#288: Steamboat Springs (Not in Original Edition; 2nd Ed: pg 738)

 

May 28, 2021

Welcome to Steamboat Springs!

This was actually an unplanned stop/destination.  Our original plan was to go from Glenwood Springs (where we spent the day at the only mountaintop amusement park in the country - I'm thinking that should have made it into the book!  It was so fun and unique!) back to Denver to catch our flight home - a three hour drive.  Unfortunately, a huge semi had a major accident, blocked the highway in both directions and made it impossible to travel East on I-70.  As a result, our only option was to take a four hour detour going West and then North and then up and around (making it almost 7 hours to get back to Denver instead of 3!).  The only silver lining of this debacle was that our detour brought us through Steamboat Springs!

Verdict:  No.  I'll be the first to admit, we didn't spend a significant amount of time here since it wasn't a planned destination and we were anxious to get to our hotel before midnight.  BUT we did get a good sense of the town.  We drove all around and we all thought it was a great town!  Tons of restaurants and shops and ski slopes and hot springs.  All tucked into a mountain range with stunning scenery in every direction.  So why is this a "No?"  Well, only because I guess we're lucky enough to live in a country with lots of paces like this.  I didn't necessarily find this place any different or more unique than Vail, Park City, etc.  All those places are fantastic and visiting one of them before you die is probably necessary but I don't think this place in particular needs to be singled out. However, if you're ever in a pickle and I-70 is shut down..... enjoy the silver lining that is Steamboat Springs!

#287: Rocky Mountain National Park (Pg 589, 2nd Ed: 737)

 

Rocky Mountain National Park

May 27, 2021

After entering through the Grand Lake Entrance Station on the West side of the park, we stopped at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center to get some suggestions from the rangers as to where we should go.  They suggested that we start with the the Coyote Valley Trailhead, so that is what we did!  It's a nice 1-mile walk along the Colorado river with some great meadow views where you can frequently spot wildlife.  We were lucky to spot two separate herds of Elk!

Mother and Son..... hopefully instilling my love of travel, adventure and nature into my boy.

Just a tiny bit excited about being here!

From there, we drove up and down Trail Ridge Road and we had FIVE moose sightings!

We saw two at our first sighting and then three more later.  It was very exciting!

We ran into a local and she said that she bikes through the park frequently and almost always sees at least one moose.  She also said that they are mostly here at the West end of the park, not as frequently spotted on the East end.

Can you see the moose lying under the tree in the shade?

From there, we drove up to the Fairview Curve overlook.

Fairview Curve pano shot.

And then made our way to the Continental Divide at Milner Pass at 10, 758 feet.

By then, we were hungry, so we made our way to Grand Lake Lodge, where we ate a picnic lunch.  This place was BEAUTIFUL!!!  It was situated right on the lake, was beautifully appointed in every way.  Had a gorgeous outdoor pool, hot tub and lounge furniture.  It had a beautiful outdoor deck area with lovely furniture and lava rock fire pits.  I think this place in and of itself should be in the 1000 Places book!

Lunch with a view!

After lunch, we made our way to the East Inlet Trailhead.

And all six of us hiked to Adams Falls.

Beautiful!

Tanner taking advantage of a naturally made "bridge" and giving his mother a heart attack!

After Adams Falls, my parents made their way back to the car, but the four of us continued on and stopped at this meadow, where we heard there were frequent wildlife sightings.  No such luck for us, but luckily we were quite satisfied with our previous elk and moose sightings and the view of water, meadow and mountains surrounding us!

We met back up with my parents and they took us to this ice cream place in Grand Lake that they discovered.  I am purposely blogging about it because 1) the town of Grand Lake was really charming and fun and worth a visit and 2) this is the best ice cream place I've been to in ages!  The ice cream was fresh and homemade and had all kinds of delicious, creative flavors and was situated right on the water.  

Two thumbs up!

Ice Cream cheers to a pretty perfect day!

Verdict:  Yes!  Truthfully, I think this is probably my verdict with most National Parks, but Rocky Mountain National Park is certainly no exception.  And it helped that we had great weather!  The scenery is breathtaking, it's teeming with wildlife, there are plenty of trails and opportunities to bike, hike, camp, etc.  We loved it!!!

#286: Vail (Pg 591, 2nd Ed: pg 740)

 

May 26, 2021

Welcome to Vail!

We (me, my son Tanner, my sister-in-law Carrie, her son Eli, and my parents) checked into the Stream Side Marriott Vacation Club at Vail.

And then we went to explore the town!

There are two main areas: the original Vail downtown and the newer Lionsgate area.

Walking along the Gore River Trail.

Welcome to Vail!

Sometimes you looked around and you could have sworn you were in Europe.

Verdict:  No.  Now admittedly with 193 trails (5,289 skiable acres), a die-hard ski buff visiting here in the dead of Winter may disagree with me, but I am not a die-hard ski buff, nor did I visit in the middle of Winter.  But I was just fine visiting Vail in May because I loved soaking in the beauty of it without the snow, ice or crowds.  The two downtown areas were both charming and very walkable.  This little Gore creek runs along the downtown areas.  There is a covered bridge, tons of cute little shops and restaurants, a ski museum (that we checked out).  It's a great area, just not something you have to do before you die (unless you identify with my first sentence of this paragraph).