08 Jun Colorado is truly a beautiful state!
Golden
After a couple of days in Moab, UT looking at rocks in Arches and Canyonlands, we were delighted to return to the mountain coolness of Colorado. We camped in Grand Junction our first night, then spent two nights in Golden, staying with friend and fellow Mongol Rally veteran Tony. Golden is a fun town, with great breweries, and Scrabble too, although we never made it to see the big one: Coors! We picked up teammate Ralph while in Golden as well, with Amber showing off her stick shift driving skills on our way to the airport. We only stalled a few times! Amber says she had trouble because her Mongol Rally car was right hand drive and the pedals were reversed…we will go with that excuse!
A nice side trip suggested by Ralph was a stop up on the creek to put our toes in the water. Cold for sure, but a refreshing and peaceful spot. The severe floods of last summer have left these creeks and rivers very changed, and there is extensive construction work as bridges and roads are repaired.
Boulder, Lyons, Estes Park
Next up was Estes Park, staying at Mongol rally veteran and navigator on the Japanese leg of this journey, Adam, very kindly hosted us at his family’s vacation home for a couple of days. It was so great to be able to settle down for a bit in both Golden and Estes Park, and not have to camp as we’ve done every night these last few weeks.
On the way to Estes, we stopped in at Oskar Blues Brewery in Lyons for an amazing lunch (Will recommends the Silo burger wholeheartedly) and a photo op with their cool vintage bus.
A highlight in Estes was a trip up the Trail Ridge Road in the Rocky Mountain National Park, very much above the tree line and one of the highest paved roads in the USA. Don white-knuckled the driving, as there were many sheer dropoffs and not much between us and the edges.
We picked up a hitchhiking backcountry skier there, Lee, who said ours was the most unique vehicle he’d ever caught a ride with! Lee said he’s skied 235 consecutive months and was grateful for our company on the way up the mountain road.
A stop at the Estes Park Brewery to enjoy the view and the Colorado sunshine was in order after that big drive. We met the brewer there, who gave Don a behind-the-scenes tour of their nice facility.
And of course the Stanley Hotel… inspiration for Stephen King’s “The Shining”
Ft. Collins & Denver
Next up was a drive to Fort Collins to check out New Belgium and Odell’s breweries. We left Amber and Will to enjoy a quiet day in Estes Park and Ralph got his first taste of driving the bus on the way back. The brewery tour at New Belgium was quite interesting, and we got our guide Eric to sign the bus before we left.
We returned to Denver on Thursday, to spend a few hours downtown, with lunch at Vine Street Pub, a stroll down Colfax Ave. with stops at Tattered Cover bookstore and the local record store, plus a few more beers at Great Divide Brewery. There we said goodbye to Ralph, who is wisely skipping the drive across Kansas in favor of flying back home to South Carolina.
We stayed in Lakewood with Adam and his family, who showed us more Colorado hospitality with a home-cooked meal and beds for our last night.
Colorado is truly a beautiful state. The charming small towns, the fast moving creeks, the incredible views of the mountains at every turn, and the warm and friendly folks we met make it easy to understand why it is such a special place for so many of our friends. We are very glad we took the time to spend a few extra days here before starting back to South Carolina.
Onward to Kansas!
Sarah
