Colorado; Or, Last Weekend For September 28-30
As noted at the time, I did not write a last weekend summary for September 28-30 because I was in Colorado for the whole week. I did get some photos posted relatively quickly after the event, but a fuller summary was lacking. Now the record of my second trip to Colorado in 2018 is, if not complete, at least as complete as it is going to get.
My company has for many years had time shares available for employees with enough tenure. Over the years I've gone to Orlando (twice), Naples and Chautauqua. In 2018 we added a condo in Avon, Colorado. Most people take it to go skiing in the winter, but I was happy to take an early autumn week to get some hiking in before winter strikes. My parents and tigerlily_blue joined me; due to scheduling issues neither M nor my sister's husband were able to make it.
My parents and I flew in direct to Denver on Tuesday, September 25. We picked up our rental car and headed to Union Station. On the flight I started and finished The End of Night, which I thought was a very interesting read. Because I blazed through that so quickly, I bought the copy of Sing, Unburied, Sing that kicked off my Jesmyn Ward addiction at the satellite branch of Tattered Cover. Hilariously, when my sister took the train in from the airport we learned that she'd brought the same book with her! On a side note, Union Station is the same building where pussygalore66's wedding brunch at Snooze was located.
With the four of us united, we met up with Rob & Darika at Marcella's for dinner. Marcella's had an excellent happy hour, and we ate heavily of many small appetizers and pizzas, with some drinks for fun. From there, the four us drove west to Avon and arrived just in time to go to bed.
Wednesday the 26th was a rest and relaxation day. We had a hearty breakfast out at the Northside Kitchen then bought groceries. We lazed around and read books the rest of the day before having dinner in. I finished Sing, Unburied, Sing and Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America; the former is great and the latter, an overview of lynching violence in the South, had its moments was but was pretty dry for pop history. I also learned how to use a Keurig, because instant hot chocolate is a dangerous thing to have on hand.
On Thursday, my father, and sister and I rose comparatively early and did the Hanging Lake Trail off Glenwood Canyon. Our guidebooks said it was 'strenuous' but all three of us managed 2.8 mile out and back without much difficulty, even with the rapid rise in altitude. Basically, you go up and up and then there's a little lake with some waterfalls. The trails were crowded, and when we returned to the parking lot after completing the hike we found it completely full. We then returned to the condo, picked up Mom and went to the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in nearby Vail. Even with the lack of blooms in late September it was still pretty, although the colorful leaves of the Aspens in all directions were arguably prettier.
On Friday, the four of us went all the way through Glenwood Canyon to visit Glenwood Springs. We spent most of the morning in the Iron Mountain Hot Springs, which were right on the river. The pools ranged from incredibly hot to very warm, and it was great soaking up the water and the sun.
After lunch at a Mexican restaurant we took the gondola up to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. We had no interest in the park, but the view from the top was very nice. Less nice was the bus ride down; something had happened to the gondola and the bus went down some extremely twisty switchbacks to reach the parking lot. At this point, we decided to use our in and out privileges and returned to the hot springs for a few hours, a decision none of us regretted.
On Saturday the 29th, we left Mom behind at the condo and went to the Upper Piney Lake Trail. The drive was almost harder than the hike; we had to ascend a narrow dirt road around many switchbacks high into the mountains above Vail. From there we hiked a six mile out and back along a long narrow valley. The trail was comparatively empty on the way out, but on the way back we ran into many people and their dogs. Alas, we did not see the moose that the signs promised/threatened us with. We returned, picked up Mom and had pizza.
Sunday was another hike, this time the Shrine Ridge Trail. This time we ended up on top of a mountain on a windy but sunny day. We had great views in all directions, including a view of the Mount of the Holy Cross. Not bad for a short four mile out and back, albeit at a much higher starting altitude.
When we got "home", Mom wasn't feeling great, so we took her out for pho. Then we went back to the condo, and I finished The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which I enjoyed but didn't think was as good as either This Is How You Lose Her or Drown.
On Monday, October 1 we headed up into Leadville, which at 10,152 feet is the highest incorporated city in America. We visited the National Mining Hall of Fame, which taught me a lot about mining. I'd skip the actual Hall of Fame portion though, that was a little dry. We had a light lunch and warm drinks at City on a Hill then caught our train for the Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad. The train runs high above the valley that marks the start of the Arkansas River. Naturally, this day was cool, crisp and cloudy and not ideal for an open air train ride, but we still got decent views even if we couldn't see the mountains off in the distance as much as we might have liked.
On Tuesday, we had to vacate the condo. We headed back to Denver. First we toured the Denver Art Museum. They had a special exhibition of Rembrandt prints, but sadly half the museum was closed off for construction. We used the time that was freed up to have lunch at City O'City, which was just as good as it was when I went there in March. Then we walked a few blocks for the Molly Brown House tour, which was a small comparatively standard "restored rich person house tour". Fun all the same though.
We checked into our hotel and then met up with pussygalore66 at The Irish Snug for trivia, which we won handily under the team name "The Out of Towners" Granted, pussygalore66 was a ringer as she has a side hustle as quiz mistress, but our dominance of the "NBA literature" category was all me. One of my sister's public health friends also dropped in for a bit.
Wednesday we flew home. I started Bleak House, which I wouldn't finish for another month.
Photos for much of this trip, particularly the hikes, can be found here.
