trevor and Maria's wedding day!"  We looked down the street from above, only to see women, heads loaded with goods, wading through the flooded street up to their knees in water and okadas, the ubiquitous motorcycle taxis of Lagos, driving slowly down the street in water half way up their tires, the drivers with their pants rolled almost to the knee in an attempt to keep them dry.  Despite the rain, we got up and prepared for the day, donning our Nigerian outfits custom-made specifically to be worn today - 2-piece outfits in a beautiful indigo blue color, accented with a light blue star pattern woven into the fabric - as previously instructed by the bride.  With all this rain, Caroline thought to herself that luckily, it didn't matter what her hair looked like, since her head would eventually be covered with her gold gele, or traditional Nigerian headwrap.  Now there's a  (more text & photos)

8/07/08 - Lagos, Nigeria  (Shutterfly photo album - Nigeria-pre-wedding)

Our trip begins, as we travel to Nigeria to attend friend Trevor's wedding and to see what this Nigeria place is all about

“What in God’s name are you doing going to Nigeria?” has been the most common reaction when we’ve told people our plans to head to Nigeria.  So, first off, allow us to explain WIGN our plans are.

Our friend from Michigan, Trevor, aka Dawger, akina (also known in Nigeria as) Tokunbo or simply Toks, found himself a lovely ladyfriend while on a long-term work assignment in the Baltimore area.  For purposes of this website we’ll call her Maria, since that’s her name.  It turned out that this Baltimore beauty was Nigerian, with the majority of her family living back in Lagos, Nigeria.  Next thing you know, they’re engaged (not quite as easy as it sounds when you’re following Nigerian engagement protocol – but I digress), and planning an African wedding.  As you’ve no doubt guessed, we were on the invitation list, and planned ourselves a nearly two week trip to see what we could see of Nigeria.

Now that we’re all up to speed on the reason for the trip, go ahead and kick back, grab a cup of palm wine, get your yellow fever and wild polio vaccines, take your anti-malaria pills, and read on.

Step one, buy expensive plane tickets and fly to Nigeria.  This accomplished, we landed at the Murtala Mohammed International (more text & photos)

8/03/08 - San Diego, CA  (Shutterfly photo album - Deanna & Ryan's Wedding!)

We travel to San Diego to attend friends Deanna & Ryan's wedding and for a little summer-time R&R

7/24/08 - Albuquerque, NM 

Four months after moving into our new house, we can actually use our master suite!

We knew when we made the offer on our house we'd be doing some updating.  One of the things we wanted to fix was the master bathroom shower, which seemed way too small (and from 1983).  So we thought, "hmmm, if we're going to work on the shower, we might want to put in a jetted tub, in which case we'll want to put in a new floor, and if we're doing that we should put in a new vanity.  Since we're making that mess, let's change the master closet into a laundry room, and transform the hallway and laundry closet into the new master closet - which means we'll need to create a new door into the master bedroom.", etc., etc.  You can see that one thing led to another, and our enlarged shower turned into a huge project.  Besides updating the look of the bathroom, we wanted to make our house less 'apartment-y'.  Getting rid of our long hallway by transforming it into a walk-in (more text & photos)

6/27/08 - Santa Fe, NM  (Shutterfly photo album - Santa Fe Opera Tailgate Pics!)

We join friends Erica & Eric for an elegant evening in the Santa Fe Opera parking lot...and breathtaking amphitheater!

3/08/08 - Albuquerque, NM   (Shutterfly photo album - Totally Awesome 80's Party Pics!)

Friends join us for a 'Vintage 1983' party at our new house

2/22/08 - Albuquerque, NM

We get a visit from Janet & Mark, formerly of San Francisco and soon to be of Washington D.C.

We had a delightful time catching up with the travelers, sharing meals and travel tales at El Pinto New Mexican Restaurant and the (more text & photos)

2/22/08 - Albuquerque, NM

Home Sweet Home - or - the Brookses change residences yet again!

