Colorado Birthday Road Trip - Part 2

For the second half of our Colorado road trip with David's sister, we started on Saturday morning with cold brew at Coffee Trader and then breakfast at Lighthouse. Lighthouse was... interesting. The food was decent, and one of the employees (the owner?) was extremely chatty and had long non-sequitur stories, and there was a small dog just a few feet from us sticking it's nose under a fence. The owner informed us the dog was named Jazz and he "loves feet." Fun times!

We began our drive for the day, a 121 mile journey to the northeast. We had a few short roadside stops along the way, including Hays Falls and the small historic town of Redstone. It's a tiny blip on the map, but we spent about an hour in the quaint downtown, which includes a one-room museum, a couple of tourist shops, a walking trail, and an interesting line of coke ovens that were used to turn coal into pure carbon for making steel.

Coffee Trader was a cute little converted house.

Breakfast at Lighthouse.

Jazz looking for a sausage...or some feet?

There were plenty of amazing views on the drive.

David and Natasha at Hays Falls.

Even the roadside streams are beautiful in Colorado!

Cure little museum in downtown Redstone.

Pedestrian bridge in Redstone.

The abandoned coke ovens.

Paul in a coke oven.

We drove the final 40 minutes to Glenwood Springs, checked into our hotel, and then set out for Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. This small amusement park sits on top of a mountain, at an altitude of 7,100 feet. You have to take a gondola to the top, which normally takes five minutes. Unfortunately for us, the gondola decided to act up, and broke down just before we boarded. It was back up about 15 minutes later, but stopped again while we were about 2/3 of the way up, and then stopped again when we were literally inches from the exit platform. 

Eventually we made it off the gondola and into the park, but the adventure didn't end there - unfortunately while Paul was in line for his first ride a park-wide lightning delay was announced. While the rides were closed, the caves (the original attraction at the top of the mountain) were still open, so we took a self-guided tour of the King's Row cave. Shortly after the tour, the rides re-opened, and Paul was able to get all of the coaster credits. Also of note, the Alpine Coaster might be the best in the US. After taking the gondola back down the mountain (no problems this time!) we had dinner at Frida (which was just mostly fine) and then relaxed in the hotel for the night.

View from our hotel. You can see the roller coaster on top of the mountain!

Natasha and Paul on the gondola.

David doesn't love heights, but gondolas are ok!

Views of downtown Glenwood Springs from the gondola.

At least we had amazing views of the roller coaster when our gondola got stuck!

Paul's getting his rides in!

Well, that's certainly a unique cave formation.

The main cavern of King's Row cave.

Going up on the Alpine Coaster.

Overview of the park from the gondola heading back down.

Natasha speckled with Friday's laser light show.

Chicken mole at Frida.

Sunday morning we woke up early for our reserved time at Hanging Lake trail. Like many trails and parks out west, this trail gets a lot of visitors, so they implemented a reservation system. Luckily we didn't have trouble getting one (David bought it 4 weeks in advance), and starting early wasn't a problem thanks to the time zone change. The trail is just ten miles east of Glenwood Springs, and interestingly has a one-way only exit from I-70 just for the trail. The trail starts on a paved bicycle path alongside the Colorado River, then turns north up a canyon while crisscrossing dead horse creek. The trail is not too difficult, but does have quite a bit of elevation gain and some steep parts near the end. The lake is very photogenic, and is ringed with small waterfalls. A separate small spur trail led to two larger waterfalls above the lake that you can walk behind. After hiking back down, we stopped for lunch 30 miles east at Pazzo's Pizza in Eagle.

The Colorado River at the beginning of the trail.

Starting to hike up toward the lake and falls.

Almost there!

First views of hanging lake.

It was really pretty here!

Under the falls.

We lucked out and were the only ones at the falls. A couple big groups came up as we were leaving.

More waterfall views.

The sun lit up hanging lake as the morning wore on.

There were lots of butterflies on the trail.

Last look before heading back down.

After lunch, we continued east, crossing in to Rocky Mountain National Park in the late afternoon. The only route across the park is Trail Ridge Road, which passes up and over the mountains. A full 11 miles of the road is above the tree line, with a high point of 12,183 feet. Our drive was interesting because of the dense clouds moving through the mountains. We were able to look down on the clouds filling the valleys, and also drove through several sections of very thick clouds. We stopped for a walk on the Tundra Communities Trail, which had great tundra and mountain views but the only animals we saw were pikas.

Colorado scenery. A portion of our journey was on a dirt road.

You pass a series of big lakes before entering the park.

A large wildfire in 2020 burned big sections on the west side of the park near Grand Lake.

Beautiful valley views.

Looking into a cloud filled valley.

Walking on tundra communities trail.

Panoramic view from the end of the trail.

The clouds gathered like pools.

Very strict toilet rules.

David above the clouds.

We had great views of the clouds moving through the valleys and mountains.

A pika gathering grass.

We're not kidding when we say we drove through the clouds!

Views from Sheep Lake.

