Discover how to make the most of autumn in America's national parks. In this episode, we share a guide to stunning landscapes, hidden trails, and unforgettable fall adventures waiting to be explored.
Jennifer Broome; sweptawaytoday.com
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Mentioned in this episode: Mesa Verde Motel https://mesaverdemotel.com/
Fall's golden light transforms America's national parks into magical landscapes begging to be explored, and this episode serves as your ultimate autumn adventure guide with national parks expert Jennifer Broom.
The conversation begins with Acadia National Park, where the fiery fall foliage creates a spectacular backdrop against Maine's rugged coastline. Jennifer highlights Cadillac Mountain's distinction as the first place in America to see sunrise during fall months, along with unique features like Thunder Hole's dramatic water displays and Sand Beach's rare geological composition. For those seeking the quintessential leaf-peeping experience, the Blue Ridge Parkway connecting Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks offers an epic drive showcasing every autumn hue imaginable.
The discussion then shifts westward to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, where golden aspens complement the incredible ancient cliff dwellings. Jennifer's enthusiasm is palpable as she describes Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America, and shares insider tips about the park's two scenic loops and hidden, unmarked ruins that reward observant hikers on the Petroglyph Point trail. Her recommendation to use the charming town of Mancos as a base adds local flavor to the travel planning.
By November, Jennifer suggests heading to the Grand Canyon, where cooler temperatures and thinner crowds create ideal visiting conditions. She reveals Flagstaff's value as a strategic home base, not just for canyon access, but for exploring three distinct national monuments and discovering the area's surprising connections to lunar exploration and astronaut training.
Throughout the episode, Jennifer's passion for fall's transformative beauty shines through - from her descriptions of crisp "October skies" to observations about how autumn colors extend beyond tree leaves to ground vegetation, especially in desert landscapes. Practical advice about layering clothes, bringing headlamps for shorter daylight hours, and taking advantage of ranger-led tours rounds out this comprehensive guide to experiencing national parks during nature's most colorful season.
What are you waiting for? Grab your camera, pack some layers, and hit the road to experience these national treasures during their most spectacular season!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This transcript has not be read or edited by our
team.
Hi, I'm Alexa.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
And I'm Rory and together, we are the.
ROAMies, We are married.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
To each other.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Right?
We are a touring musical duo.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And our music has taken us to all kinds of places
all around the world and keepsus always on the go.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
So we hope you enjoy our stories and adventures while
running around working to keepall your plates spinning.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
And we hope to facilitate your busy lifestyle
and feed your inner travel bug.
Hi everyone, welcome back.
We are so excited again tointroduce you to Jennifer Broom.
If you haven't listened to theprevious two episodes yet, we
are talking about which nationalparks to visit during which
(00:45):
season of the year, and soJennifer is our national parks
expert.
And, jennifer, thank you somuch for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
We are so glad to have you, yeah, and I'll say, if
you hadn't listened to the lasttwo episodes yet, what are you
waiting for?
It's Jennifer Broom.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Thanks guys, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Well, let's dive into fall.
Where do we need to go in thefall.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Okay well, you can't talk about fall without talking
about leaf peeping and one ofthe best places to do that of
course going to be up in thenortheast and we are heading to
Acadia National Park.
It is such a spectacular spotto go to and if you love being
on the water, this is also aspot that you can really enjoy.
I love a couple of things aboutthis park.
(01:29):
First of all, cadillac Mountain.
That is the iconic spot in thepark to go catch either sunrise
or sunset.
When you're talking aboutsunrise, with that, as you get
into early October through earlyMarch, it is the first place in
the US to get to be able to seesunrise, so that's kind of a
(01:50):
cool fall fact for there.
You do need to be permitted todo that if you want to see it at
sunrise or sunset.
That's from mid-May throughmid-October.
So just letting you know theyare still doing that.
Make sure you get that permitbefore you show up and go.
Oh, yeah, yeah, but also too, Imean I can tell you I've
learned at some of the otherplaces everybody goes at those
(02:14):
prime times.
You know that the spots areknown for, but they are just as
spectacular.
If you go midday, you're stillgoing to enjoy if you go.
If you go up on CadillacMountain midday, you're still
going to enjoy.
If you go up on CadillacMountain midday, you're still
going to get a great view.
You're going to get anincredible experience.
So if you're not an early birdor don't want to deal with
(02:34):
driving in the dark after sunset, then you can still go during
the day and see it.
But a couple of things I reallydo like about this park.
In addition, of course, to theincredible fall colors that they
have, they have their oldcarriage roads, which just kind
of adds a little bit of historyto it.
That makes it fun when you'rein this just absolutely gorgeous
(02:56):
scenery that rides thecoastline.
There are several areas inparticular like natural areas,
that I love.
Jordan Park I'm sorry, jordanPond is just a beautiful serene
spot that you can go and enjoy.