We also have the exciting (for us, anyway) announcement that, as of January 31, 2008, we are the proud new homeowners of 1902 Quail Run Road NE!  It proved to be quite a stressful transaction and we are very happy to have that over with!  We will still be residing here in the Duke (more text & photos)

12/14/07 - Albuquerque, NM

Happy Holidays 2007!

Wow, as usual, it's been an action-packed year for us. 2007 has been a year of transitions, as we've relocated and re-adjusted to life not only back in the States but here in New Mexico, as well (which frequently feels, culturally, more like Mexico than the US!). For those of you can't quite keep up with us (and I don't blame you - I can barely keep track of us!), here's the rundown of our goings on this past year.

Back in January of this year, we returned to our home in Mexico - San Miguel de Allende to be exact - after spending the holidays with family in Michigan. We had left our home and lives in San Francisco just over 2 years earlier and funds were beginning to run low, so we decided it was time to think about relocating back to the States and try to build the bank accounts back up. We put our San Miguel condo on the market, but weren't (more text & photos)

11/08/07 - Albuquerque, NM

Almost two weeks after the party, we finally get to posting photos

While dressing up like cowboys seems like it would be a relative breeze when you live in New Mexico, it wasn't as easy as we (more text & photos)

The Brokeback Experience

10/12/07 - Albuquerque, NM

Scott's parents come for a visit to Albuquerque and the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

The rest of the week was spent doing typical Albuquerque-visitor stuff, such as a visit to the Atomic Museum, a drive up the  (more text & photos)

09/02/07 - Bernalillo, NM & Hatch, NM

Attending the New Mexico Wine Festival on Saturday, following it up with the Hatch Chile Festival on Sunday

The next morning we drove 2 1/2 hours south to Hatch, NM, the world capitol of  chile!  That is chile with an 'e' (what many Americans might incorrectly call 'peppers'), not chili (the bowl of spiced meat & beans from Texas). Hatch is just 45 minute or so from Mexico, but it felt even closer.  A very down-home fest it was, with plenty of chile ristras for sale, country music bands, carnival rides & games, and lots of taco stands.  The air was strong with the scent of roasting chiles and conversations in Spanish.  On our way home we stopped off for a visit of Truth or Consequences, NM.  It was once called Hot Springs, NM until it answered the call of the Truth or Consequences game show in 1950, which challenged any American town to change its name to the name of the show.  Though the name is no longer Hot Springs, it still has them, and we've heard it's now popular with tourists.  It was more like a ghost town when we wandered through. Perhaps we'll go back some day, perhaps we won't. (more photos...)

08/31/07 - Albuquerque, NM

Celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary in Scottsdale, AZ

08/28/07 - Albuquerque, NM

After over a week in Albuquerque, it's time to get out of town again

There are lots of nice resorts in the Phoenix area.  Looking at the Bidding For Travel website which helps you place Priceline bids, it looked like people had been getting all kinds of nice places for a steal this time of year (since it's over 175 degrees Fahrenheit right now).  The Marriott Camelback Resort, Hyatt Regency Resort, The Boulders...but we get the conference center.  Tomorrow is our 9th, and you can rest assured we won't be Pricelining our 10th anniversary trip!  But it'll be nice to go hang out by the pool (Hopefully in the shade.  Under misters.  With cold drinks.), and will undoubtedly be more relaxing than our road trip.  Two nights in the same place!  Happy Anniversary to Us.

08/27/07 - Albuquerque, NM - MAP of our completed trip to the Pacific Northwest

Summary of our 38 days, 23 beds, 2 countries, 8 states, 9 national parks and monuments and 7,300 miles on the road

It was definitely all worth it though - one of our favorite trips ever.  One of the things that made it so great was the amount of time we gave ourselves, which led to a leisurely pace with time to take detours.  We wanted to list our favorite sights and places along the way, but that's sooo haaard (we say in whiney voices).  But we'll jot down a short list of a few of our favorites anyway. (more text... and the Best Of list!)

08/18/07 - Albuquerque, NM

Some photos of our home

And no, we don't live on a hot air balloon, those are just some of the balloons that float over our house every morning. 

