If you missed Part I of this trip, read this post first!

I honestly don’t know how people drive safely in Colorado. Everywhere you look, the view is constantly like this:

And for those of you who have been to Colorado before, you know this picture doesn’t even do it justice. I mean, seriously – how do drivers keep their eyes on the road??  The closer we got to Pagosa Springs, the more beautiful the view became, and I, for one, couldn’t stop staring.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I completely forgot to take any pictures of our cabin. But I did snap a few of the view from our wraparound porch! This one ⇓ was taken from the front door, facing the driveway…

…and this one ⇓ was taken from the side. If the photo panned further to the right, you’d be able to see that the trees get even thicker. This was my favorite spot to sit and read – the air was clear, the view was spectacular, and the atmosphere was so calming. It did my heart good.

One of my favorite things we did on the trip was go whitewater rafting! My parents aren’t super outdoorsy, particularly my dad, but they had gone rafting on several trips they took together and knew they wanted to take the rest of us. We rafted the San Juan River with the guys from Pagosa Outside, and it was a BLAST! Our guide was hilarious, and I was really thankful that they put us in full wetsuits – the water in the river was snow less than 12 hours before we were splashing around in it! I have nothing but good things to say about that day.

Another place we visited that was really enjoyable was Chimney Rock! It doesn’t look very big in the picture below that I took from the highway, but trust me. It’s ENORMOUS.

Funny story (actually not really that funny), we ended up going to Chimney Rock twice! Our original plan was to check out Mesa Verde, but we decided it was a bit too far of a drive from where we were staying, so we looked for something a bit closer. Chimney Rock was only about 20 minutes from our cabin, so we drove up after lunch. We paid for parking and entrance to the area, only to find out after going on a truly dumb self-guided walking tour that we were too late for the actual hike up to Chimney Rock. Which the park volunteers neglected to tell us before taking our money. *facepalm* So basically, we paid to walk around a sidewalk for 30 minutes before going back to the cabin. We were very frustrated, but Dad really wanted us to get to explore the mountain, so we went back again later that week. And it really was incredible! I’m not a big history buff, but I love looking at old structures and imagining the people who lived there, and I’m always a sucker for a good view.

This is about as close as we were able to get – the trail leading closer to the rock mounds had gotten really scary, and they don’t take guests that way anymore. The pictures don’t even do justice to how huge they were.

Aaaaaaaaaand this is what happens when you try to get Daniel to take a picture of you jumping in the air on top of a mountain.

We could literally see for miles. One of the most incredible views I’ve ever seen.

The rest of the week was spent watching movies, eating, and taking turns washing dishes after discovering that the cabin we were staying in didn’t have a dishwasher. Lol. But it was an amazing week, regardless, and I hope we get to go back!

P.S. Oh and also, for the sentimental types: I met Daniel 8 years ago today, on August 2nd, 2009. EIGHT. YEARS. AGO. Time flies! ♥