They also have a beach there,sand Beach, which is very
unusual because it is one of thefew shell-based cold water
(03:20):
beaches in the world.
So geologically it's a reallyreally really rare and unique
there, and then they have one ofthose is just kind of it's like
a blowhole.
I'm almost certain it's calledThunderbolt, but it's it's a
blowhole, where it is very closeto the beach, where you can go
and you can just listen to thewater come in and then it just
goes whoosh.
So you know, you see watershoot everywhere.
(03:44):
Sound effects courtesy of jb.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
There you go nice, very nice, very nice yeah, yeah,
yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So that's kind of like for me.
I'm kind of like okay, that'san iconic one.
If you just want to do aspectacular scenic drive, then
I'm going to encourage you to goto shenandoah national park,
going through virginia and goinginto north carolina to hit the
blue ridge parkway out ofshenandoah national park, hit
the Blue Ridge Parkway out ofShenandoah National Park, hit
the Blue Ridge Parkway and thenextend that on and go into Great
(04:10):
Smoky Mountains National Park.
So you can kind of like do ifyou want to do an epic full fall
day drive you can hit both ofthose national parks in a day,
but that is just, you know, twoareas and of course it being
three states of Virginia, northCarolina and then the Great
Smoky Mountains, going on intoTennessee as well, so you can
(04:32):
get all of those beautiful fallcolors that the East Coast and
the Southeastern are known for,where you get from the beautiful
vivid yellow and orange to thebright red, to the rust.
You can get all those colorsthere.
so that's kind of like the epicdrive, I mean skyline drive, is
it's?
there's certain drives thatshould be on, like your top 10
(04:54):
list of what are my, you know,top 10 drives that I must do in
my lifetime in america, and thatthat's absolutely one of them
yeah so then we'll kind of goand let me take you into color,
which, by the way, also hasincredible falls, a little bit
different, because it is thegolden aspens that take the
stage in Colorado and in theRockies.
(05:14):
But one of my favorite nationalparks to do in the fall is Mesa
Verde National Park.
It was the first park dedicatedto the works of man.
It is home to Cliff Palace,which is the largest cliff
dwelling in North America, andit is like you have that, like
you really do have that audibleand really almost a full body
(05:34):
experience when you stand andsee it from the overlook, how
impressive it is, with multiplekivas, which are large
ceremonial circles where theywould have a fire in the middle
and the ancestral Puebloanpeople would do some type of
ceremony.
But to see multiple ones ofthose, and then you see what
(05:55):
could really be, I guess,classified as ancient apartments
, because they're built up andit's not just one level, it is a
multi-level and you may see inspots that it's two levels, it
might be three, four, five ofwhat's left.
Oh, it is absolutelyspectacular.
They do offer ranger led toursand I strongly recommend, if you
(06:20):
are okay, going up and downladders, cause it does require.
I believe it's four ladders.
If you are okay, going up anddown ladders because it does
require, I believe it's fourladders.
If you are okay doing that withthe full exposure because they
are wooden ladders, that justadds to the excitement and the
adventure.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
But if you do a ranger-led tour they do offer
them going up to Cliff Palace.
You get up close so it's coolto see it from the overlook.
So it's cool to see it from theoverlook but then also to be
able to go down and you feel sotiny standing next to these
incredible ancient structures.
They do have two loops, so withMesa Verde it is on top of a
(06:56):
mesa so it's about a 45 minutedrive.
I believe it's 21 or 22 milesbut it takes about 45 minutes.
I believe it's 21 or 22 milesbut it takes about 45 minutes.
That takes you and it isbasically between Durango and
Cortez in Southwest Colorado.
It's.
Colorado's quadrant of the FourCorners, and so it's very close
to a town called Mancos, which Ilove.
(07:17):
You know, it's just kind of acool.
I got to give a shout out toMesa Verde Motel.
Friends of mine own it.
So if you can snag a room there.
Yes, we'll add that to the shownotes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, they actually.
It's completely one of those.
They took an old property andmodernized it and it's got a
real cool vibe Got a greatcoffee shop, oh I love that that
(07:38):
also serves cocktails later inthe day.
So there you go.
But when you go into Mesa Verde, the drive itself is phenomenal
, and then you get up top andthere are two loops, driving
loops to do.
You can do both in a half day.
And so just to give you an idealike, give yourself, I suggest
going in the morning because itcan even in, especially like
(08:01):
early October, it can get stillhot in the afternoons.
But I would give yourself atleast a half day, but do the
Cliff Palace loop first, so thatyou can experience that, and
then go do the second one.
And the second one gives you alittle bit more background of
going and seeing pit houses,seeing the period before they
(08:22):
actually built the structures inthe cliffs.
I mean they went, they wereunderground, then they came
above ground, then they went,you know.
So it's kind of like lookingand seeing those different ways
that people lived, then alsoseeing the Sun Temple.