Just a note: our guest room is not pictured here, since it was just an empty room when these photos were taken.  We have since outfitted it with a bed, bedding and bookshelf, in preparation for our first houseguests arriving in October: Scott's parents, with SF friend Leane following closely on their heels!Looking forward to your visits!  (more photos)

08/17/07 - Albuquerque, NM (Shutterfly photo album - Utah Parks & Aztec Ruins)

After a quick detour to Aztec Ruins National Monument, we find ourselves back in the Duke City

We kept to our word and drove right by Mesa Verde, but were so intrigued by the Aztec Ruins National Monument in Northwest New Mexico that we simply couldn't help ourselves and had to stop.  Contrary to the name, as you might guess, these are not actually Aztec ruins, but (more text & photos)

08/16/07 - Cortez, CO (Shutterfly photo album - Utah Parks & Aztec Ruins)

Making damn sure this annual National Parks pass pays for itself - or - 'No More Red Rock!'

When you take Highway 12 east toward Bryce, you pass right through the Red Canyon area in Dixie National Forest.  Dark red cliffs and rock formations, a new bike path extending the length of the park, drive-through tunnels carved in the red rock, a site worth seeing in its own right.  We stopped to take a quick look before trying to catch the morning light (and morning temps) in Bryce, where we walked a short while into the (more text & photos)

08/15/07 - Panguitch, UT (Shutterfly photo album - Utah Parks & Aztec Ruins)

Veering off the agenda, we decide to take an unplanned detour to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, by way of Salt Lake City

08/14/07 - Springdale, UT (Shutterfly photo album - Columbia River & Utah)

Veering off the agenda, we decide to take an unplanned detour to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, by way of Salt Lake City

Backing up: On Monday morning, after checking out of the Boise Doubletree, and following a truck stop breakfast and a pretty but relatively unremarkable scenic drive through southern Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains, we stopped for an early pizza cafe dinner in Ketchum (near Sun Valley), ID.  We found it interesting to note how much of the landscape in Idaho, western Washington and western Oregon is reminiscent of much (more text & photos)

08/12/07 - Boise, ID (Shutterfly photo album - Columbia River & Utah)

Taking a break from the scenery, as we travel the path of the pioneers from Portland to Boise, ID

Being mildly curious about the advertised 'historic wagon wheel ruts' still visible from the mid- to late 1800s, when hundreds of thousands of pioneers came this way looking for a better life, we stopped off at one of the numerous-yet-not-easy-to-find-or-plainly-marked interpretive sites.   (more text & photos)

08/11/07 - Portland, OR (Shutterfly photo album - Columbia River & Utah)

Enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Columbia River Gorge, after a quick lunch-stop in Portland

Next, it was off for a scenic drive down the Historic Columbia River Highway, located just east of Portland and containing 18 miles of short trails leading to numerous beautiful, rushing waterfalls.  Nervous of the crowds we were likely to encounter in such a touristy locale on this beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon in August, we were pleasantly surprised at the relative solitude we found at the first four or five waterfalls we stopped at.  The only heavy crowds we experienced were at Multnomah Falls, the most famous and popular of the many falls on this short scenic drive.  Still, we braved the throngs of tourists, took our photos and jumped back in the van, traveling on to our last stop in the area, the beautiful and eerily dim and narrow Oneonta Gorge.  It was tempting, but Caroline ultimately refused to do the intriguing-seeming hike, as the narrow gorge necessitated hiking over a  (more text & photos)

08/10/07 - Florence, OR (Shutterfly photo album - WA & OR coast)

Our final day touring the gorgeous and never-ending coastlines of Washington and Oregon

Another day on the Oregon coast, and the sun is still shining!  If it took half of the day yesterday to hit our stride and find the coastal beauty that we seeked (suck?), today the majesty of the Pacific was on us from the start.  Even the inland portions of today's tourism was impressive, starting with the Munson Creek Waterfall just south of Tillamook.  At 319 feet, it's the tallest waterfall in the coastal range.  Somehow, we just don't seem to be getting bored with the waterfalls...

