Every year my old college roommates and I try to get together. For this trip 2 of my college friends (La and Susan) and I met for a phenomenal girl's weekend! Samantha, Carrie and Jessica were not able to attend).
This was probably our favorite reunion trip of all. Colorado was SO beautiful and there was so much to do. I wish we had more time to visit but we made the most of the time that we had.....
Day 1:
Denver Airport, Broomfield, CO and Fairplay, CO
I am last to arrive so I do not get "shot gun". My friend Susan is designated driver. We did drive by Red Rocks Amphitheatre on the way out of town. Although we had tried to catch a show, there were not any bands playing that we wanted to see. (I had actually seen ABBA play several years ago at Red Rocks and it was AWESOME - best concert venue I have ever been to!)
Once we arrived in Fairplay we stopped at Prather's, the one grocery store in town, and loaded up. Then we stopped at the liquor store to purchase beer and wine. Although there was only one Grocery Store, it did seem like there were a couple of Liquor stores. We went to the one that had the sign literally upside down (very funny - I could totally appreciate the humor in that). Even though the sign was upside down, people had no problem finding it. The Liquor Store was quite the hot spot at 5pm on a Friday afternoon..... For a small town the liquor store was seeing more than it's fair share of action.
After we were fully stocked up on groceries and alcohol, we began the trip up to the cabin. This involved a drive through town, turning onto country road and driving down until it turned into a dirt road. It then took a lengthy trip up a mountain. It was a very steep drive with many sharp turns in a very remote area.. Needless to say we made sure that we had everything we needed before leaving the cabin or before going home.
Day 2:
Breckinridge, CO; Dillon, CO; and Frisco, CO
After Dillon Lake we stopped to eat and then headed back to Fairplay. We made sure to stop at the Continental Divide on the way home. We hit it just around sunset so we were thankful that we were able to get photos.
Susan @ Continental Divide, September 2015 |
La @ Continental Divide, September 2015 |
MaryBeth @ Continental Divide, September 2015 |
Once we arrived back in Fairplay we stopped by SouthPark Bowling Alley for some bowling and world-renowned tamales. Seriously. Dorothy's was featured on the Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate". We had already had dinner but we were committed to trying these tamales. Now I have not eaten too many tamales in my lifetime but I do have to say that these were delicious. We got three different tamales - Jalapeno Cheese, Pork and Bison, The Bison was my favorite! After we finished our game of bowling (I lost), we headed back to the cabin and went to bed early because we had a busy day planned for Day 31
Day 3
Manitou Springs, Pike's Peak, and Lake George
On the way to Pike's Peak we made a pit stop at Wilkerson Pass - it was a little park / rest stop with a spectacular view of the valley. I was fascinated with the Aspen trees when we were in CO. The leaves were just starting to turn and I was able to get some beautiful photos.
On the way up there were various pit stops - one apparently that Big Foot frequents. We tried to act as frightened as we could for the cameras. I will not be winning any academy awards any time soon.
Big Foot at Pike's Peak - we found him! |
At the Summit of Pike's Peak |
Rocks for my Rock tumbler |
Garden of the Gods
This was my favorite park that we visited.
Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center - Great resource. Had a wealth of information through interactive computers and visual displays on not only the park, but also wildlife, flowers, plants and geology native to the region. The display was a network of tvs and touch screen computers - I could have stayed there all day looking up and cross referencing. The museum had a display on dinosaurs and I was sad that I did not have my traveling Bronto from work (even though the dinosaur on exhibit was not a Bronto but instead a newly discovered species found in Colorado - the Theiophytalia kerri)
See the nature center photo of the interactive display followed by my own personal photos of the park (and of me at the park!). SO beautiful.
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Photo from Nature Center website of interactive display / exhibit |
Manitou Cave Dwellings
I have ALWAYS wanted to visit the cave dwellings. I find how past generations and other civilizations lived during their time on earth fascinating. For each group of people it is interesting to learn about where they lived, what activities their days were filled with, how their families and the community was structured, etc. Details here: http://www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com/preserve
After touring the cave dwellings we visited the gift shop and I picked up a few items for my children. We were pretty tired after such a full day and headed home. This was the night of the eclipse and subsequent blood moon so we had to pull over the side of the road a couple of times and watch. I had NEVER seen an eclipse before and always wanted too so I was very appreciative that I finally had the opportunity to do so. The sky was relatively clear and we were able to see most of the eclipse. An older man who drove up next to us had binoculars which he let us use to get a closer look. I tried to get a photo but could not capture a proper picture using my iphone.
After the full eclipse we got back into the car to finish our journey home. By the time we reached Fairplay most of the restaurants were closed except for 1! (Asian Fusion). We made it in just before closing so we took our food to go, had a beer while we waited for the food to be prepared and headed back to the cabin once we had our order in hand.
Day 4
We planned on visiting the South Park City Museum and ghost town but we were distracted by a bead store (WONDERFUL!) and art shop next door. We ended up shopping in the morning and then headed to Buena Vista where we encountered the accident. After waiting an hour we turned around and spent the rest of the day driving around Pike National looking for wildlife. Susan was determined to see wildlife - especially a moose - but all we ended up seeing was a raccoon and a mule deer. All this within 1 - 2 miles of the cabin. We should have never left LOL!
Afterward we headed home and La made dinner. Afterward we drank wine / beer and played cards until the wee hours of the morning.
Pike National Forest |
Day 5
Back to Denver / Broomfield
The morning started with a mad rush to clean the cabin and pack the car. We then drove back to Broomfield to drop off the keys, repeatedly thank my co-worker and then head back to Denver to the airport. Between dropping off the keys and heading to the airport we stopped for a quick lunch at Azitra - one of my favorite restaurants in Raleigh . (I actually meet my old co-workers there when we are able to coordinate schedules). It was so ironic that Azitra also had a location in Colorado exactly where we decided to stop - especially as they only have a small number of locations (Raleigh, NC, Broomfield CO and somewhere in VA).
Overall it was a fabulous trip - I already miss my girlfriends and we are already planning our next adventure!