It's a beautiful, beautifulruins that you're able to walk
into and experience and justwonder what life would have been
(08:43):
like, you know, I mean manymoons ago.
And I would also say the museumup on the top is highly worth
going in and my favorite hike inthat park takes you to
Petroglyph Point.
It does start below the museumand so and I believe that one
opens at 8.30 in the mornings itis one of those where, again,
you know you have to sign in forit, but you go through and get
(09:07):
to experience kind of verydifferent scenarios that make up
all elements, in the bestworlds, of Mesa Verde National
Park.
So you get canyon views, youget to see petroglyphs, which
it's a huge rock art.
So it is just a huge panel.
That is the highlight of thatone.
A huge panel.
That is the highlight of thatone.
But as you're walking alongthat trail, you kind of want to
(09:28):
make sure you're looking behindand looking up as well, because
there are cliff dwellings thatare not marked, and I kind of
like that they do that becauseit means the curious ones are
the ones that spot it, and thereare multiple and there are
multiple ones, and I think it'snice to not necessarily mark
every single ancient site.
(09:50):
You know that when you look atMesa Verde National Park and
then very close to Canaan's ofthe Ancients National Monument,
which has the highest density ofarchaeological finds in North
America, they have somethinglike I believe it's over 6,000.
Wow, and it's incredible.
So if you love ancient history,you really do want to spend
some time in southwest Colorado,but I love that there's just.
(10:12):
You know they leave it to letyou be a little bit of that
explorer.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
And you have that opportunity on that petroglyphs
panel trail to look around andif you spot it, you know it's
kind of like, well, are you theonly one seeing it that day?
You know, I mean, there is thatelement to it.
So and then you get up and youget back up on top of the Mesa,
so you get the canyon views, youget the top of the Mesa views,
but it is truly it's special andrealizing what life was like,
(10:42):
you know, so many years ago.
So Mesa Verde is another one.
Plus, the weather is fantastic,especially in October, fantastic
in Southwest Colorado, and thenas you get into November, I
think that's the time to goexperience the Grand Canyon.
You know you've definitely lostthe heat there will be, I will
(11:02):
say, november is still a timethat you do have across the
Southwest some of the auto tourbuses and so you will see a
little bit of that on the SouthRim.
But if you go early in themorning you can have huge
sections of the South Rim, whichis the most popular part of the
Grand Canyon.
Yeah, you can have parts ofthat without a lot of people
(11:25):
around.
A lot of folks don'tnecessarily realize you can also
bike.
I know out of Flagstaff thatthere are a couple of outfitters
that provide the opportunity togo and bike the rim, so if
you're a cyclist, by all meanscheck that out.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
That'd be spectacular .
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Yeah, use Flagstaff as your base for the Grand
Canyon.
It's a 90-minute drive andsuper easy.
But Flagstaff in and of itselfis just an amazing city and a
great base because you can go tothe Grand Canyon during the day
, then experience some of thelunar legacy of Flagstaff and go
to you can go to theobservatory, which was where
(12:02):
they found Pluto.
But a unique thing about yeah,a unique thing about Flagstaff
is that every astronaut that hasstepped foot on the moon
trained in Flagstaff, and thatincludes the Grand Canyon.
It also includes three nationalmonuments that you can do in a
day.
So give yourself that, or evenwell, you need a little bit more
than a half day to do all three, but give yourself that time to
(12:25):
also explore the three nationalmonuments of Walnut Creek,
sunset and Wupatki.
Each are unique and differentand you know you go from cliff
dwellings and Walnut Creek toSunset, being a volcanic
landscape, and that's where youreally feel like maybe this is
what it.
You know it's as close as we canget on earth to walking on the
(12:48):
moon.
So you know, and kind offeeling like you're stepping in
the same footsteps as astronauts.
And then Wupatki has these justincredibly beautiful pueblos in
the desert landscape, and tosee those ancient pueblos and be
able to walk through those, youknow, it is kind of almost a as
you go and you do, kind of outof this world landscapes, you
(13:09):
also get almost kind of an outof body experience too when
you're walking through, ifyou'll give yourself that chance
to let the imagination run wildand imagine what life would
have been like if you lived,lived in one of those Pueblos,
so you know so there you go.
I mean, I think I got youcovered pretty good from leaf
peeping on the East Coast toenjoying the grandest landscape
(13:30):
of them all in the United States, and one of is amazing, I mean
it's the Grand Canyon.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
It was absolutely spectacular.
So the mornings, great time,get out there early.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Yeah, Get up and go catch that sunrise.
I'm a huge proponent of look,I'm a sunrise.
I feel like I'm a sunrise loverand a sunset chaser.
I love both timeframes for verydifferent reasons, and I feel
like in the fall you just getthe benefit of great weather, so
(14:15):
you get those crisp morningswhere you need to layer up a
little bit and it's really clear.
