Leaving the Colorado

The next morning it was time to leave. We had spent the last two nights camped in a National Forest Campground along the Colorado River in Castle Valley, using it as our 'base of operations'. There are some amazing National Forest campgrounds along the Colorado River - the ones at the Big Bend being especially spectacular - but with it being a Friday when we first arrived, we were lucky to find a spot at all. I love the Colorado River Scenic Byway, with the road meandering along the river as the narrow canyon gets ever deeper as it approaches Moab.....

Upriver at the other end of the scenic drive, at Dewey Bridge, the canyon walls are much shorter. We stop to take one final photo of the kids....before heading out into the sprawling ranch lands...

We head back into Colorado and head south, taking the scenic San Juan Skyway south through the mountains. It's a spectacular drive along a winding mountain road, with snow-covered peaks on all sides, and vast stands of golden aspen. I had wanted to take photos of the dolls hiking in the mountains, but wasn't feeling well that day, so only managed a few scenery shots....

As we leave the state of Colorado it seems like a good place to take a short break, before continuing on into New Mexico and all our adventures there.  We've been home for ten days now, and even though I've been focusing on looking back at our trip, life at home has still continued on. It's late autumn here, the trees have turned brilliant colours, and the leaves are falling. Plus it's almost Hallowe'en. So, time to take a short break and see what my other kids are up to.....

Fall colours don't last very long. Lisa and Nami are loving the bright reds....