Gorgeous rocky-cliff coastline covered with redwood, sitka spruce and Douglas fir (like we know our trees all of a sudden).  Today we didn't feel like wasting our time eating, so we lunched quickly on delicious Subway brand sandwiches (Subway, eat fresh!) on an obstructed view (more text & photos)

08/09/07 - Tillamook, OR (Shutterfly photo album - WA & OR coast)

Driving west from Seattle to begin our drive down the Washington and Oregon coast

Leaving the summer gloom of Seattle (the sun didn't want to come out once Caroline arrived back in Seattle) behind, we headed west where we planned to drive down the Washington and Oregon coastline.  After a quick sushi stop in Olympia (another state capitol visited, check!), we made our way to Long Beach, Washington.  Long Beach bills itself as the world's longest beach.  The Michigander in us is skeptical about the claim, but it is indeed a very long beach.  The hard-packed sand makes it suitable for biking, driving, and mopeding on, and we saw all of these activities during our evening walk on the beach.  Seeing how it's also famous for its oysters (the town of Oysterville was just up the road), we couldn't resist sampling them for dinner.  The oysters, along with everything else here, are fried… and were not at all impressive.  We'll take the oysters of Tamales Bay, California or the southeast U.S. any day.  We spent the night at the cute, coastally, Boardwalk Inn, where we enjoyed the innkeepers fresh muffins in the morning  (more text & photos)

08/08/07 - Seattle, WA (Shutterfly photo album - Olympic NP & Seattle)

Liking Seattle much more than we expected

08/04/07 - Scott, Seattle, WA / Caroline, Grand Haven, MI (Shutterfly photo album - GHHS 20th Reunion)

In the middle of 'Pacific NW Roadtrip 2007', Caroline flies back to her hometown of Grand Haven, MI to attend her 20th high school reunion

Well, it turned out to be well worth the trip, so no disappointments there.  Caroline had a great time catching up with old classmates, especially Mary Jane and Brian, and seeing her twin sister and nephew, 9-month-old Christopher.  And there's talk of a 25th reunion! (more photos)

08/02/07 - Scott, Seattle, WA / Caroline, Grand Haven, MI (Shutterfly photo album - Vancouver & South Vancouver Island)

Coming back to the U.S., visiting Olympic National Park, then splitting up

But first, let's quickly catch up on recent travels.  Five more days visiting the beautiful southern shores of Vancouver Island - including riding bikes, swimming in the beautiful Sooke Potholes, hiking to waterfalls on the beach (Mystic Beach), and three more visits to Victoria.  We ferried out of Victoria to Port Angeles, Washington, on a sunny Thursday morning, spotting a few dolphin along the way.  Upon our arrival on U.S. soil, (more text & photos)

07/27/07 - Metchosin, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (Shutterfly photo album - North Vancouver Island)

Taking a top-notch hike and visiting friends from Mexico, before returning to our home base

Before pointing the minivan back toward Metchosin, we paid a brief but enjoyable visit to our friends Betty & Brendan who live (more text & photos)

07/26/07 - Port McNeill, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (Shutterfly photo album - North Vancouver Island)

End of the road - Cape Scott Park

After a couple hours of driving, at the end of the road, we parked the car and hiked along a beautiful, yet easy, wooded trail until we reached a clearing and there it was before us, the Pacific Ocean, beyond a wide stretch of soft sandy beach.  But the best part was the tiny cove, (more text & photos)

07/25/07 - Port Hardy, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (Shutterfly photo album - North Vancouver Island)

Waterfalls and bear-spotting

At mid-day, we stopped for lunch and a small touring break in the tiny community of Telegraph Cove.  A quaint, picturesque little place, entirely built on stilts over the water, not much goes on here except tour departures and eating/drinking at the over-hyped Killer Whale Cafe, where (more text & photos)

07/24/07 - Campbell River, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (Shutterfly photo album - North Vancouver Island)

