Northern Colorado
July 30th - August 3rd

Monday, July 30th
Glennwood Springs

Since Crested Butte I had really wanted to mountain bike. There was a special for hostellers at a place down the road so we went down and rented bikes. We took a really cool bike path that followed the Colorado River. I loved it. There weren't too many hills so I didn't get too exhausted, but I did realize that it would take me a little practice before I could do the kind of trail we had hiked in Crested Butte. Nevertheless, the path was gorgeous - it wound along the river with mountains towering around us. We stopped for a swim and then finally got to a hiking trail 10 miles down the path. James decided to hike it. It went up to the Hanging Falls, which were supposed to be gorgeous, but I knew that if I hiked that too, I'd never get the bike back to the shop.

I stayed on the trail, went a bit further down and then returned to one of the rest areas. I had my lunch and quick little nap in the sun. On my way back along the trail, I stopped a couple of times for a swim in the river and checked out all the people rafting and kayaking.

That afternoon we were exhausted. I can't remember what we did but I don't think it was anything special. In the evening I was sitting outside on the patio writing the journal and a guy sat down and started to chat to me. He was a little strange (James called him a lizard) but turned out to be from another bust dot com. So we spoke a little biz/tech talk, which was actually quite refreshing. He also filled me in on some cool information on the area; he had worked for some of the rich in Aspen and had just driven 3000 miles in Idaho.


Tuesday, July 31st
Glennwood Springs - Aspen - Frisco - Denver

Onward ho! We were on our way back to the big city and to meet up with Shash and her girlfriend, Tanya. We went via Aspen and had lunch there. Aspen looked like a very quaint little town but we couldn't brush off the stigma of money and wealth that Aspen is known for. Driving out of Aspen was gorgeous, the road followed a river and the vegetation on the mountains was wonderful.

After Aspen, we hit the Continental Divide. We were at 12,000 ft and it was really chilly. The mountains were gorgeous. We walked down a little trail and got right up to a sheet of snow on the peak. It was so cool - the middle of summer and I was sitting in snow!

We hit the I-70 and stopped in Frisco for a late afternoon snack. This was the town at the exit for Brekenridge. I had just been there in April visiting Susie. It was kind of weird - you know when you go to a faraway place you never think you're ever going to go back? Let alone a couple of months later!

We got into Denver that evening. The hostel was OK. The best part was a wrap around patio that overlooked downtown Denver. I had stayed in the hostel in April, noted the patio and the friendliness of the people. Sure enough I met some English guys sitting on the patio. Then I cooked myself dinner and watched some TV (something I hadn't done in a while!). After dinner, I met up with the guys at an English pub down the road. Nice guys; one had been traveling for 6 months and had just come in from New Orleans and the other had been in the States for over 10 years and was a teacher looking for a new job in Denver. We watched some Cricket, had some drinks and talked shit till the late hours of the evening. Combined with watching TV, it was a refreshingly normal evening.

 

Wednesday, August 1st
Denver

Denver was like the mid-point of the trip. It was actually week 6 of 10 but it was the largest city we'd been in for a while. We needed to service the car and get a roof rack. In the morning James went out to the Red Rocks stadium to take photos. I just hung out in my room, watched MTV and caught up on my journal. When he got back, I took the car to go get a roof rack.

When I got back, Tanya was at the reception looking for me. We settled into our new room, Tanya took a long nap and James and I watched Phantom Menace on video. We grabbed some pizza and watched some more TV. Around midnight, James and Tanya went to pick up Shash from the airport. I stayed behind and went to bed because I had to get up early to take the car to get serviced.


Thursday, August 2nd
Denver - Frasier

Shash came with me to take the car in. We still weren't sure if Shash and Tanya were going to rent a car or try fit into mine. Some of the car rental places she called said they couldn't rent a car that would be dropped off out of state and others charged a ridiculous fee. The other option was to try to fit in my car, which would be a tight squeeze. We didn't find much info around there and took a cab back to the hostel. While waiting for the car, Shash, Tanya and James took a walk downtown. I stayed at the hostel with all of the stuff and messed about some more!

Later in the afternoon, I went to pick up the car. Nothing was seriously wrong (or so we thought). They just fixed the front suspension and the fuse for the lighter.

Went back to the hostel and attempted to fit everything on my car. The car was loaded but somehow we managed to do it. We head out of the city northwest through a winding mountain pass and got to Winter Park, a ski resort. The next town over was Frasier, which had a campsite. We followed the directions, went down a long dirt road heading deeper and deeper into the darkness of a forest and eventually came to a little State campsite in the woods.

We setup camp, cooked some pasta and veggies in the fire. We were back on the road. Shash and Tanya were finally out of the city!


Friday, August 3rd
Frasier - Steamboat Springs - Vernal, UT

We made some breakfast, packed up camp and head to Steamboat Springs, another ski resort in Colorado. It was also another very cute little town with a main street lined with shops. We walked around and came across an outdoor sports store. I wanted to get some hiking boots and tried some on. Then Shash and Tanya came into the store and spotted these great Chaco sandals. Shash tried one on. They looked ultra comfortable and the two owners of the store were wearing them. The one owner (who was 8 months pregnant) told us how much she liked them and that she had hiked in them just the other day. She also said that they were perfect for swimming or walking through lakes and rivers. So I decided to try some on too. In the end, I nixed the hiking boots and all 3 of us walked out with a pair of these sandals!

We went down the road a bit, grabbed a bite to eat and head back out of town. We were going towards Dinosaur National Monument. The surroundings had become less mountainous and more like prairie. Clouds were starting to form and the landscape was incredible. We stopped at a rest stop at one point and there was a shelter with white boards. People had come along and written random quotes and questions on them. It was the strangest thing. Take a look at the photos too see.

At the lookout it had started to rain a little. We drove through little thunderstorms about 100 feet long. It was crazy, you could see them coming up like waves. Driving along you would see the heavy rain coming, drive through it not being able to see a thing, and then see the end of it ahead. We thought it may be a passing shower but by the time we got to Vernal, UT (just after the border of Colorado), it was pouring. We decided to check into a hotel for the night. After a good shower, Chinese food and some TV, we all had a good nights sleep.

 

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