Note: I can't confirm all the Yelp locations point at the correct restaurant, or that I went on the exact day specified. That's what happens when the post is written long after the event, especially when we took turns paying so I can't even compare against my credit card statement. It somewhat irritates me that I forgot some restaurants, although we also had many dinners in, which is a major benefit of traveling with three accomplished cooks.
My company has for many years had time shares available for employees with enough tenure. Over the years I've gone to Orlando (twice), Naples and Chautauqua. In 2018 we added a condo in Avon, Colorado. Most people take it to go skiing in the winter, but I was happy to take an early autumn week to get some hiking in before winter strikes. My parents and tigerlily_blue joined me; due to scheduling issues neither M nor my sister's husband were able to make it.
My parents and I flew in direct to Denver on Tuesday, September 25. We picked up our rental car and headed to Union Station. On the flight I started and finished The End of Night, which I thought was a very interesting read. Because I blazed through that so quickly, I bought the copy of Sing, Unburied, Sing that kicked off my Jesmyn Ward addiction at the satellite branch of Tattered Cover. Hilariously, when my sister took the train in from the airport we learned that she'd brought the same book with her! On a side note, Union Station is the same building where pussygalore66's wedding brunch at Snooze was located.
With the four of us united, we met up with Rob & Darika at Marcella's for dinner. Marcella's had an excellent happy hour, and we ate heavily of many small appetizers and pizzas, with some drinks for fun. From there, the four us drove west to Avon and arrived just in time to go to bed.
Wednesday the 26th was a rest and relaxation day. We had a hearty breakfast out at the Northside Kitchen then bought groceries. We lazed around and read books the rest of the day before having dinner in. I finished Sing, Unburied, Sing and Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America; the former is great and the latter, an overview of lynching violence in the South, had its moments was but was pretty dry for pop history. I also learned how to use a Keurig, because instant hot chocolate is a dangerous thing to have on hand.
On Thursday, my father, and sister and I rose comparatively early and did the Hanging Lake Trail off Glenwood Canyon. Our guidebooks said it was 'strenuous' but all three of us managed 2.8 mile out and back without much difficulty, even with the rapid rise in altitude. Basically, you go up and up and then there's a little lake with some waterfalls. The trails were crowded, and when we returned to the parking lot after completing the hike we found it completely full. We then returned to the condo, picked up Mom and went to the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in nearby Vail. Even with the lack of blooms in late September it was still pretty, although the colorful leaves of the Aspens in all directions were arguably prettier.
On Friday, the four of us went all the way through Glenwood Canyon to visit Glenwood Springs. We spent most of the morning in the Iron Mountain Hot Springs, which were right on the river. The pools ranged from incredibly hot to very warm, and it was great soaking up the water and the sun.
After lunch at a Mexican restaurant we took the gondola up to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. We had no interest in the park, but the view from the top was very nice. Less nice was the bus ride down; something had happened to the gondola and the bus went down some extremely twisty switchbacks to reach the parking lot. At this point, we decided to use our in and out privileges and returned to the hot springs for a few hours, a decision none of us regretted.
On Saturday the 29th, we left Mom behind at the condo and went to the Upper Piney Lake Trail. The drive was almost harder than the hike; we had to ascend a narrow dirt road around many switchbacks high into the mountains above Vail. From there we hiked a six mile out and back along a long narrow valley. The trail was comparatively empty on the way out, but on the way back we ran into many people and their dogs. Alas, we did not see the moose that the signs promised/threatened us with. We returned, picked up Mom and had pizza.
Sunday was another hike, this time the Shrine Ridge Trail. This time we ended up on top of a mountain on a windy but sunny day. We had great views in all directions, including a view of the Mount of the Holy Cross. Not bad for a short four mile out and back, albeit at a much higher starting altitude.
When we got "home", Mom wasn't feeling great, so we took her out for pho. Then we went back to the condo, and I finished The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which I enjoyed but didn't think was as good as either This Is How You Lose Her or Drown.
On Monday, October 1 we headed up into Leadville, which at 10,152 feet is the highest incorporated city in America. We visited the National Mining Hall of Fame, which taught me a lot about mining. I'd skip the actual Hall of Fame portion though, that was a little dry. We had a light lunch and warm drinks at City on a Hill then caught our train for the Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad. The train runs high above the valley that marks the start of the Arkansas River. Naturally, this day was cool, crisp and cloudy and not ideal for an open air train ride, but we still got decent views even if we couldn't see the mountains off in the distance as much as we might have liked.
On Tuesday, we had to vacate the condo. We headed back to Denver. First we toured the Denver Art Museum. They had a special exhibition of Rembrandt prints, but sadly half the museum was closed off for construction. We used the time that was freed up to have lunch at City O'City, which was just as good as it was when I went there in March. Then we walked a few blocks for the Molly Brown House tour, which was a small comparatively standard "restored rich person house tour". Fun all the same though.
We checked into our hotel and then met up with pussygalore66 at The Irish Snug for trivia, which we won handily under the team name "The Out of Towners" Granted, pussygalore66 was a ringer as she has a side hustle as quiz mistress, but our dominance of the "NBA literature" category was all me. One of my sister's public health friends also dropped in for a bit.
Wednesday we flew home. I started Bleak House, which I wouldn't finish for another month.
Photos for much of this trip, particularly the hikes, can be found here.
Note: I can't confirm all the Yelp locations point at the correct restaurant, or that I went on the exact day specified. That's what happens when the post is written long after the event, especially when we took turns paying so I can't even compare against my credit card statement. It somewhat irritates me that I forgot some restaurants, although we also had many dinners in, which is a major benefit of traveling with three accomplished cooks.