Today’s post will be short and sweet on words—I’ll let the pictures do most of the work!
Last week we vacationed to Moab, Utah. Since we live in Nebraska it made sense to do kind of a circle through Colorado, hit up Moab (which is near the western border of Colorado) and then drive the southern highway of Colorado on the way home. By doing this we were able to change up the scenery a bit on the way there and back.
Welcome to our road trip:
Entering the Rocky Mountains (Colorado)Lake Dillon in Colorado First scenic stop in UtahHiking at Hidden Valley Ranch… we never did find the bottle of ranch😉On the drive to some archesHiking up to Corona Arch, no worries we just had to cross the tracks, not follow them😅Bowtie ArchBowtie Arch
Corona ArchPinto ArchArches National Park
Delicate Arch (this is Moab’s signature arch)
Ice cream break in Moab
Driving back to Colorado Colorado—cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde
***The cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde are some of the most notable and best preserved in North America. Sometime during the late 1190s, after primarily living on the mesa tops for 600 years, many Ancestral Pueblo people began moving into pueblos they built into natural cliff alcoves. The structures ranged in size from one-room granaries to villages of more than 150 rooms. While still farming the mesa tops, they lived in cliff dwellings, repairing, remodeling, and constructing new rooms for nearly a century. In the mid-1200s, the population began migrating to the south, into present-day New Mexico and Arizona. By the end of the 1200s, most everyone had migrated away. ***Info noted at nps.gov
Cliff PalacePetroglyphs!!Square Tower House Overlook A.D. 1200-1300Oaktree House A.D. 1250 Fire House CliffLong House OverlookNordenskiold OverlookOn the drive Treasure Falls in COOur cabin in South Fork, COThe Clay Mine Creede, COHiking in Creede, Colorado
Looking through these pictures I’m reminded all over again that we have an amazingly, creative God! He didn’t have to bless us with an array of color as he paints the sunrises and sunsets each day, or allow us the challenge of climbing and hiking his self-made obstacle courses through rigid mountains.
Landscapes aren’t in short supply, God has perfectly placed them all over the world and we get the opportunity to explore and praise Him because of this. We can see evidence of Him in the beauty of His creations! Nothing to be taken for granted.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. —Psalms 19:1
Northeast of Moab, UT
Where is, or has been, one of your favorite places to visit, seeing God’s handprint throughout? Maybe it’s even your own backyard…
About For His Purpose~
My name is Alicia and I'm a thirty-something year old who loves Jesus.
Only through God’s amazing grace and mercy I have been redeemed from past regret and shame. Reading His word has allowed me to look past Satan’s forceful lies, to see myself for who Christ says I am in Him.
Through writing I have learned why I made the choices I made in my younger years and I now have a better understanding of why I desire to love God like crazy these days.
Despite my daily failures, God remains faithful always. I am reassured of His unconditional love for me by every ink-drop spilled out on paper, each committed prayer as I cry out to Him, and deep understanding reflected through reading His word as truth.
Yes keeping a blog will make me vulnerable to others’ opinions- there will be some who don’t understand, some who may criticize or judge, but on the other hand if just one piece expressed through my writing grabs someone’s attention and directs them to God, then pouring out my heart in a blog for the world to read is worth it. I choose to glorify Him alone through words streaming across a glowing screen.
And it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t reveal the fact that I’m incredibly quirky; I’m my loving husband’s best friend, my vivacious kids’ craziest cheerleader and spiritual trainer (3 John 1:4). I love anything farmhouse and rustic style. I think cupping a warm coffee mug in the palm of my hands is more satisfying than the contents within. I share a common obsession with my husband for the mountains, but I would (without a doubt) settle for waves crashing against my legs at the Atlantic Ocean just as well, and I almost always have a Yorkie curled up on my lap while writing.
*All photos are photographed by forhispurpose.blog and therefore may not be stored or photocopied in any manner.
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Beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing this journey. Until we are able to explore those areas it’s fun to experience it through other eyes. Yes, what a creative God we serve!
Yes I think pictures are just as fun and allow you to use your imagination!! The ones my daughter took on her iPad look so realistic, especially the ones from the cliff dwellings.