Yeah, I mean, it's the Octobersky.
There is something to it ofjust getting that bright, vivid
blue sky with the sun and itjust feels so nice.
And then you throw in there.
You know when you can get,whether it be the golden aspens
(14:36):
in the Rockies or you know, Imean throughout the southeast,
going into New England, and youget all of you.
You get those maples that arejust spectacular.
If you can't tell, fall happensto be my favorite season.
It's a good one.
It's one of those that.
I feel like people either loveor hate.
Some people are like, oh, whenfall comes, I know it's coming,
(14:58):
we're going into winter and it'sgoing to get so cold.
But there is somethingbeautiful about everything
changing colors and really thatseason of letting go and
releasing and going into aseason of rest.
And I just think nature does itso beautifully of allowing us
to enjoy the patchwork of many,many different colors and a
(15:19):
variety of different landscapes.
And it's not just the trees.
Especially as you get into someof those more desert and drier
landscapes, then you really cansee like the vegetation itself
changing colors.
You get it some, you know, whenyou are in, you know in the
Appalachian Mountains, but Ithink it's a little bit more
(15:39):
obvious when you're in, say ayou know southwest Colorado, or
going into northern Arizona,that you can really see.
You know it's kind of like payattention to how the ground
cover and really you should bedoing it everywhere but pay
attention to how the groundcover itself is also changing
colors.
It's not just the leaves on thetrees that are changing colors
(16:03):
for fall.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Yeah, yeah.
And for me it's funny when weget toward the end of the summer
, instead of me thinking oh,fall leads to winter, I'm
thinking fall's coming.
It's nearly the end of summer,Fall's coming soon.
It's more an excitement for me.
Yeah, I think it's soon.
It's kind of it's more anexcitement for me.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Yeah, I think it's too.
It's like if you live in areally hot place, you're just
craving.
When am I going to get thatfirst morning?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
That may be part of it.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
I mean I can remember when I was doing weather for a
decade in San Antonio, texas,and we would go months and not
get below 70 degrees.
And so when it did drop forthat first time, even if it was
68 degrees, you know it's likefinally getting a break and you
know so I think it is if youwere in those hotter climates.
You're craving to get thatchance to those cool mornings
(16:44):
coming.
Plus, I mean, it's also theseason of football and I really
like college football a lot sothat's a big bonus right there.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
I like wearing sweaters and stuff too.
Just you know that whole thewardrobe thing too.
But anyway.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Well, speaking of wardrobe, as you you know, when
you are going to national parksin the fall, definitely make
sure that you do plan to layerup.
Also, make sure that you haveyou know a set of at least light
gloves.
You always want to make sure totake those along and then to
have some type of you knowlightweight beanie to really
kind of layer up and then tohave some type of you know
lightweight beanie to reallykind of layer up.
And if you are going to behiking in the afternoons,
because it does start to getdarker earlier, make sure you
(17:22):
take along a headlamp becauseyou might need it.
It's just a good idea.
When the sun starts to evendrop behind in the mountains,
you know, it can start getting alittle dark.
So it's not a bad idea, ifyou're going to be a late
afternoon hiker, to have that.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Okay, cool.
One other little quickpractical question.
When you talked earlier aboutthe ranger tour, is that
something that you pay for?
Speaker 3 (17:44):
You know it does vary .
Many of them, many of them arefree.
I'm not going to say, I'm notgoing to say every tour, you
know, ranger led tour, or justtour in general in national
parks or in any of the unit, anyof the 433 units of the
National Park Service.
Sometimes there is a small feeto some of them.
The majority of them are free,but they do require a
(18:05):
reservation.
So, you know, make sure you dothat and I strongly recommend
those because you get so muchinsight and you get the chance
to ask questions.
You know you get somebody who'swell versed in the location, in
the landscape, in the subjectmatter, but then, you know, you
also get that opportunity to askquestions as you're going along
(18:27):
and to get that little insightand learn a lot.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
You know, it's.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
I try to jump on one any chance I get.
I just think it's it's thatopportunity to take advantage of
, you know, that tap intosomebody's wealth of knowledge,
which so many rangers, you know.
I always say I'm like in mynext life I'm coming back as a,
as a park ranger.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
It's not too late, I might still do it.
I might still do it at somepoint.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
I mean, I shouldn't knock myself out yet.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Right right.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Well, you know, I love, like, you know, when
you're going along differentplaces and the retirees that are
that are volunteering in thenational parks or working,
because you know there are somepeople that are that are working
seasonal, and then some peoplethat are volunteers that are
leading some of the tours, areleading some of the tours.
You know, I mean it's justactually just did that up in
(19:17):
Montana at Grant Coors RanchNational Historic Site and it
was volunteers, and but what?
Then they also get housing.
So they go and make acommitment of, okay, you know,
driving in their RV all over thecountry and then they get a
free spot to put their RV for acouple of weeks.
