Traveling Huntleys

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

Wine Country

Dolores, Colorado and Mesa Verde National Park

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Last Updated: July 20, 2026

Dolores is a small but historically rich town tucked into the southwest corner of Colorado at an elevation of about 6,900 feet. Telluride and Durango are roughly an hour’s drive to the east, while Utah’s canyon country begins just to the west. What makes Dolores such a remarkable base is the sheer concentration of world-class archaeological sites within a short drive — Mesa Verde National Park, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, and Hovenweep National Monument are all within 30 minutes. We last visited southwestern Colorado about two years earlier in the spring, and returning in fall revealed a completely different side of this landscape. The area is steeped in the culture of the Ancestral Puebloans — known historically as the Anasazi — who built some of North America’s most extraordinary stone dwellings here centuries ago.

Ancient stone ruins at Canyons of the Ancients National Monument near Dolores, Colorado, with walls of hand-laid sandstone blocks still standing after nearly a thousand years
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Montana & Idaho Road Trip: Coeur d’Alene, Missoula, Garnet Ghost Town, Lewis and Clark Caverns & Billings

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Last Updated: June 22, 2026

Montana is one of the largest and least populated states in America — and one of our absolute favorites. On this leg of our Pacific Northwest loop, we pushed east from Walla Walla, Washington through northern Idaho before crossing into Big Sky Country. We would have loved to revisit Glacier and Yellowstone, but with New England fall foliage and a Florida winter on the horizon, we had to keep moving. What we did find along the way — a hidden ghost town, a cave carved by ancient seas, and a sandstone pillar signed by Lewis and Clark — more than made up for it.

Historic cabin with American flag at Garnet Ghost Town, Montana — a well-preserved gold rush ghost town managed by the BLM near Missoula
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Yakima, Kennewick & Walla Walla, Washington: Wine Country & Yakima River Canyon

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Last Updated: June 22, 2026

Leaving the lush evergreen forests of the Pacific Northwest behind, we traded rain for sunshine as we drove south from Kent, Washington through the Cascades toward Yakima. The landscape transformation is dramatic — within an hour, towering firs give way to rolling golden hills and wide open skies, signaling the beginning of Washington’s celebrated wine country. From there we traced a path east through Kennewick and on to Walla Walla, one of the most acclaimed wine regions in the American West.

Yakima River Canyon scenic byway, Washington — sweeping views of basalt cliffs and the Yakima River, photographed by Michael Huntley travel blogger
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Willamette Valley Wine Country & Westfir: McMinnville Pinot Noir, Spruce Goose & Salt Creek Falls

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Last Updated: June 20, 2026

Willamette Valley wine country was a couple of hours’ drive southeast of Astoria — and after a month of cold, wet Oregon coast weather, it was glorious to see acres of grapevines and sunshine again. The valley is home to some of the finest Pinot Noir wineries in the United States, with over 700 wineries concentrated in and around Dundee, Newberg, and McMinnville.

Michael Huntley physician travel blogger enjoying a glass of Pinot Noir at a McMinnville winery, Willamette Valley, Oregon
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