Heading to the Southwest!

After much deliberation on where to vacation (our top choices were: Amsterdam, New Zealand and Kauai) we finally decided on hiking our way through the Southwest- completely random I know! We found inexpensive flights to Las Vegas and then made our way through Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and then Arizona. This was the first time we have taken a ten day vacation with the sole purpose to hike and visit National Parks.

By the end of our road trip I realized we had nothing in the way of souvenirs besides post cards because all we had done was hike, eat, sleep, drive and then repeat. Cameron and I have been fortunate enough to go on some epic vacations over the years, so this simple vacation was embarked upon with low expectations, which oftentimes equates to more fun. While I sift through the thousand or so photos I took, here are just a few to give you a taste of the Southwest through our eyes.

From primitive Nicaragua to posh Delray Beach

In Delray Beach, Florida there is this wonderful hotel named The Seagate Hotel. It is a boutique hotel, located close to the ocean and near many shops and restaurants. One of my favorite features of the hotel was the private beach club the hotel guests have access to. Upon check in we simply boarded a trolley and were driven to the front entrance of the beach club. We ate a leisurely late afternoon lunch and then spent the rest of the day swimming, walking along the beach and admiring the mad skills of the wind surfers.

Delray Beach on Dwellable

Romantic places

Maybe it is the cold weather or the upcoming holiday, but when I think of sand, sun and surf I automatically think of romantic getaways. While doing a little research on National Geographic Traveler, I came across the Top Ten most romantic hotels in the world. Ironically, three of the ten were located in either Bora Bora or Moorea. In honor of the upcoming holiday I thought I would share some photos of the most romantic place I have ever been: Moorea, Bora Bora being a close second. There is something about staying in a overwater bungalow, being able to dive into the water from your room and feeling like you are all alone hovering out over the water that is intrinsically romantic. So here is a little trip down memory lane. Enjoy! Where is the most romantic place you have ever been?

Goldfield and Flatiron Trail

We planned a hike in the Superstition Mountains, but were waylaid by the charming ghost town of Goldfield.

Cameron was speedy with the camera and caught this fun sequence of the gun fight at high noon.

I thought there would be more of a show, but it was all over pretty quickly.

Did you know cacti normally do not grow "arms" until they are over 100 years old?

Random large cage in the middle of the street.

Looking down on the town of Goldfield.

Cameron taking it easy in the sunshine.

Our first hike in the Superstitions.

Flatiron Trail, well more of a scramble.

The "jumping" cactus that I decided would be a good idea to kick to see how easily they really come off. Then in an effort to rip it off my shoe Cameron ended up with it attached to his finger. He was not happy with my judgement that day.

Vicious little cactus, but beautiful nonetheless.

There is a certain allure to the desert.

 The light changed just about every minute depending on where we were on the mountain.

After our hike we waited for the sunset to get some more silhouette shots.

Arizona on Dwellable