“Travel dreams crossing the U.S.”

It has been a little over a month since I last posted a blog simply because I’m enjoying the time of my life fulfilling my dreams.
The photos displayed in this blog post and the next couple to follow identify my destinations across the U. S. from Grand Isle north of Burlington VT, to Cape Disappointment State Park in Washington State along with everything in between.

The newest addition to my travel arsenal is the Yakima Rooftop tent and annex which has been quite the conversation piece everywhere I have traveled. Many are intrigued with its design questioning me about the comfortability of my sleep and is there enough room.

Yakima Sky-rise Rooftop tent for two with annex.

Yakima Sky-rise Rooftop tent for two with annex.

Yakima Sky-rise Rooftop tent for two with annex.

My Yakima Rooftop tent is a two-person tent with plenty of room for me, and although my Yakima Cargo carrier prevents me from completely setting up the rain fly, on the cargo side so far I have not had any issues with rainwater entering the tent.

The annex has a beaded end that slides into the groves under the platform of the tent with two screen windows. The area is large enough for my chair, and a table allowing me to cook food and a place to sit for writing, reading and some great afternoon naps.

As the summer heat increase, I tried camping at elevations above six and seven thousand feet, but I have implemented a new travel rule which is staying north of U.S. interstate 90 towards the Canadian border to ensure cooler temperatures during the day and comfortable nighttime sleeping among the trees.

Because of the smoke from the wildfires, in Colorados, I sped through fairly quickly, but I will be returning for the sheer visual beauty at elevations above 10,000 feet for day hikes, backpacking and mountain biking.

My first stop in Colorado was the Great Sand Dunes located in southeast Colorado, west of Colorado Springs.
The magnificent sand dunes reminded me of my approach to the City of Rocks Campgrounds in New Mexico where your destination is visible from a great distance across a vast scenic vista.

I would recommend arriving early at the visitors center to plan a one or two days touring the park’s seven life zones of the magnificent sand dunes. There is an alpine tundra, subalpine, mountain forest, dunefields, sand sheet grassland, salt-encrusted plain or sabkha and of streamsides and wetlands.

The park’s campgrounds called Pinon Flats are situated in an area allowing for incredible views of the valley towards the sand dunes. So plan your visit as soon as possible. 🙂

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I believe my dreams of traveling began when I was four or five years of age with family trips. Yet over time, the ideas of adventure travel spurred on my imaginary backyard adventures dreams on my bicycle.

Television shows like Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kindom, with Marlin Perkins and the panoramic vistas shown in the John Ford, directed cowboy movies, shot on location in Moab and monument valley in Utah. I just knew I had to see with my own eyes those locations in person.

By the age of twelve, my travel desires became unimaginable with education as the priority in my life soon followed by a great job, then a family when my ideas of travels were placed on the bucket-list shelf of dreams.

It has taken a lifetime to appreciate and enjoy the reality of my adventures that were once childhood dreams.

MJL