[ALAMOSA, COLORADO] — Here’s an overview of the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado. A little bit of the Sahara in Colorado. What to do Great Sand Dunes National Park. ________________________ The U.S. has lots of natural wonders, but few compare to the incredible Great Sand Dunes in southern Colorado. Here in a sparsely populated agricultural valley, flat as a pancake with mountain ranges ringing on all sides, these dunes are one of the coolest natural wonders in the United States. It was thankfully quarried away as a national monument in the 1930s by Herbert Hoover and later turned into a national park. Despite its remote location in the middle of nowhere, over 400,000 people make their way here each year to ooooh
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[VAL DI FUNES, DOLOMITES] — I haven’t spent much time in Val di Funes, but I kept seeing pictures of this rifugio 👆 several times and I was dying to get here, I’d just never been over to that valley. For the longest time, I just couldn’t figure out where it was. Now I know. It’s called Geisleralm and it’s one of the best hikes in Val di Funes. When I started going to the Dolomites in 2015 and on, there just wasn’t much information or guides written in English, most of it was written for people who already knew where everything wass and were already familiar with all the three-way interchangeable naming of things in Italian/German/Ladin. It took me forever to realize that the
[GATEWAY, COLORADO] — Once the private ranch of the founder of the Discovery Channel, he has slowly built this hotel from a small, in-the-know conference center with a handful of rooms into a full-on resort, adding chunks of rooms and facilities each year until it is now one of the best resorts I’ve been to in the U.S. Its one of the best adventure resorts in Colorado. This is Colorado?? I thought it was all about mountains and skiing? Yup. But then there’s here. Western Colorado is a blurred line into the canyony parts of Utah. An hour south of ridgy Grand Junction — Colorado’s Orchard slope, also known as The Western Slope — sits the teeny town of Gateway, nestled in high-hipped canyon ridges that make
[OURIKA VALLEY, MOROCCO] — Here’s my review of Kasbah Bab Ourika an airy oasis and one of the best boutique hotel in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. Kasbah Bab Ourika is one of best hotels Atlas Mountains and the perfect base to explore the Atlas Mountains. And one of the best adventure hotels in Morocco. ______________________________ The road out of Marrakesh is a great unwinding. Leaving the crowded and bustling Medina behind, the criss-crossing crowded intersections and roundabouts, vehicles of every different size and shape. Donkey- and horse-drawn carts take their place alongside screaming mopeds, belching buses and trucks loaded with construction supplies and produce. Vendors selling everything out of their trunk on the side of the road or at a waiting stoplight. Well-dressed Moroccans and expats
[BRENTA DOLOMITES, ITALY] — Here’s my review of the BioHotel Hermitage a family-run boutique hotel in Madonna di Campiglio, the best hotel views in the Brenta Dolomites in Italy. During the ski season, Madonna di Campiglio attracts people from all over the world. During the “off season” — which I can’t believe they call it that, it is such a gorgeous time of year — it is uncrowded and the scenery is just jaw-dropping. _________________________________________________ We were sad to leave Milano, but we were jonesing for the next stop. After a quick lunch in quaint medieval Bergamo, finally we went, up into the Dolomites. Spindly little roads needling through small mountain towns, with pesky speed cameras the entire way. We threaded our way up the