And all they have to do isvolunteer a certain number of
hours per week.
You know, it's kind of a sweetdeal.
(19:39):
So who knows, maybe, maybethat'll be me.
I would love it, I think.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
I'll have a good time .
We might join you there.
Yeah, the pivot for you is much, much shorter than for most
people, so hey, I'm alreadytraveling and checking them out.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yep absolutely Well.
Thank you so much for tellingus where to go in fall.
Yeah, we'll be back to our nextepisode with you, where you're
going to tell us where to go inwinter.
So we will see you guys on thenext one.
We hope we've inspired you thisepisode, so join us next time.
Please subscribe to rate andshare our podcast with your
(20:14):
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Or you know whomever, andplease like and follow us on
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Speaker 2 (20:18):
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Speaker 1 (20:30):
At wwwtheromiescom, that's right, that's
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We'll be there until next time.
Yeah, thanks for listening, bye, bye, bye.
No-transcript.
This transcript has not be read or edited by our
team.
Hi, I'm Alexa.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
And I'm Rory and together, we are the.
ROAMies, We are married.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
To each other.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Right?
We are a touring musical duo.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And our music has taken us to all kinds of places
all around the world and keepsus always on the go.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
So we hope you enjoy our stories and adventures while
running around working to keepall your plates spinning.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
And we hope to facilitate your busy lifestyle
and feed your inner travel bug.
Hi everyone, welcome back.
We are so excited again tointroduce you to Jennifer Broom.
If you haven't listened to theprevious two episodes yet, we
are talking about which nationalparks to visit during which
(00:45):
season of the year, and soJennifer is our national parks
expert.
And, jennifer, thank you somuch for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
We are so glad to have you, yeah, and I'll say, if
you hadn't listened to the lasttwo episodes yet, what are you
waiting for?
It's Jennifer Broom.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Thanks guys, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Well, let's dive into fall.
Where do we need to go in thefall.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Okay well, you can't talk about fall without talking
about leaf peeping and one ofthe best places to do that of
course going to be up in thenortheast and we are heading to
Acadia National Park.
It is such a spectacular spotto go to and if you love being
on the water, this is also aspot that you can really enjoy.
I love a couple of things aboutthis park.
(01:29):
First of all, cadillac Mountain.
That is the iconic spot in thepark to go catch either sunrise
or sunset.
When you're talking aboutsunrise, with that, as you get
into early October through earlyMarch, it is the first place in
the US to get to be able to seesunrise, so that's kind of a
(01:50):
cool fall fact for there.
You do need to be permitted todo that if you want to see it at
sunrise or sunset.
That's from mid-May throughmid-October.
So just letting you know theyare still doing that.
Make sure you get that permitbefore you show up and go.
Oh, yeah, yeah, but also too, Imean I can tell you I've
learned at some of the otherplaces everybody goes at those
(02:14):
prime times.
You know that the spots areknown for, but they are just as
spectacular.
If you go midday, you're stillgoing to enjoy if you go.
If you go up on CadillacMountain midday, you're still
going to enjoy.
If you go up on CadillacMountain midday, you're still
going to get a great view.
You're going to get anincredible experience.
So if you're not an early birdor don't want to deal with
(02:34):
driving in the dark after sunset, then you can still go during
the day and see it.
But a couple of things I reallydo like about this park.
In addition, of course, to theincredible fall colors that they
have, they have their oldcarriage roads, which just kind
of adds a little bit of historyto it.
That makes it fun when you'rein this just absolutely gorgeous
(02:56):
scenery that rides thecoastline.
There are several areas inparticular like natural areas,
that I love.
Jordan Park I'm sorry, jordanPond is just a beautiful serene
spot that you can go and enjoy.
They also have a beach there,sand Beach, which is very
unusual because it is one of thefew shell-based cold water
(03:20):
beaches in the world.
So geologically it's a reallyreally really rare and unique
there, and then they have one ofthose is just kind of it's like
a blowhole.
I'm almost certain it's calledThunderbolt, but it's it's a
blowhole, where it is very closeto the beach, where you can go
and you can just listen to thewater come in and then it just
goes whoosh.
So you know, you see watershoot everywhere.
(03:44):
Sound effects courtesy of jb.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
There you go nice, very nice, very nice yeah, yeah,
yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So that's kind of like for me.
I'm kind of like okay, that'san iconic one.
If you just want to do aspectacular scenic drive, then
I'm going to encourage you to goto shenandoah national park,
going through virginia and goinginto north carolina to hit the
blue ridge parkway out ofshenandoah national park, hit
the Blue Ridge Parkway out ofShenandoah National Park, hit
the Blue Ridge Parkway and thenextend that on and go into Great
(04:10):
Smoky Mountains National Park.
