Northern Colorado
☼ Eastern Utah
☼ Southern Colorado
☼ Journal (text
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Restaurant Guide |
Sept. 7-11 ... Boulder, Colorado |
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Restaurants (we recommend them all) visited in Boulder area included:
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What a perfect start to our trip … not only did we get to spend some high-quality time with our good friends the Ruth Marie and Jimmy Lyons, we dined magnificently and enjoyed great tours with “insiders.” It also gave us a chance to adjust to the mile-high altitude from our sea-level home in Florida. Ruth Marie’s fab recipes for Chocolate Zucchini Cake and Tomato Tart will soon be on our web site. Plus they had scoped out some wonderful restaurants. Ruth Marie, true to form, had mapped out a wonderful itinerary for stay, knowing just what we enjoy. In spite of drizzly weather we got most of it in, including seeing some incredible wildlife. The first morning we were there, we were off early for a tour of the Celestial Seasonings herbal tea factory, which has grown from a one-man operation in the ‘60s when Moe Siegel went off in the mountains to search out herbs which he packaged and sold. It smelled fabulous. Then on to the Leaning Tree Museum of Western Art, another one-man effort originally. Great bargains on the popular Leaning Tree greeting cards. The next day the Denver Museum of Nature and Science gave us a real insight into the anthropology, flora and fauna and minerals of the area. On the following days, we saw the stunning landscape and wildlife (elk, mountain goats, marmots, etc.) close up on drives in the surrounding area, including visits to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. There we saw a small herd of bachelor elk, banished by the bull from his harem. |
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Sept. 12-13 ... Aspen, Colorado |
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Being off-season in Aspen, the restaurants were less crowded:
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I wanted to visit here because of memories of a wonderful vacation at an old cabin in my tens (>50 years ago). What a disappointment. The wonderful old town, which was a skiing village even then has turned in an enclave of overpriced (like in the millions!) houses and uninviting branches of Rodeo Drive boutiques. I have to wonder where the people of Aspen buy their eggs, milk and aspirin. I understand the “locals” live mostly in nearby towns. I mean, $7 for a serving at an ice cream shop! I don’t care if it Ben & Jerry’s. One sight not to be missed, although you may have to take a bus there from the park entrance in the summer, is the Maroon Bells, a scenic lake at the bottom of two bell-shaped mountains with a red hue. It was here Mary got her Golden Age Passport to the nation’s parks (Jack had gotten his at Grand Canyon, but forgot it). With this lifetime pass, any citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. over 62 can enter national parks, forests, etc., free or at discounted rates. We were able to sneak away from the nouveau glitz to the Aspen Center for the Environmental Studies at Hallam Lake, where there were acres of real habitat. The Mountain House Lodge was a good choice as it was only about 3 blocks from “downtown.” The staff was helpful, the room was large and clean, there was a self-laundry available and the continental breakfasts were satisfying, all at a reasonable price, at least in September. We had reserved in advance. Two caveats, most rooms are up a couple flights of stairs and the location is not as isolated as it looks on the web site. |
 The route over Independence Pass (12,095 ft.) to Aspen was still open.
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Sept. 14-15 ... Glenwood Springs, Colorado |
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We did some picnicking here, but enjoyed a great home-cooked lunch at Juicy Lucy’s Steakhouse, an OK Mexican meal at Tequila’s Mexican Restaurant and a delicious Indian meal at Narayan’s Nepal Restaurant.
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We had planned to stay at Grand Junction so we’d be close to Colorado National Monument Park; however, it was the weekend of a big Colorado Wine Festival. At least big enough to fill up all the motels, etc. in the Grand Junction area. So we opted to stay at Glenwood Springs, and got reasonably priced reservations at the Best Western Antlers. It’s large and has beautiful landscaping and lobby. The rooms were typical. There was a free breakfast but it was so crowded and food was running way low, so we didn’t take advantage of it. What a delightful area, even though we opted out of a dip in the giant hot springs pool. We walked around the historic old downtown and the second day, took a walk up the hill to see the site of the grave of Doc Holliday of OK Corral fame. Though there was a warning about mountain lions in the area, all we saw was a very friendly apparently well-fed house cat, who followed us as we wandered down the trail. |
 We took a short but pleasant walk alongside the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon.
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Sept. 16 ... Colorado National Monument |
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| One of our favorite finds on the trip was breakfast in Rifle, a farming and mining, not tourist, town. The bustling Basecamp Cafe was filled with locals and others who were getting filled with lots of good food. We loved the unpretentious atmosphere and friendly waitresses. |
We headed out early in the morning to Colorado National Monument, part of the National Park system. While there are many trails here, we toured mostly from the road as it was quite warm. The rock formations are wonderful and were a good introduction to what was ahead. Worth a stop if you’re in the area. We wanted to see the Arches National Park, so Moab, Utah, was on our itinerary. The drive to Moab was fascinating. (Do fill up on gas here as it’s miles and miles of miles and miles.) We headed west on U.S. 70 and made the first turn off to State Road 128. We headed south through flat scrub land that apparently was the setting of many John Wayne movies. We passed the only town with a name on the map and it was several rusty trailers and an old-fashioned gas pump. We continued into glorious canyons and alongside the Colorado River, seeing more signs of population and recreation, until we reached Moab. |
 Our first taste of those fabulous red rock formations on this trip was at Colorado National Monument.
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 This hearty wildflower was peeking out of the snow at Summit Lake |
 Asters growing along the roadside. |
 A waterfall in Estes Park. |
 A 13-stripe (?) chipmunk in Rocky Mountain National Park. |
 Bachelor elks have little to do but eat and wait |
 Talk about your scenic highways! Our timing was just about perfect. |
  Scenes from Aspen Center for Environmental Studies at Hallam Lake at the edge of town. |
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 Because of the sun direction, the mountain peaks adjoining the "Belles" showed the maroon color even more. |
 The hillsides around the "Belles" were filled with changing aspens. |
 Even the lake at the foot of the "Belles" was alive with color. |
 Colorado River rafters seen while walking in Glenwood Canyon. |
 Several Canada geese were also enjoying the river. |
 Roadside flowers in the canyon. |
  The monument and marker in the cemetery where Doc Holliday is buried. Click to read the descriptive sign. |
 The only "wildcat" we saw during our walk on the steep hillside topped by the graveyard. |
| More scenes from Colorado National Monument | |||
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