Glenwood Springs road trip

Grandpa gave me some money for a Christmas gift, so we hit the road for a weekend of (cheap) relaxation at Glenwood Hot Springs. I found a motel for $50 and we drove through a gnarly snow squall over Vail Pass, then got in a beautiful 2hr hike in Glenwood Canyon before settling in for the night. And eating pizza while laying in the hotel bed is always a treat!

Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon

scree field in Grizzly Gulch, north of Glenwood Canyon

misty crags above Grizzly Gulch

nice view from a $49/night motel, yes??

On Sunday, we soaked all day in the hot springs in town. No photos, but it was a fantastic day!

Mom & Dad visit + CO road trip

Mom and Dad paid a visit to their slacker son here in The West, so we went for a good trek in the Rockies. They loved it. Admittedly and appreciatively, it's my folks who introduced me to the mountains, to traveling, to exploring and being adventurous. As a youngster, I saw the gleam in their road-yearning eyes and took some lessons, that desire to move and see. They took me to a ton of new places in this world! I can't begin to grasp the fortitude it would require to drag 2 kids into a camper/van for weeks on the road. It's a safe bet that I'd leave the kids at the first encounter of a Rest Stop. Thanks to my folks for instilling that yearning for new territory...

I'd composed a tentative itinerary for us to follow on a 4 day Colorado road trip, seeing some of my favorite places and a couple on my own personal list of  'gotta see CO' locales. Little did I know, as we traversed the state, they'd actually been to most of these places, canyons, scenic drives already... some before my days and some that I already coursed through as a boy in the back seat of the van. Due to an approaching storm system, we elected to refrain from heading further west and trending north instead. Even though they'd once seen these places years ago, they still love it. I like it too; that's why I'm still here in Colorado.

First stop on the roadtrip is the Air Force Academy in CO Springs, which is extremely angular:

Next we made it to the legendary Bishop's Castle, which is exquisitely organic. Unbelievably, this 160ft tall castle is a one-man effort begun in 1969 by Jim Bishop and is still growing and evolving. This place is equal parts amazing, awe-inspiring and potentially deadly. I highly recommend it without hesitation, although you will experience hesitation when you crawl out upon its catwalks....

After a walkabout in various little mountain towns, we drove over the Continental Divide in a mild snow shower and got to Glenwood Springs for the 2nd night. Here now, is the adventuresome spirit I've come to know, my parents. A snowy drive in a Honda Civic brings a pretty sunrise.... 

The next day we headed southwest into Aspen... and to an utterly deserted drive back to the Maroon Belles. Sadly the two Belles themselves were socked in with clouds, but the essence back there was sublime. It mattered not that we didn't capture the postcard photo of the the ridged sedimentary mud peaks... Mom loved being amongst the mountains with her family. [and alas, we should go backpacking together next year]

back to the mountain bike!!

April and I packed up the car and took off for some rustic car-camping outside Buena Vista along the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range of the Rockies. We found a nice quiet campsite near the dead end of a dirt road in the National Forest and had a fun night by the campfire.

My elbow's feeling stronger and more stable so I brought my mountain bike along to have my first go at riding trails since my accident in June. The Colorado Trail passes through this area just a few hundred yards from our campsite and on Sunday I rode south for a couple of hours to Sand Creek before turning around and heading back to camp. Autumn foliage was spectacular and the aspens were peaking! A really beautiful weekend and a major hurdle cleared in getting back into the woods on my bike. I'm not at 100% by any means, but felt pretty solid once I got into the groove of mountain biking. I can't wait to get back to the trails soon!

Sunday afternoon, April hiked the Colorado Trail north a few miles to Mt. Princeton Hot Springs, and I finished up my bike ride and met her over there with the car. A relaxing soak until dusk came upon us, then stopped off in Leadville for our favorite bargain dinner of filet mignon at Quincy's.

Dillon BBQ Fest

One of the larger Colorado BBQ fests was going down in Dillon, so what better excuse for a weekend camping and getting some tasty que.

my hands-down favorite sauce makers, Brook's BBQ from Aurora, CO

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Afternoon lounging in the sun on the shores of Dillon Reservoir. April made a summer mudman:

 

Lots of folks out sailing on Dillon Reservoir in the feet of the Ten Mile Range (and Continental Divide runs south along that ridge)

Lake Granby / Grand Lake

April had a hankering for being near a lake, so we hit the road to find just that. We got a little lazy and ended up camping at the good old National Forest campground on the south end of Lake Granby. We scored the very last open campsite and $17 later we were getting settled in amongst the RVs, families, motorboats and chugging generators. Not exactly our typical M.O. but kind of fun to take the easy route.