Visiting tidepools and driving up-island for a few days of experiencing Vancouver Island's small fishing and logging towns and wildlife viewing

Just a little background: prior to embarking on Pacific Northwest Roadtrip 2007!, we had read a magazine article regaling the natural wonders and desolation of northern Vancouver Island: mile after mile of thick evergreen forests, snowcapped mountains in the distance, pristine lakes and oceans...and bears...lots and lots of bears.  We had to go!  With the exception of our distant spotting in Yellowstone National Park last week (more text & photos)

07/22/07 - Metchosin, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (Shutterfly photo album - Vancouver & South Vancouver Island)

Settling in to our home exchange on the Island

Upon our arrival in Metchosin, our delightful and hospitable home exchange hosts, Donna and Wally, welcomed us to their comfortable, tranquil home with a refreshing blackberry welcome cocktail while we sat on the covered patio in the light rain and got acquainted.  We passed an (more text & photos)

07/18/07 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Shutterfly photo album - Vancouver & South Vancouver Island)

Arriving in Vancouver and an awesome Priceline hotel

07/14/07-07/16/07 - Montana, Idaho, Washington (Shutterfly photo album - CO, WY, MT, ID, WA)

Heading through the northwest, way faster than Lewis & Clark did

The first stop after Yellowstone was Bozeman, Montana.  After looking at the perhaps the skankiest motel room at which we'd ever had the pleasure of checking out (it even had painted cement floors... and tried to charge $70!), we ended up staying in a new, surprisingly decent Microtel by the highway.  Downtown seems to be on the rebound after years of neglect.  We passed a pleasant evening in a nice pizza & beer place packed with young Bozemanians.

Although our next stop, Missoula, was quite close via I-90, we took the circuitous route through historic Virginia City to make sure we got to spend our quota of time in the car.  Virginia City is an amazingly intact 19th-century town that was purchased by a Montana rancher/history (more text & photos)

07/12/07-07/14/07 - Jackson, WY (Shutterfly photo album - Grand Teton & Yellowstone NP)

Exploring Grand Teton NP, and a quick driving tour of Yellowstone

Our first brief stop after Fort Collins, CO was Cheyenne, Wyoming, a rugged-seeming western town just days away from it's annual Frontier Days Festival (we're always missing the excitement by a few days).  It seems more 'real western' than any of the other cities we've visited, and we're already planning to make it back for the festival some day.

Next it was on to Jackson, Wyoming, our base for exploring for the next couple of days.  This is not a very rugged-seeming town... Built for tourism and t-shirt sales, it's there to house people looking to explore the parks or go skiing.  And explore the parks we did!  Luckily, Scott's Uncle Larry and Aunt Deb just visited the parks a couple of weeks ago, and were able to offer some great suggestions for things to do and see.  Thanks UL & AD!  We saw some beautiful scenery: mountains, lakes, waterfalls, geysers... you know - just what you'd expect.  Highlights were seeing elk, deer, (more text & photos)

07/11/07 - Fort Collins, CO (Shutterfly photo album - CO, WY, MT, ID, WA)

Starting our 5-week road trip from Albuquerque to British Columbia

We weren't technically scheduled to leave until tomorrow, but we just couldn't wait to hit the road.  So here we are at a Sleep Inn in Fort Collins, 11 hours or so after leaving Albuquerque.  That 11 hours included a lunch in the historic Union Street district of Pueblo, Colorado, and a stop at the not-so-historic outlet mall of Castle Rock (not to mention several traffic problems - we're not in sparsely populated New Mexico anymore).  It was a warm, Wednesday summer evening in Fort Collins, and this place is bustling!  The restaurant patios are full, there are plenty of people out in the streets, there's live entertainment in the main town square... most cities would love to have this kind of activity on a weekend.  Seems like a really fun college town.  Apparently we weren't quite ready to totally disengage from New Mexico yet... we ended up having margaritas and dinner at a Mexican restaurant tonight.  Tomorrow we head up to Jackson, Wyoming, where we're basing ourselves to explore the Grand Teton National Park. (more text & photos)