Traveling Huntleys

Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.

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Pagosa Springs, Durango, Colorado

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Last Updated: July 20, 2026

Pagosa Springs sits at about 7,000 feet in the southern San Juan Mountains, tucked just north of the New Mexico border on the west side of the Continental Divide. That position gives it a milder climate than most of Colorado — over 300 sunny days per year and winters that don’t punish the way they do at higher elevations to the north. The town’s name comes from the Ute word “Pagosah,” meaning “healing waters,” a reference to the remarkable geothermal hot springs that have drawn people here for centuries. The Mother Spring in Pagosa Springs holds a Guinness World Record as the deepest geothermal hot spring aquifer on Earth, at over 1,000 feet deep. Combine that with its position as a gateway to the San Juan Mountains and Durango’s high-altitude Jeep country, and you have one of the most rewarding stops in all of southwestern Colorado.

A weathered barn with metal roof and abandoned tractor amid fall foliage near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, with the San Juan Mountains in the background
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Ouray, Mount Sneffels & Silverton, Colorado

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Last Updated: July 19, 2026

Ouray was established by gold and silver miners around 1875, when precious metals were extracted from these rugged and colorful San Juan Mountains. The mountainsides still show remnants of miners’ tailings and dilapidated structures — ghosts of a boom era that shaped this corner of Colorado. Today the area is all about tourism: ice climbing, hiking, mountain biking, and hundreds of miles of Jeep trails offer stunning views and a sense of genuine remoteness that’s hard to find anywhere else. Ouray sits about an hour’s drive south of Montrose, tucked into a dramatic box canyon in the San Juan Mountains — a setting so spectacular it’s earned the town the nickname “the Switzerland of America.”

An abandoned gold and silver mine building in the San Juan Mountains above Ouray, Colorado, remnant of the town's 19th-century mining history
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Lamar Valley, Mammoth, and Norris Geyser Basin

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Last Updated: July 18, 2026

Lamar Valley from West Yellowstone is over a two-hour drive one way — but every mile of it rewards you with geothermal wonders, wildlife encounters, and sweeping fall scenery. In the past we’ve stayed in Gardiner at the north entrance, which puts Lamar Valley much closer. Along the way, Norris Geyser Basin, Terrace Spring, Beryl Spring, Gibbon Falls, and Mammoth Hot Springs all make excellent stops. Yellowstone National Park — established in 1872 as America’s first national park — never fails to astonish us, and autumn is one of the most magical times to visit.

Golden cottonwood trees reflecting fall foliage along the road to Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
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West Yellowstone, Montana in the Fall

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Last Updated: July 17, 2026

West Yellowstone in the fall is typically less crowded than summer and a wonderful time to see fall foliage and Yellowstone’s many attractions. The risk is cold weather and snow — and we had both on this trip. Because of COVID, international travel was largely off the table in 2020, so many people were exploring domestically instead, and there were more visitors than usual for the season. The animals were getting ready for winter, putting on their coats and building up reserves, and the elk rut was in full and dramatic swing along the Madison River.

Old Faithful erupting with a massive steam plume against a clear blue sky, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
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Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks, Wyoming: Moose, Grizzlies & Fall Color

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Last Updated: July 17, 2026

Grand Teton National Park is in northwestern Wyoming, just south of Yellowstone National Park, established in 1929 and covering approximately 310,000 acres of some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in North America. We hadn’t been here in over ten years, and were looking forward to reuniting with the striking Teton Range — though wildfire smoke from blazes across the West would test our patience, nearly obscuring the peaks on some days. From Thayne, Wyoming it was a two-hour drive north along the Snake River corridor.

Jenny Lake with wildfire smoke filling the air creating a moody sunset at Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
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