Ahhhh no but I did specifically say on our drive one day, “this is so pretty, the only thing that would make it better is if a roadrunner came crossing the highway” it just looked like that type of scenery!! Coyote I could do without—see and hear them all the time.
The colors are still vivid in my mind, so much different then our greens and browns in Nebraska land…God shakes it up for us in the morning and evening with some orange and red shades in the sunrises and sunsets though!!❤️
Beautiful Picture. Looks like you had a wonderful time away and I so agree that we worship a creative God, he did not have to make things with such varied colours and landscapes but he did. For me seeing the sunset and the colours associated with that time always draws me to reflect on his presence and thank God.
Well if you don’t make it there you can enjoy it vicariously. I’ve had to do that with quite a few places. I have kind of a bucket list of places I’d be interested in going to BUT I’m gonna have to just imagine myself there at a majority of them.😂I love those travel shows that make you feel like you’re right there without ever even leaving your couch or putting a dent in your wallet!!
It definitely looked familiar. We flew to the Durango airport from Portales NM in a Beechcraft Bonanza my dad had half interest in. I remember the trip fairly well, though it was 58 years ago.
What beautiful country! I’m glad you shared your vacation trip with us. We loved our time in Arizona. These pictures made me think of some of the wonderful trips we took while we lived there.
Wonderful pictures Alicia. Our family has done part of that road trip 32 years ago, only it was from Minnesota and back. What a difference in scenery throughout.
I had no idea Utah was so beautiful until my yearly “adventure” with my Arizona sister a couple of years ago. Unlike previous years, we had no itinerary. Every morning we got out the map and turned on the weather app, and every day rain was forecast everywhere except one place, so that’s where we would go that day. And the weather took us up into Utah. All these great pictures really bring back memories. 🙂
Ahh that’s sweet! I love that you shared. It amazes me God’s many creative landscapes…so diverse yet they can also be situated so near one another too. There’s such a difference from Moab rock formations to Colorados Rocky Mountains yet the drive time is only about a three hour difference…blows my mind.
I thoroughly enjoyed your photos, Alicia. It looks like you had a real adventure as a family. Such a blessing! The first lots of photos from Moab and from the Mesa Verde reminded me so much of an adventure I once had in Cappadocia – about 34 years ago! The landscape and underground dwellings and cities there are from 2000 years ago – to quite recently, but very similar in my memory to what you saw. Blessings to you. The creation indeed is a clear hand-print of the creator – as are you.
Great post! I recently visited that area. Now the tune of “How Great Thou Art” is running in my head. When I, in awesome wonder…Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made…How great Thou art, how great Thou art! However, I just read on your About page that you live in Nebraska. I remember the first time I went to NE and LOVED all the green rolling hills of farmland. Now that’s a beautiful spot too!
For His Purpose 
Lovely trip!
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Thank you Barb!❤️
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Beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing this journey. Until we are able to explore those areas it’s fun to experience it through other eyes. Yes, what a creative God we serve!
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Yes I think pictures are just as fun and allow you to use your imagination!! The ones my daughter took on her iPad look so realistic, especially the ones from the cliff dwellings.
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Thank you for sharing your pics, Alicia!!! What a beautiful family!!!!
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Magnificent scenery
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Fabulous photos and family vacation! Many blessings. Amen.
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Thank you for stopping in!! Blessings to you also!!
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Thank you very much! God bless you and yours!
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Beautiful scenery!!!
Did you see the roadrunner and the coyote chasing him?
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Ahhhh no but I did specifically say on our drive one day, “this is so pretty, the only thing that would make it better is if a roadrunner came crossing the highway” it just looked like that type of scenery!! Coyote I could do without—see and hear them all the time.
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If you dance with the coyotes you could make a movie Dances with Coyotes. Lol
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They’re pretty quick and timid, doubt they’d go for it!! 😂
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😂😂😂
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I have been there but it’s been a long time. I enjoyed the pictures. Thank you for sharing. So glad you and your family got some time away. 🤗
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The colors are still vivid in my mind, so much different then our greens and browns in Nebraska land…God shakes it up for us in the morning and evening with some orange and red shades in the sunrises and sunsets though!!❤️
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Wow! What lovely pictures. Thanks for taking us along on your vacation. ❤
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Thanks for checking out the photos Lena!!❤️
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Beautiful Picture. Looks like you had a wonderful time away and I so agree that we worship a creative God, he did not have to make things with such varied colours and landscapes but he did. For me seeing the sunset and the colours associated with that time always draws me to reflect on his presence and thank God.
