Breckenridge, CO (6/29-7/12/22)

How is it possible for one place to just be more beautiful than the next?  It seems like every time we change locations on this trip, the landscape creates another canvas we haven't yet experienced, only about 75 miles. 

Tiger Run is one of the most recommended parks to stay in the Breckenridge area.  I scored a two week reservation by stalking the website 6 months to the day before our planned arrival.  The park ended up living up to the hype on location and the grounds for sure.  We have never been snow skiers so the towns of Winter Park, Frisco, Breckenridge, Vail never held much interest for us in the winter, but I would come back in the Spring and Summer again, amazing. 

The weather was cool and pleasant until the afternoon rains threatened, but they were light and just made everything green and smell fresh.  We had read about all the miles and miles of bicycle trails in this area and while we did take advantage of our bikes, the afternoon pop up rain made it a little more dicey.

We found some very populated pickleball courts in Silverthorne.  We had some good games there in the cool mornings.  We saw some great live music in Frisco at the Highside Brewery.  We are not beer drinkers, but the bartender let us try various brews until we found something we could drink.  We were also lucky enough to attend a free Saturday night concert at the Dillon Amphitheatre.  A gorgeous venue perched right at the edge of Lake Dillon.  

When arriving at Breckenridge, we notice a small oil leak underneth the Jeep.  Mike was able to get a service appointment to have it looked at in Silverthorne on July 5th.  This will turn into a long and difficult fiasco throughout my upcoming posts.   The dealer kept the Jeep for a few days so we were relegated to bike riding.  The aftorementioned bike trails were definitely fortuitous. 

We rode our bikes into Breckenridge and Frisco on more than one occaision as our Jeep was at the dealer awaiting parts. We enjoyed a tour and tasting at Breckenridge Distillery one afternoon and rode into Frisco for lunch.  Both times we made it back before the rain got us.  

Bought a bottle of their Gin, it was smoooooooth. 

We roamed around a fine art festival and took a lovely walk along the river near Tiger Run.  We probably would have planned more activities but were a bit hampered by the Jeep situation.  Nevertheless, Tiger Run was an exquisite spot to relax, enjoy the cool mountain weather. 

Our next stop takes us literally through the Rocky Mountains via the Eisenhower Tunnel to three state parks just south of Denver.  

I hope Ruth hasn't gotten any taller.😲

Rocky Mountain National Park - (5/29 - 6/28/22)

Wow, has it really be over a month since my last post?  I guess so.  The drive from Fruita to Granby Colorado was once again resplendent with the most gorgeous of landscape.  Every mile of chisled rock and winding river seems feels like a talisman that you can experience, but a sole person cannot possess.  It is going to be hard to drive through Kansas on our way back to the Southeast.

We arrived in Granby, Colorado in the shadow of the great Rocky Mountain National Park and a just ahead of a brewing storm.  We just got the basic utilities set up when sideways rain and pea-sized hail chased us indoors for cover.  The storm blew through quickly but left a lingering cold front which actually brought more sleet and even a far amount of snow on our first full day.  This was a bit of a surprise, but we had risen to almost 8,000 ft of elevation.  The snow was quite beautiful as it settled and stayed on the mountain tops of the Rockies for several days into our stay.

Yep, snow on the windsheild of the Jeep

We made our way to see Winter Park which was in a bit of a hiatus period between the snow skiing season and the summer season.  It was quiet and a bit eerie with all the ski lift chairs just hanging in the air, abandonded until next season's powder returns. Did have a killer Reuben sandwich at Randi's Grill and Pub though.

We were lucky enough to meet up with my cousin Adam and his son, who live in the Midwest, but were visiting friends in the Denver area.   We met for a lovely lunch in Idaho Springs, CO.  Idaho Springs is a quaint mountain town just off I-70.  Adam was coming from the Denver area and we took the Berthound Pass (~11,000 ft) over the Continental Divide.  There was a trememdous restaurant called MTN Prime nestled in one of the town's many old frontier buildings from the 1800's.  After lunch we took a lovely, sunny stroll along Clear Creek.  It was such a treat to get to see them. 