So you can kind of like do ifyou want to do an epic full fall
day drive you can hit both ofthose national parks in a day,
but that is just, you know, twoareas and of course it being
three states of Virginia, northCarolina and then the Great
Smoky Mountains, going on intoTennessee as well, so you can
(04:32):
get all of those beautiful fallcolors that the East Coast and
the Southeastern are known for,where you get from the beautiful
vivid yellow and orange to thebright red, to the rust.
You can get all those colorsthere.
so that's kind of like the epicdrive, I mean skyline drive, is
it's?
there's certain drives thatshould be on, like your top 10
(04:54):
list of what are my, you know,top 10 drives that I must do in
my lifetime in america, and thatthat's absolutely one of them
yeah so then we'll kind of goand let me take you into color,
which, by the way, also hasincredible falls, a little bit
different, because it is thegolden aspens that take the
stage in Colorado and in theRockies.
(05:14):
But one of my favorite nationalparks to do in the fall is Mesa
Verde National Park.
It was the first park dedicatedto the works of man.
It is home to Cliff Palace,which is the largest cliff
dwelling in North America, andit is like you have that, like
you really do have that audibleand really almost a full body
(05:34):
experience when you stand andsee it from the overlook, how
impressive it is, with multiplekivas, which are large
ceremonial circles where theywould have a fire in the middle
and the ancestral Puebloanpeople would do some type of
ceremony.
But to see multiple ones ofthose, and then you see what
(05:55):
could really be, I guess,classified as ancient apartments
, because they're built up andit's not just one level, it is a
multi-level and you may see inspots that it's two levels, it
might be three, four, five ofwhat's left.
Oh, it is absolutelyspectacular.
They do offer ranger led toursand I strongly recommend, if you
(06:20):
are okay, going up and downladders, cause it does require.
I believe it's four ladders.
If you are okay, going up anddown ladders because it does
require, I believe it's fourladders.
If you are okay doing that withthe full exposure because they
are wooden ladders, that justadds to the excitement and the
adventure.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
But if you do a ranger-led tour they do offer
them going up to Cliff Palace.
You get up close so it's coolto see it from the overlook.
So it's cool to see it from theoverlook but then also to be
able to go down and you feel sotiny standing next to these
incredible ancient structures.
They do have two loops, so withMesa Verde it is on top of a
(06:56):
mesa so it's about a 45 minutedrive.
I believe it's 21 or 22 milesbut it takes about 45 minutes.
I believe it's 21 or 22 milesbut it takes about 45 minutes.
That takes you and it isbasically between Durango and
Cortez in Southwest Colorado.
It's.
Colorado's quadrant of the FourCorners, and so it's very close
to a town called Mancos, which Ilove.
(07:17):
You know, it's just kind of acool.
I got to give a shout out toMesa Verde Motel.
Friends of mine own it.
So if you can snag a room there.
Yes, we'll add that to the shownotes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, they actually.
It's completely one of those.
They took an old property andmodernized it and it's got a
real cool vibe Got a greatcoffee shop, oh I love that that
(07:38):
also serves cocktails later inthe day.
So there you go.
But when you go into Mesa Verde, the drive itself is phenomenal
, and then you get up top andthere are two loops, driving
loops to do.
You can do both in a half day.
And so just to give you an idealike, give yourself, I suggest
going in the morning because itcan even in, especially like
(08:01):
early October, it can get stillhot in the afternoons.
But I would give yourself atleast a half day, but do the
Cliff Palace loop first, so thatyou can experience that, and
then go do the second one.
And the second one gives you alittle bit more background of
going and seeing pit houses,seeing the period before they
(08:22):
actually built the structures inthe cliffs.
I mean they went, they wereunderground, then they came
above ground, then they went,you know.
So it's kind of like lookingand seeing those different ways
that people lived, then alsoseeing the Sun Temple.
It's a beautiful, beautifulruins that you're able to walk
into and experience and justwonder what life would have been
(08:43):
like, you know, I mean manymoons ago.
And I would also say the museumup on the top is highly worth
going in and my favorite hike inthat park takes you to
Petroglyph Point.
It does start below the museumand so and I believe that one
opens at 8.30 in the mornings itis one of those where, again,
you know you have to sign in forit, but you go through and get
(09:07):
to experience kind of verydifferent scenarios that make up
all elements, in the bestworlds, of Mesa Verde National
Park.
So you get canyon views, youget to see petroglyphs, which
it's a huge rock art.
So it is just a huge panel.
That is the highlight of thatone.
A huge panel.
That is the highlight of thatone.
But as you're walking alongthat trail, you kind of want to
(09:28):
make sure you're looking behindand looking up as well, because
there are cliff dwellings thatare not marked, and I kind of
like that they do that becauseit means the curious ones are
the ones that spot it, and thereare multiple and there are
multiple ones, and I think it'snice to not necessarily mark
every single ancient site.