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Yes couldn’t agree more. I never want to take those things for granted!!! Thank you Manu for checking the photos out and reflecting with me!
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I love that you shared your vacation with us, Alicia. Now I want to go for a visit. Thank you!
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Well if you don’t make it there you can enjoy it vicariously. I’ve had to do that with quite a few places. I have kind of a bucket list of places I’d be interested in going to BUT I’m gonna have to just imagine myself there at a majority of them.😂I love those travel shows that make you feel like you’re right there without ever even leaving your couch or putting a dent in your wallet!!
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Oh so true! We have done that with a lot of places!
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To God Be the Glory of such BEAUTY💕🙌BREATHTAKING!!
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He is in the business of creativity and wowing us🙌!!! For His glory!!
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Great pictures! I especially enjoyed your shots of Mesa Verde. I was 10 at my last visit and that was 58 years ago. Time flies!
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Yes it does! And it amazes me what we store away in our memory bank all the years later..maybe some of it looked familiar to you?
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It definitely looked familiar. We flew to the Durango airport from Portales NM in a Beechcraft Bonanza my dad had half interest in. I remember the trip fairly well, though it was 58 years ago.
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What beautiful country! I’m glad you shared your vacation trip with us. We loved our time in Arizona. These pictures made me think of some of the wonderful trips we took while we lived there.
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Yes I love the colors of Arizona, it amazes me you can basically see the “imaginary” line of difference in landscape etc. from one state to another.
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Love the pics, Alicia! It looks like you and your little family had a great time on vacation! I love the rainbow at Lake Dillon and the petroglyphs!💜
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Did you get your nose sunburned? I love the southwest. Beautiful. His artwork. – Alan
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Haha I’m sure my nose got a bit sunburned! 😅🥵
The color of the soil is so unique for me as a Nebraskan!! Love it!
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So glade you documented with the lens.
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❤️
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Beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing with us!
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You’re welcome!! Thanks for looking!!
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Wonderful pictures Alicia. Our family has done part of that road trip 32 years ago, only it was from Minnesota and back. What a difference in scenery throughout.
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❤️God has blessed His people abundantly. Sad that some don’t give Him the credit due.
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All of these photos are gorgeous. All of the scenes are gorgeous. God’s handiwork never ceases to amaze me.
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Yes for sure!! He is worthy to be praised!!
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“A picture is worth 1000 words.” – so True!
Beautiful pics… Confirming Romans 1:20!
Thanks for posting!
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❤️Thanks for looking and commenting!😉
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I had no idea Utah was so beautiful until my yearly “adventure” with my Arizona sister a couple of years ago. Unlike previous years, we had no itinerary. Every morning we got out the map and turned on the weather app, and every day rain was forecast everywhere except one place, so that’s where we would go that day. And the weather took us up into Utah. All these great pictures really bring back memories. 🙂
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Ahh that’s sweet! I love that you shared. It amazes me God’s many creative landscapes…so diverse yet they can also be situated so near one another too. There’s such a difference from Moab rock formations to Colorados Rocky Mountains yet the drive time is only about a three hour difference…blows my mind.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thoroughly enjoyed your photos, Alicia. It looks like you had a real adventure as a family. Such a blessing! The first lots of photos from Moab and from the Mesa Verde reminded me so much of an adventure I once had in Cappadocia – about 34 years ago! The landscape and underground dwellings and cities there are from 2000 years ago – to quite recently, but very similar in my memory to what you saw. Blessings to you. The creation indeed is a clear hand-print of the creator – as are you.
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What a fun trip! God’s beauty in creation is stunning. So glad you were able to get away and have some quality family time! ❤️
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Me too!!❤️
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Great post! I recently visited that area. Now the tune of “How Great Thou Art” is running in my head. When I, in awesome wonder…Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made…How great Thou art, how great Thou art! However, I just read on your About page that you live in Nebraska. I remember the first time I went to NE and LOVED all the green rolling hills of farmland. Now that’s a beautiful spot too!
LikeLiked by 1 person