Leaving the park and heading into town, we saw a huge elk lounging on the side of the road, right in front of a wagon labelled "elk crossing." We stopped for some pictures - don't worry, we didn't get too close and there was a fence between us. We checked into our hotel, the Apenzell Inn, which was more like a condo building. We had a two bedroom unit with a living room and kitchenette, and some mountain views from the window. For dinner we went to Himalayan Curry and Kebab in downtown Estes Park, which was doing a brisk business.

Scratching his rear with his antlers. Must be convenient.

Just chewing the day away.

Our hotel was great.

Dumpling appetizer.

Monday, our last day of the trip, was a busy day packed with activities. We started by going to the Mustang Mountain Coaster right when they opened at 9AM. Another coaster credit for Paul! From there we drove to Lily Lake, a trail in a detached section of Rocky Mountain National Park. It's an easy loop trail around a small lake, and we saw plenty of fish, salamanders, birds, and ground squirrels. From there we went to lunch at The Wapiti Colorado Pub, in the spot formerly known as Nicky's, where we'd been several times before. We like this place because it has outdoor seating above Fall River.

Because the National Park is so busy, they had a 5AM - 5PM reservation system for the most popular area of the park (Bear Lake), and the rest of the park also had a reservation system from 9AM - 2PM. Since we couldn't get in until then, we went back to our hotel for a bit to relax. FYI - David tried booking a better reservation 5 weeks in advance and they were sold out. If you're planning a trip to RMNP, make sure you plan WELL in advance, or be prepared to enter at a less than ideal time of day.

Tasha found some goats next to the Mustang Mountain Coaster.

Up up up!

We saw several snakes on Lily Lake trail.

Lily Lake is super cute.

Walking the board walk trail around Lily Lake.

So many rodents of all varieties at RMNP.

Duck...duck...duck...goo...oh wait it's a duck.

We've all heard of charismatic megafauna, but let's not overlook the cute AF microfauna!

Little hard to see, but those are salamanders!

Beer on the river in the CO sunshine is hard to beat.

Wapiti's river top deck is the place to be.

Lunch!

Paul is a well known beverage goblin. One for hydration, one for energy and one for fun!

Once it was our permit time, we drove into the park, waiting for about 10 minutes in the line to get in. We parked at a park-and-ride and took the shuttle bus up to the Bear Lake area. We then set off on the quite crowded trail to Emerald Lake. This is a fairly easy/moderate 3.2 mile round trip hike, passing Nymph Lake and Dream Lake along the way. Luckily a lot of the family groups turned around at those lakes, so the final stretch to Emerald Lake wasn't as crowded. It's a nice hike overall, with some good views of lakes, mountains, and a few little waterfalls. We then took the shuttle back to our car.

A lily pad filled lake early in the hike.

This is what some of the hike was like. National Parks are popular!

Dream Lake with Hallett Peak looming behind.

One of the steeper parts of the trail. Overall it wasn't too bad.

An adorable golden mantled ground squirrel.

They've learned to beg for food, thanks to irresponsible tourists.

The end of the hike, Emerald Lake.

David and Natasha on the hike back down.

Paul enjoying the scenery.

Some fish in the very clear lakes.

We drove around looking for animals, and didn't have too much luck. We did see mule deer, a turkey, and our biggest sighting - a moose! It was from a distance. Some other visitors didn't quite respect the moose's space, and went within a few dozen feet of it and even threw a stick at it to try to get it to move. 😒 One woman did confront them and even called a ranger to report them. Not sure what happened with that!

For dinner we got takeaway from The Post Chicken and Beer, which is located in the compound of the Stanley Hotel, where The Shining was filmed.

Beaver pond trail at dusk, where we didn't see any animals.

That's a moose. Trust me.

A deer right after leaving the park.

Tuesday morning we woke up fairly early to drive to the Denver airport, wrapping up a great (but short!) Colorado road trip.

A pretty good local lunch at the airport.

Colorado Birthday Road Trip - Part 1

For David's sister Natasha's 40th birthday, we took her on a trip to Colorado! We love Colorado, and have spent quite a bit of time there hiking and exploring. We planned out perhaps an overly ambitious 4-day clockwise route around the center of the state that would hit two national parks and a number of other attractions. We left Atlanta on a rainy Thursday morning. Natasha flew from New Orleans, and we met in the Denver airport. Luckily there were no problems with our flights and we quickly got our rental car.

Our first stop was Torchy's on the southside of Denver. Torchy's is a growing chain, but the original location opened in Austin in 2006, and the San Antonio locations were a favorite of Natasha's when she lived there, and we first went to one in 2013 in Dallas. After lunch we drove south to Colorado Springs, where we met Paul's Colleague Mary and her family at Goat Patch Brewing, then checked in to AirBnB in Old Colorado City, a neighborhood on the west side of Colorado Springs.

The first touristy thing we did was visit Garden of the Gods, to hike around a bit and take in the views. On a Thursday evening in summer, this place was fairly crowded, but we didn't have any trouble parking or getting away from the crowds a bit.