The weather was cold in the mornings, warmer in the early afternoon and very, very windy late afternoons and early evening.  We had coats and sweatshirts on a lot and did not sit outside much due to the wind.  We had a lovely, semi-private campsite, but did not spend a great deal of time enjoying it.  We did find a good group of folks to play pickleball with both at the resort and in the town of Granby. 

The Sun Outdoors Rocky Mountain Resort has terrific amenities with diverse overnight stay options.  We enjoyed live music a couple of times each week and did enjoy the hot tub once.  We also found a good group of folks to play pickleball with both at the resort and in the town of Granby. 

On our first trip into Rocky Mountain National Park, we were met with snow about 1/3 of the way up to the Alpine Visitor Center.  We had our packed lunch in a small sunny clearing at Irene Lake, but the lake was not visible due to the snow.   We were lucky enough to see some elk and moose on our travels.  We enjoyed a riverside cocktail at Historic Grand Rapids Lodge to cap off our day.

As this was a long stop, Mike took care of some of Ruth's maintenance items while we were stationary.  We fit a few short day hikes in and explored the surrounding towns of Grand Lake, Fraser and Tabernash.  Took a lovely pontoon ride around Grand Lake on one of the warmer days.

It has been delightful to be able to meet up with friends while on the road.  Our friends from St. Louis, who spend part time in our same condo building in Florida add a few days on the front of a trip to Steam Boat Springs to hang out with us in Granby. 

The weather was improving in temperature, but there was still significant wind everyday.  We played Canasta when it was unpleasant outside and competed in the "Granby Olympics" when the weather was more coopertive.  Unaware that Granby had Olympics?  Well, Mike just made the whole thing up, too much time on his hands.   The "Games" were made up of Giant Jenga, Corn hole, bowling (at the mini alley at the resort), 8 hole putting green, bocci and a rousing game of Skeeball in the arcade.  The teams for each event varied and it was definately competative and yet silly at times.

Winning combinations.  We couldn't get a pic on the
putt putt course as the wind was too severe.  Fun times. 

The day we picked to hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park started out sunny and breezy.  Our first hike was turned back by remaining snow that had become icy and too slippery to traverse.  We regrouped and found another hike along the Ute Crossing Trail.  We reached the end of the trail turnaround point and lazily munched out trail mix in the presence of a large, yet seemingly friendly marmot.  We watched some dark clouds begin to roll in and began to return at a slightly quicker pace than our outbound trip.  Thunder in the distance moved closer and the storm clouds rained down with pea-sized sideways hail and rain for the last 1/3 of our hike.  We were freezing and wet, but stopped at Sagebrush in Grand Lake to fortify ourselves from the experience. 

We did have a lovely day of UTV riding through the edges of the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Although the East Troublesome fire had caused significant devestation in the area, it is always amazing to see how nature heals itself from within. The aspens were still plentiful and there were red Indian Paintbrush flowers blooming everywhere.  The trails were not super technical, but challenging and enjoyable as we weaved through the forest.  Our friends continued on their travels.

As luck would have it, the Granby Rodeo was in town every Saturday in June.  This one was packed on the night we attended.  Lots of local families out enjoying the local and regional cowboy/cowgirl displays of skill and agility on horseback.  The mutton busting competition for 5-8 year olds was the highlight of the night.  

Our last weekend in Granby was punctuated by the Blues from the Top festival in Winter Park.  Rain had been forecast all week, but it held off through the first few acts that we wanted to see.  We enjoyed the environment and the blues music of Bette Smith and the Southern Hospitality Band.  We enjoyed quite a bit of live music throughout out stay in Granby which is always a bonus for us. 

We are headed to two weeks in Breckenridge next. See you around the campfire.