[To read part one of our vacation recap, click here.]

I didn’t plan to wake up early on the first day of our vacation. For some reason I woke up at 5:40. That is not rise ‘n shine time on my vacation timeline. I realized the sun would be up in the next 40 minutes or so and looked outside to see complete darkness and a gorgeous crescent moon. Remembering I had my tripod and a zoom lens I quickly got dressed in the dark. Jon, the sweet husband he is, groggily rolled out of bed to accompany me into the dark so I wasn’t alone…with his iTouch in tow.

Thankfully we remembered to bring light coats for our trip since we’re up in the mountains early fall time. The temps were quite chilly and we could see our breaths. Note to self: Buy my husband a smaller coat. The one he owns is too big and swallows him!

With the tripod set up, thanks to the helpful light from the iTouch, I wondered how close I could get for a photo of the moon with my rented lens.

ISO 3200 / 46mm / f29 / 4.0sec

Waiting for that second ::click:: seemed to take forever due to the low light. My husband even noticed the difference. I decided to rack it out to 200mm, the farthest my lens could reach, and see what I could get.

I was so excited to capture photos of the moon at this stage that I was dancing in the middle of the dirt road by the lodge!

I loved the hammered copper signs flanking the parking lot entrances at the lodge. I ended up snagging a slight flare off the light fixture.

The sun was soon to rise and I confessed to my husband I was going to be out there for a good hour or so. His smile quickly turned to a grimace because he was freezing and had to walk around to stay warm. Oddly enough I was doing just fine and we’d been outside for an hour already!

As the sun started to rise I started to get a little tired. After a long day traveling, going to bed late and then waking up so early I wished I were in bed under the covers. Until I saw the pink sky…

Can you see the slight white mark? Closer towards the top in the purple area just past the pink. That would be the moon I previously photographed.

I sent Jon a text and told him he was missing a pink and purple sunrise. He wrote back and said his cheeks were frozen and the bed was too warm to leave!

It’s amazing how fast the sun moves during a sunrise or sunset. You never notice the movement otherwise but when you’re sitting there waiting, watching, and taking photos the sun seems to move much faster than you’d expect.

I was enjoying the solitude. The quiet. The sounds of birds waking and saying hello to one another. And the chilly morning air. Speaking of birds, a magpie kept coming around and a few times he creeped up on me and I had no idea he had landed so close by!

I finally decided to call it a morning and headed back to our room. My yoga pants weren’t keeping me warm anymore and I wished I had some warmer ones!

Not your typical hotel lobby now is it?

Before I knew it we needed to pack up and head out after our one night stay at the Chipeta Sun Lodge & Spa. Unlike the big chain hotels we actually needed to check out because the lodge uses real keys for their doors! I cannot remember the last time I used an actual key for a hotel room.

For brunch we made plans to stop by Kate’s Place. I found out about Kate’s online and we had a wonderful breakfast. The location is open seven days a week, 7am – 2pm and breakfast is served all day. After reading the great reviews and seeing the menu online, I knew we’d have a great brunch.

The atmosphere is laid back, the employees are very friendly and the place was packed! Even the patio outside was full and people were waiting to get a seat. Jon was almost salivating for his choice of breakfast, a Chorizo Burrito:

Chorizo sausage, scrambled eggs, black beans & Monterey jack wrapped in a chipotle tortilla topped with housemade green chile sauce, sour cream & avocado, served with a side of homefries.

I think they forgot the green chile sauce though! HA! Jon must have forgot and didn’t notice because he loves green chile anything. Doubt he cared because there wasn’t a bite left on the plate.

I went with the Heart & Soul Breakfast. Simple, filling and just what I wanted that morning:

Two eggs served with white cheddar grits, a toasted English muffin (plus strawberry jam) and ham.

I almost went with fruit, instead of the grits, but I never tried grits and felt daring that morning. Plus, the thought of white cheddar sounded very appealing! Turns out I’m not a fan of grits. The texture gets me and I just can’t do it. The flavor was good but the texture made me turn up my nose.

Our time in Ridgway was over and it was time to head south, up and over Red Mountain and head west towards Mesa Verde. Our trip that day took a little longer because we stopped quite a bit, where we could, for photos. There were times I had to take the photos from inside the car or lean out the window because there was absolutely no where to pull over—the road cruised right along the cliff many times and if you stopped then traffic would back up. To say that at times I couldn’t look down was an understatement. Thankfully we cruised along the inside near the mountain rather the canyon. Otherwise I probably would have needed a tranquilizer.

The twists and turns were plentiful and I made sure to take my Dramamine that morning before we embarked. As a matter of fact, at times we could only go 10mph because of the tight curves and drop offs. Ninety percent of the drive over the pass was a simple two-lane road!

With all that said, the drive was absolutely beautiful. Stunning! We were driving through the area probably at the best time due to the changing colors and I’m so glad we took that route.

A fun fact, the highway is dubbed the Million Dollar Highway. Some say because of the views. Others say due to the amount of money it took to build the highway through that rugged area. A lesser known nickname for the highway, Highway to Hell. The curves alone could send someone over the edge if they don’t take the speed limits seriously, yikes! But to build the highway they even had to blow out large portions of the mountain to continue a road around a curve…

Notice that drop off on the side? No guard rail there. Maybe not look steep but that cliff goes and goes and goes! Thus the 10mph speed limit through this area we were in.

Do you see that line at the bottom of the sign? 133 years ago a gold ore wagon crossed the pass. Wow.

Abandoned mine building.

I don’t know how many times I pointed out the gorgeous views, the amazing historical mine buildings and of course, the foliage.

At one point I took a nap to feel a little better (elevation change makes me sleepy) and before I knew it we were arriving at Mesa Verde National Park. Although the drive does me in, I hope to take the trip again. I cannot stress how gorgeous this drive was. If you ever find yourself in the area for a trip, take Red Mountain, you won’t regret it. And as always, drink that water, you’ll need it to battle the elevation.

Next stop, Mesa Verde National Park!