(09:50):
You know that when you look atMesa Verde National Park and
then very close to Canaan's ofthe Ancients National Monument,
which has the highest density ofarchaeological finds in North
America, they have somethinglike I believe it's over 6,000.
Wow, and it's incredible.
So if you love ancient history,you really do want to spend
some time in southwest Colorado,but I love that there's just.
(10:12):
You know they leave it to letyou be a little bit of that
explorer.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
And you have that opportunity on that petroglyphs
panel trail to look around andif you spot it, you know it's
kind of like, well, are you theonly one seeing it that day?
You know, I mean, there is thatelement to it.
So and then you get up and youget back up on top of the Mesa,
so you get the canyon views, youget the top of the Mesa views,
but it is truly it's special andrealizing what life was like,
(10:42):
you know, so many years ago.
So Mesa Verde is another one.
Plus, the weather is fantastic,especially in October, fantastic
in Southwest Colorado, and thenas you get into November, I
think that's the time to goexperience the Grand Canyon.
You know you've definitely lostthe heat there will be, I will
(11:02):
say, november is still a timethat you do have across the
Southwest some of the auto tourbuses and so you will see a
little bit of that on the SouthRim.
But if you go early in themorning you can have huge
sections of the South Rim, whichis the most popular part of the
Grand Canyon.
Yeah, you can have parts ofthat without a lot of people
(11:25):
around.
A lot of folks don'tnecessarily realize you can also
bike.
I know out of Flagstaff thatthere are a couple of outfitters
that provide the opportunity togo and bike the rim, so if
you're a cyclist, by all meanscheck that out.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
That'd be spectacular .
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Yeah, use Flagstaff as your base for the Grand
Canyon.
It's a 90-minute drive andsuper easy.
But Flagstaff in and of itselfis just an amazing city and a
great base because you can go tothe Grand Canyon during the day
, then experience some of thelunar legacy of Flagstaff and go
to you can go to theobservatory, which was where
(12:02):
they found Pluto.
But a unique thing about yeah,a unique thing about Flagstaff
is that every astronaut that hasstepped foot on the moon
trained in Flagstaff, and thatincludes the Grand Canyon.
It also includes three nationalmonuments that you can do in a
day.
So give yourself that, or evenwell, you need a little bit more
than a half day to do all three, but give yourself that time to
(12:25):
also explore the three nationalmonuments of Walnut Creek,
sunset and Wupatki.
Each are unique and differentand you know you go from cliff
dwellings and Walnut Creek toSunset, being a volcanic
landscape, and that's where youreally feel like maybe this is
what it.
You know it's as close as we canget on earth to walking on the
(12:48):
moon.
So you know, and kind offeeling like you're stepping in
the same footsteps as astronauts.
And then Wupatki has these justincredibly beautiful pueblos in
the desert landscape, and tosee those ancient pueblos and be
able to walk through those, youknow, it is kind of almost a as
you go and you do, kind of outof this world landscapes, you
(13:09):
also get almost kind of an outof body experience too when
you're walking through, ifyou'll give yourself that chance
to let the imagination run wildand imagine what life would
have been like if you lived,lived in one of those Pueblos,
so you know so there you go.
I mean, I think I got youcovered pretty good from leaf
peeping on the East Coast toenjoying the grandest landscape
(13:30):
of them all in the United States, and one of is amazing, I mean
it's the Grand Canyon.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
It was absolutely spectacular.
So the mornings, great time,get out there early.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Yeah, Get up and go catch that sunrise.
I'm a huge proponent of look,I'm a sunrise.
I feel like I'm a sunrise loverand a sunset chaser.
I love both timeframes for verydifferent reasons, and I feel
like in the fall you just getthe benefit of great weather, so
(14:15):
you get those crisp morningswhere you need to layer up a
little bit and it's really clear.
Yeah, I mean, it's the Octobersky.
There is something to it ofjust getting that bright, vivid
blue sky with the sun and itjust feels so nice.
And then you throw in there.
You know when you can get,whether it be the golden aspens
(14:36):
in the Rockies or you know, Imean throughout the southeast,
going into New England, and youget all of you.
You get those maples that arejust spectacular.
If you can't tell, fall happensto be my favorite season.
It's a good one.
It's one of those that.
I feel like people either loveor hate.
Some people are like, oh, whenfall comes, I know it's coming,
(14:58):
we're going into winter and it'sgoing to get so cold.
But there is somethingbeautiful about everything
changing colors and really thatseason of letting go and
releasing and going into aseason of rest.
And I just think nature does itso beautifully of allowing us
to enjoy the patchwork of many,many different colors and a
(15:19):
variety of different landscapes.
And it's not just the trees.
Especially as you get into someof those more desert and drier
landscapes, then you really cansee like the vegetation itself
changing colors.
You get it some, you know, whenyou are in, you know in the
Appalachian Mountains, but Ithink it's a little bit more
(15:39):
obvious when you're in, say ayou know southwest Colorado, or
going into northern Arizona,that you can really see.