Woke up to unexpected cold- 38 degrees! Sunday we checked out the little tourist town of Grand Lake, next to the actual lake of the same name. To cold to swim (water's about 50 degrees) but took a few fun dives off the pier to jolt the senses.

Valentine's Day in the mountains

We took a long weekend back to the Bunny Lane Cabins near Buena Vista, including a ski day at Monarch Mountain. Got a nice hike at the Denny Creek trail before settling into the cabin for a couple of nights of ping pong, wine, good food and fun times. Cooked our entire dinner atop the toasty woodburning stove!

Skied a day at Monarch, which is one of the last 'old school' ski hills around. 4 fixed lifts (3 doubles and 1 quad), no big lodge, no condos, no hoopla. Just a great quiet ski hill with some avy controlled sidecountry terrain to boot up.

We checked out Cottonwood Hotsprings before heading back home, although would recommend Mt. Princeton next time. Then a cheapo dinner at Quincy's for some $6 filet mignon for Valentine's Day and back down to the city.

Steamboat / Strawberry Park ski weekend

April's older sister Sandra came out from Illinois for a visit and a jaunt to the ski slopes. We booked a couple cabins at Strawberry Park Hotsprings and hit the road in my overstuffed car, skidding over Berthoud Pass, white knuckling it over Rabbit Ears Pass and rallying up the steep snowpacked road to the springs. Forecast called for snow that night, so I preemptively installed the tire chains for the ride out to Steamboat resort in the morning.

We woke up to a foot of fresh powder, loaded up the car with our gear and made it all of a quarter mile before getting stuck up the first hill. There was no hope making it up the slope, even with the chains on. So, we bagged the ski day and soaked instead. I took a nice snowshoe up to the ridge behind the springs with a great view that I forgot to photograph. They've had record snow this winter here, it was incredibly beautiful with everything capped in 4ft of soft snow.

We skied on Sunday instead, and what a great day it was. Turns out half the lifts were closed yesterday due to wind and whiteout, so lucky that we didn't make it to the resort on Saturday as planned. Perfect weather and wonderful soft snow. This is the first time I've skied in seven years, but like riding a bike it all came back immediately and I jetted around the entire sprawling resort. It was an expensive day at $98 for a lift pass, but lots of fun and absolutely no lines for the lifts. Time to learn to get into the backcountry and away from the development, clearcutting, and sprawl of the commercial resorts.

April & Sandra at Strawberry Park

Road trip!

The weekend started with free tickets to the Beatles tribute band at Red Rocks on Saturday night before camping under the stars at Kenosha Pass.

good morning along the Colorado Trail

Followed by a quick swing through the original South Park

Next stop, Florissant Fossil Beds Natl Monument:

petrified trees

We stumbled into a Veterans' Biker Rally in Cripple Creek

And capped it off with a visit to the vintage arcade in Manitou Springs

Frisco BBQ Fest !!!

I'd heard of the annual Frisco BBQ Fest before, so this year on a whim we jumped in the car after work on Friday and went to see for ourselves. Simply amazing, if you like a good BBQ. We sure do, and were fat & happy. Festival folks take to makin Q with a serious fierceness, and most of it was absolutely delicious.

You can buy small tasting size servings for a buck or two to try what each booth has to offer. Some were out of this world, others not terribly impressive, but all very tasty regardless.

This booth was Biggins' BBQ.   whooda quessed?

Not a bad way to enjoy a warm Friday sunset. I'll be back next year!

June 11-13, 2010 --- Strawberry Park Hotsprings

April's getting old, so we packed up and hit our favorite hotsprings retreat to celebrate her birthday! Chilly, rainy weather made for a super cozy weekend. A steady diet of decadent yet simple food on the grill and tasty wine makes for general good livin' in these parts.

We tried to drive home over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mt. Natl. Park, but the same storm that brought rain to the hotsprings had also brought snow to the high country and the road was closed higher up due to ice. However, we drove in partway, and were able to hike towards the headwaters of the Colorado River.

Colorado River

A few miles further up, the river is barely a creek and you can straddle the mighty Colorado. I'll have to make it up to the actual headwaters someday, but today we got chased back to the car by an approaching t-storm.