See what C&I's travel page has to offer for those already planning their 2022 trips.
With school starting for many and around the corner for the rest, we're all winding down from our summer adventures. But if you think the way we do, you've already begun researching and planning next year's trips. It's a proven method of staying in that vacation mentality, keeping the dream alive until the next trek to a ranch, a resort, a spa, a festival, a river, or a fascinating historical site.
Not to toot our own horn here at C&I (toot toot!), but we don't have to look very far for seasonal travel ideas, no matter what our interests. Our travel page at cowboysindians.com offers years and years of recommendations, beautiful visuals, firsthand experiences from expert contributors, and everything else you need for your planning inspiration.
To see a sampling of what you'll find there, scroll down. Whether you're making notes for trips to check into or simply sitting at your desk daydreaming, let us be a constant companion:
From "My New Mexico," July 2020
New Mexico-born star Ryan Bingham on his home state: "New Mexico will always be where I’m from. I was born in Hobbs and lived there on and off in my childhood. The New Mexico landscape — both the wide bareness of the southeastern part of the state as well as the beauty of the high desert around Santa Fe and the northern area — has always felt like home and held a specific inspiration for me. There is just something in the air, something ancient and spooky but beautiful. It’s the Land of Enchantment." (Read More)
From "Rolling on the River: A Father-Son Adventure," June 2020
Contributor Jordan Rane on summer in Steamboat: "'A lot of folks will tell you that summer is their favorite time to be in Steamboat,' says Laura, a friendly local checking us in at the Rabbit Ears Motel, situated right beside the rumbling Yampa River and a few short blocks from the town’s summer rodeo grounds. 'Yeah, we’re ‘Ski Town, USA,’ but Steamboat is and hopefully always will be a warm, laid-back cowboy town at heart,” she adds. 'You guys picked the perfect time to come visit us.'" (Read More)
From "Go Grand," November 2019
Writer David Hofstede details the wonder and history of the Grand Canyon: "American geologist John Wesley Powell made the first recorded Colorado River passage by white men through the length of the canyon. Powell knew it was futile to try to take it in all at once or adequately describe it. 'You cannot see the Grand Canyon in one view, as if it were a changeless spectacle from which a curtain might be lifted, but to see it, you have to toil from month to month through its labyrinths,' he wrote. Having seen it, he was frustrated in attempting to convey it: 'The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. The resources of the graphic art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its features. Language and illustration combined must fail.'" (Read More)
From "Where the Buffalo Roam," June 2019
Contributor Brantley Hargrove on Caprock Canyons State Park: "I had come to Caprock Canyons State Park in part because of the promise of such unmediated encounters with rare and free-roaming megafauna. The park is home to the last herd of Southern Plains bison on the planet, saved from extinction nearly 150 years ago by none other than legendary cattleman Charles Goodnight. From the first moment I set foot here, I felt as though I had entered both a geologic monument to the passage of time and one of the few Texas locales that had managed to transcend it, unchanged by progress and development. Situated halfway between Amarillo and Lubbock, in a corner of the state not generally known for topographical attractions, it seemed like the perfect place to escape the city, to hike rugged trails through deep canyon fastnesses, and to sleep beneath brilliant stars normally obliterated by urban glare." (Read More)
From "Eternal Yellowstone," June 2018
Writer Jesse Hughey on visiting the park in September: "I had a single late-September day to visit Yellowstone National Park. One day, of course, would barely scratch the surface. You could spend a single day posting up at two or three different viewing areas with binoculars waiting to spot elk, grizzlies, or, if you’re fortunate enough, wolves, and go home perfectly content without having seen Sunset Lake, Emerald Pool, Tower Fall, Mammoth Hot Springs, or the most famous (and, for me, most underwhelming) park attraction, Old Faithful. But one day was what I had." (Read More)
From "Spas of the West: Let the Healing Begin," May 2018
Contributor Ellise Pierce wrote about The Allison Inn & Spa, among others: "In a toast to Oregon’s wine region, in the middle of the Willamette Valley (500 wineries and counting), the spa at The Allison Inn & Spa offers 'Pinotherapy,' a selection of treatments that feature the most favored grape of the area, pinot noir. Grapes are, after all, antioxidants. The Divine Wine facial includes a honey and wine mask and grape seed moisturizer; the Grape Seed Cure body treatment includes a crushed grape seed scrub to purify and exfoliate. Not completely relaxed yet? Order a Pinotini — a martini with a splash of you know what — from the bar." (Read More)
From "Camping the West," June 2016
Writer Antonia Petruse on camping Joshua Tree: "The Joshua tree got its name from Mormon settlers in the mid-1800s. The tree reminded them of the biblical character Joshua, who is described as raising his arms up when praying. We, too, were inspired by this park’s mystical landscape filled with twisted Joshua trees and giant boulders, which challenge the hiker in all of us to explore. You will experience a free concert every night performed by local coyotes under a spectacular sky. In all the camping we have done, there is definitely something special about the sky here. We highly recommend taking a night hike — give your eyes 20 – 25 minutes to acclimate to the darkness, and go explore with your camera." (Read More)
Remember, this only scratches the surface of what you'll find on C&I's travel page. Start your daydreaming now!