You know it's kind of like payattention to how the ground
cover and really you should bedoing it everywhere but pay
attention to how the groundcover itself is also changing
colors.
It's not just the leaves on thetrees that are changing colors
(16:03):
for fall.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Yeah, yeah.
And for me it's funny when weget toward the end of the summer
, instead of me thinking oh,fall leads to winter, I'm
thinking fall's coming.
It's nearly the end of summer,Fall's coming soon.
It's more an excitement for me.
Yeah, I think it's soon.
It's kind of it's more anexcitement for me.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Yeah, I think it's too.
It's like if you live in areally hot place, you're just
craving.
When am I going to get thatfirst morning?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
That may be part of it.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
I mean I can remember when I was doing weather for a
decade in San Antonio, texas,and we would go months and not
get below 70 degrees.
And so when it did drop forthat first time, even if it was
68 degrees, you know it's likefinally getting a break and you
know so I think it is if youwere in those hotter climates.
You're craving to get thatchance to those cool mornings
(16:44):
coming.
Plus, I mean, it's also theseason of football and I really
like college football a lot sothat's a big bonus right there.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
I like wearing sweaters and stuff too.
Just you know that whole thewardrobe thing too.
But anyway.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Well, speaking of wardrobe, as you you know, when
you are going to national parksin the fall, definitely make
sure that you do plan to layerup.
Also, make sure that you haveyou know a set of at least light
gloves.
You always want to make sure totake those along and then to
have some type of you knowlightweight beanie to really
kind of layer up and then tohave some type of you know
lightweight beanie to reallykind of layer up.
And if you are going to behiking in the afternoons,
because it does start to getdarker earlier, make sure you
(17:22):
take along a headlamp becauseyou might need it.
It's just a good idea.
When the sun starts to evendrop behind in the mountains,
you know, it can start getting alittle dark.
So it's not a bad idea, ifyou're going to be a late
afternoon hiker, to have that.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Okay, cool.
One other little quickpractical question.
When you talked earlier aboutthe ranger tour, is that
something that you pay for?
Speaker 3 (17:44):
You know it does vary .
Many of them, many of them arefree.
I'm not going to say, I'm notgoing to say every tour, you
know, ranger led tour, or justtour in general in national
parks or in any of the unit, anyof the 433 units of the
National Park Service.
Sometimes there is a small feeto some of them.
The majority of them are free,but they do require a
(18:05):
reservation.
So, you know, make sure you dothat and I strongly recommend
those because you get so muchinsight and you get the chance
to ask questions.
You know you get somebody who'swell versed in the location, in
the landscape, in the subjectmatter, but then, you know, you
also get that opportunity to askquestions as you're going along
(18:27):
and to get that little insightand learn a lot.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
You know, it's.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
I try to jump on one any chance I get.
I just think it's it's thatopportunity to take advantage of
, you know, that tap intosomebody's wealth of knowledge,
which so many rangers, you know.
I always say I'm like in mynext life I'm coming back as a,
as a park ranger.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
It's not too late, I might still do it.
I might still do it at somepoint.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
I mean, I shouldn't knock myself out yet.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Right right.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Well, you know, I love, like, you know, when
you're going along differentplaces and the retirees that are
that are volunteering in thenational parks or working,
because you know there are somepeople that are that are working
seasonal, and then some peoplethat are volunteers that are
leading some of the tours, areleading some of the tours.
You know, I mean it's justactually just did that up in
(19:17):
Montana at Grant Coors RanchNational Historic Site and it
was volunteers, and but what?
Then they also get housing.
So they go and make acommitment of, okay, you know,
driving in their RV all over thecountry and then they get a
free spot to put their RV for acouple of weeks.
And all they have to do isvolunteer a certain number of
hours per week.
You know, it's kind of a sweetdeal.
(19:39):
So who knows, maybe, maybethat'll be me.
I would love it, I think.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
I'll have a good time .
We might join you there.
Yeah, the pivot for you is much, much shorter than for most
people, so hey, I'm alreadytraveling and checking them out.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yep absolutely Well.
Thank you so much for tellingus where to go in fall.
Yeah, we'll be back to our nextepisode with you, where you're
going to tell us where to go inwinter.
So we will see you guys on thenext one.
We hope we've inspired you thisepisode, so join us next time.
Please subscribe to rate andshare our podcast with your
(20:14):
friends.
Or you know whomever, andplease like and follow us on
Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
We're also on X and on all social platforms.
We are at TheRomies, that'sT-H-E-R-O-A-M-I-E-S, and our
main hub is our website.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
At wwwtheromiescom, that's right, that's
D-H-E-R-O-A-M.
I-e-s dot com.
We'll be there until next time.
Yeah, thanks for listening, bye, bye, bye.
No-transcript.
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