Down South

The New Moab

Every off season I find myself wanting to head to the majestic land of Moab, what’s not to love, red rocks - hiking all the great neature. However I always find myself getting bid out by others. The place is just to popular! Being based out of Vail, Colorado it provides a quick drive, but you and everyone from Denver will meet ya there. 

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday we set out on an adventure to head South instead of West. Exploring Taos and the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Southern Colorado. 

5 hours south to Taos, we spent Thanksgiving eve at an adorable little glamping place called Hotel Luna Mystica, you can hear all about that here. Thanksgiving day we explored the town of Taos eating sliced turkey and peach pie out of the 4runner - with no utensils, might I add. For a good soak, we made our way down to Manby Hot Springs, nearby you also have Black Rocks Hot Springs to play in.

The night of Thanksgiving we packed up the car and headed to the Sand Dunes - about Two hours north from Taos.

Just outside the park there is a campground called Zapata Falls, which is open ALL YEAR ROUND, I would definitely recommend having a higher clearance vehicle to make your way, but if you take it slow enough even your Camry can make it up the road. The campground offers PLENTY of room with views overlooking Los Alamos, you can get a great view of the Moonset in the off season. The campground ended up being $11 a night. I highly recommended posting up camp here in the off season, being that the park closes their campgrounds in the winter. 

Waking up on Black Friday outside was like a dream! Having an early morning fire to warm up, we then headed into the park and played on the dunes for hours, and the best part… your kids can come (woof) seriously though - pups are allowed, BRING YOUR DOG (leased of course)!

I cant even begin to describe the magic that the Southwest offered, as always it was never enough time, I could come back time and time again and find hiking, skiing, hot springs and more adventures. Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado, in my personal opinion are the new Moab, with so much room - so many less people - and all the sights to see, head south next time you get the chance.