Dinner that evening was a take away salad for Tasha at Mother Muffs. Unfortunately, it was karaoke night, which we silently suffered through while they were putting her food together. Paul got a piece of pizza from Slice 420 across the street, followed by some ice cream at Colorado City Creamery. Old Colorado City is a quirky and interesting neighborhood with lots of restaurants, shops and a little park. We'd recommend checking the place out if you're in the area.

Lunch time!

Someone's happy with the appetizer sampler!

A beer at Goat Patch.

Paul and Mary at the brewery.

Our AirBnB was basement level, but it was really nice.

Garden of the Gods.

David admiring the rocks.

Paul and Natasha being too cool for school.

Old Colorado City was cute.

The next morning (Friday) Paul woke up early (thanks, time zones!) and walked to coffee at Jives Coffee Lounge, then we had breakfast at La Baguette. Both were cute, and Old Colorado City is a nice area for local cafes and restaurants. We wish we had a bit more time here, but we had a long day ahead of us on our trek towards Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on the west side of the State (with planned stops along the way).

A cinnamon roll at La Baguette.

David enjoying breakfast on a cool sunny morning.

Views of Old Colorado City.

It's a nice neighborhood, reminiscent of some in Atlanta.

Our first stop of the day was at Pike's Peak. You now need a timed entry permit (a common theme in Colorado). We considered taking the cog railway up to the top of the mountain from near our AirBnB, but it was a bit expensive and would have taken longer. I think if we were spending another day in Colorado Springs it would have been the way to go, but we got places to be!

Pikes Peak is really cool. It's about an hour or two (depending on your pace and the traffic) drive from Colorado Springs straight to the top of a 14,000+ foot tall mountain. This late in the season there was no snow, which made it, and most of the mountains in Colorado, look a bit bare. I think we prefer coming to Colorado earlier in the summer or late spring to get the most idyllic views of the Rockies. Overall, the drive was great and there were wonderful views, especially from the top. It was quite crowded since it was a lovely summer day.

On the way back down, we stopped by Santa's Workshop, a small amusement park right at the foot of Pike's Peak. They have one roller coaster that Paul was eager to add to his collection. Paul paid for the wristband and was told the ride was open, but upon reaching the ride at the far back of the park we learned it was closed for a few hours due to some maintenance problem. All due credit to North Pole for giving Paul a refund on his wristband on our way out! The park itself was cute, and a nice park for children.

Driving to the top is not for those afraid of heights.

Almost at the top!

The cog railway.

We do love pictures of trains.

I mean, it is pretty cool. How European of Colorado Springs!

David gives Pike's Peak two thumbs up... despite almost fainting from altitude.

Proof we went to the top of Pike's Peak!

North Pole would probably be more idyllic in winter, but it was still pretty cute.

Stupid broken roller coaster.

Continuing our drive westward, we stopped in Buena Vista (recommended by two of our colleagues) for lunch at a place called House Rock Kitchen. Unfortunately, half the menu was unavailable but they did have pretty massive salads and grain bowls that turned into two meals. The town was pretty cute, just east of a major set of university-named 14,000 foot tall mountains. The area was very geared towards outdoor tourism and would probably be another fun place to visit for a couple days if we had more time.

Downtown Buena Vista.

Lunch at House Rock Kitchen in Buena Vista. A lot of avocados were harmed in the making of this travel blog.

After lunch we continued our drive, arriving at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in the late afternoon. This is a more off-the-beaten-path national park, with 308,000 visitors in 2021 (by comparison, Rocky Mountain National Park had 4.43 million visitors). This park is admittedly one noted - the only reason to visit is for the view of the canyon. But that one note is spectacular. There are amazing views down into the 2,000 foot deep canyon, and we didn't have any crowds to deal with. The canyon is called the black canyon because it is narrow and steep, so some parts receive only 33 minutes of sunlight a day. We drove along the dead-end road visiting viewpoints along the way. Our favorite spot was the painted wall overlook. We lingered there for a while enjoying the views and the distance sounds of the river.

Leaving the park, we drove to Montrose where we checked in to the Mine Cart Motel. This was an interesting little motel that had been updated and modernized, and is a relatively affordable option in the area. We had dinner at Tacos 2 Day across the street.

We had a lot of amazing views while driving across the state.

Some cool pinnacles alongside a lake.

We made it!

Thumbs up for Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

View from the first viewpoint. 

Glimpses of the river below.

One side of the canyon is much steeper than the other.

A little lizard friend.

There were some cool plants as well.

The best view was at painted wall overlook.

Painted wall is the tallest sheer cliff in Colorado, at 2,250 feet.

There are also views in the park of surrounding mountains.

The term "pack lightly" is thrown around a lot these days...

Pauls' birria tacos from Tacos 2 Day.

That wrapped up our first two days in Colorado. From there we'd be heading north, and then turning back east to finish up in Rocky Mountain National Park.