I carry my poles on plane, as carryon. I made a triangular shaped box using a large cardboard box, cut down. Worked great.

We'll try that, but I thought we are only allowed one carryon now.

I fly Southwest, still 2 carry-ons per person.

Yes...Unfortunately, they were higher than American, so... Have to see how small we can telescope them. Thanks for your thoughtfulness.

from AA.com -
You can bring one small carry-on bag plus one personal item per passenger as long as the carry-on bag fits comfortably in the sizer without being forced and does not exceed overall dimensions of 45 inches (length + width + height).

The maximum dimensions cannot exceed any of the following measurements: 22" long x 14" wide x 9" tall or 115cm (56 x 36 x 23 cm). All carry-on items should be stowed in an overhead bin.

Personal item - includes: purse, briefcase, laptop bag OR a similar item such as a tote that does not exceed 36 inches( length+width+height) and must fit under the seat in front of you. As an added bonus, travelers who are only bringing a personal item can board the plane before Group 2 boarding.

On second thought, your trip is a lot of moving around and several places are needed for lodging. Lots of physical hassles with packing/unpacking, checking in/out.

As I understand it, your air travel is set: into Albuquerque and out of Denver.

I am thinking maybe you should consider spending more time to enjoy Santa Fe, Taos, and the CO southwest. Those are gorgeous areas, with lots to do. The kind of country where you might want to settle in for a few nights and take it in.

You could ignore my advice above, and stay put in Santa Fe, Taos, Telluride, Ouray, Crested Butte/Gunnison, maybe one night on the road back to Denver. Skip RMNP AND Aspen this trip.

You are truly going to be amazed how pretty the landscapes are, in that part of the country.

Deb, what do you think?

DebitNM-any way to get information on the difficulty of the hikes in Tent Rock NM?

Reference Debit's advice re: water. We had made a number of trips to Santa Fe/Taos and similar areas and didn't have a significant difficulty to speak of.... until I started traveling to Colorado on business. Not sure why, except perhaps when working I am not concentrating on hydration. When on vacation, we tend to loiter at restaurants where I tend to drink a lot of water anyway. So I would like to add to that excellent advice to drink lots of water.

What I found was that I would develop a progressive headache and feeling of malaise, even without a lot of physical exertion. It just sneaks up on you. My Denver coworkers finally intervened and insisted on my drinking lots of bottled water (yes, my eyeballs were floating), and that just cured me.

Lesson learned, and I am happy to share it - don't wait until you feel bad. I go to Denver on a regular basis now, and it would be a real drag to work in an achy fog. It will be a bummer on vacation. Especially if you drink any alcohol.

I agreement tabernash. There is lots to do and less stress if OP stays in northern NM and SW Co. But sometimes folks have their minds set.

Tent Rocks -the slot canyon trail is a workout. The loop is much easier and still offers great views of the tent rocks. There is also a nice drive beyond where the hikes are to see nice scenery and views.

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medial...il%20Guide.pdf

Totally agree with limiting the itinerary and will be taking Tabernash2's and DebirNM's advice and staying in SW CO, no RMNP. Incidentally, what does OP mean?

OP = original poster; in this case - you.

This is virginiafish's daughter, and I was was wondering what everyone's suggestions are for two days in Albuquerque? Thanks!

I like the Albuquerque BioPark. http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark/tickets
It includes the zoo, aquarium and an arboretum.
Old Town Albuquerque has several museums that may interest you.
The city bus service along Central Blvd. (old US 66) is good for the price of a ride.

Note: The Combo ticket that tomfuller is talking about must be purchased before Noon.

In addition to the Bio Park [my favorite, but then I am biased as I am a docent there] check out Acoma Peublo. It will take the better part of a day, to get out there, take the tour and get back, but it is an amazing experience.

http://sccc.acomaskycity.org/

IF you don't want to drive out there - check out Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and National Hispanic Cultural Center. - http://www.cabq.gov/things-to-do/art...ltural-centers

Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum
is also interesting as we are the Hot Air Balloon Capital of the world.
http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices...balloon-museum

The easier of the 2 Tent Rocks walks isn't strenuous. Do it early; it is hot here by late morning. Bring lots of water. You can start off on the slot canyon trail and if it proves to be too much, you can just turn around and head out. The slot part is pretty much in the beginning and is fairly easy to that point. There is some climbing at that point, more shimmying up some boulder size rocks. Then a walk a bit further in will get you to some great views of the rocks.

https://plus.google.com/photos/10311...977?banner=pwa

Thanks for all of this great help! We have decided on 11 days, roundtrip in and out of ABQ, including about 3 in the Albuquerque area, 2 nights Mesa Verde, 5 nights Ouray--so all of this is VERY useful and we are including most of it. Trip report at the end of Aug. We leave Aug. 6th, so any suggestions before then are gratefully appreciated.

Sounds great! Again, please feel free to ask for particulars in ABQ and Mesa Verde.

The monsoons have started here. Hopefully, they will continue while you are here. These are usually late day storms that can come in pretty fast and dump water (sometimes resulting in flash floods) but then stop and the air is clean and clear with no residual humidity like back east.

Do heed the approaching dark cloud, and if you are hiking get to a safe area ASAP.

thank you!!

Of all of the sites to see in Mesa Verde, what do you recommend for two days?