Colorado is the only state we traversed so far where we said to each other, "We could live here." Well, except maybe for winter. But we weren't here in winter - we entered the state at the beginning of autumn. After the beautiful but dry desert of Utah & Arizona, we entered a lush land of blue mountains, yellow aspens, gently flowing brooks and tall green trees.
We entered Colorado from Four Corners, and immediately noticed the green trees and flowing water. We only drove 40 miles, and stayed overnight in Cortez. From there the next day, we began to climb through forested mountain slopes. The landscape quickly turned to alpine heights of breathtaking beauty.
We stayed overnight at a lovely Airbnb in Delta, CO. On the way in, the towns nearby were kind of industrial, but we were near a small but charming downtown with a nice Italian restaurant and an Art Deco-style "Egyptian" theater a few blocks from our place.
The next morning we drove to Aspen. Another lovely drive in the heart of the Rockies.
Paul had been to Aspen over 40 years ago. He flew out from Chicago to hike in the White River National Forest. He went with a backpack, stayed in a $60/night motel, and hiked solo for 12 days. When he returned to Aspen, he attended the music festival downtown. There were lots of food trucks. He has fond memories of the trip, and wanted to return. The town of Aspen was much different from the town he remembered. We paid over $300/night for a kind of small-ish room in a "resort" which was more of a motel/hostel. The town itself was extraordinarily expensive. There were no motels, and no food trucks.
The next morning, we took the gondola up Mount Aspen. Paul says, the mountains are the same. It was beautiful. We ate ramen in a cafe at the top and admired the view.
That night, we ate at a way-too-expensive restaurant called Casa Tua. We ate lobster pasta, steak, broccolini, and cauliflower soup. The staff were knowledgeable, very nice, and attentive. The food was fantastic. The wine (a red Zinfandel, recommended by the Croatian sommelier) was great. The gelato for dessert was delicious.
The trip the following day, from Aspen to Denver, was a highlight. We climbed into the mountains, where the Aspen trees were a saturated yellow, like huge paint strokes on the sides of the mountains. We went through Independence Pass, at just over 12,000 feet, once more crossing the Continental Divide. We wound our way to I-70, where we drove through the Rockies into Denver.
We had been looking forward to spending time in a 3br house we booked for ten days in Denver. We had not spent more than two nights in any location since Coram, MT, and many locations were 1 night. We were exhausted from the travel. We needed a break. We were very, very happy with the house we booked on Airbnb. The place was roomy, the location quiet, and there were grocery stores and restaurants nearby. The hosts were very nice. It was exactly what we needed. We mostly caught up on projects during those ten days. The only two outings we took, were to the Rocky Mountain National Park, and to the Denver Art Museum.
The Rocky Mountain National Park is a treasure. We had driven the high Trail Ridge road in 2012, when we took a trip out West. This time, we entered from the town of Estes Park, which is a lovely town by one of the entrances. We saw a herd of elk in the lake right in town.
As we made our way up the drive, we stopped at a tundra overlook. A man standing next to us was using binoculars and said "There's a moose down by that lake." Honestly, I didn't see a thing. But he was so sure that I took a bunch of photos with my zoom lens on my Canon camera, and sure enough, there was the moose!
We drove up to the Alpine visitor center then down the other side, exiting near Lake Granby, then driving back to Denver through another set of mountains.
Our only other day trip was to the heart of downtown Denver, to have breakfast at Sam's No.3 (a diner we had visited in 2012) and the Denver Art Museum. The food at Sam's was good, especially the chili sauces.
The Denver Art Museum was great. We enjoyed the exploration of color by Alma Thomas (1891-1978), an African-American artist who explored color. Her paintings looked like mosaics from a distance, but up close you see precise brush strokes.
We also really enjoyed a short film exploring the meaning of "community" in Denver. The rest of the collection was eclectic, emphasizing modern approaches to various types of art. One special area featured a film about Denver, where a diverse range of residents gave short vignettes about living there. We learned a lot about the city in that short film.
The outdoor spaces were also nice.
The museum is near the Capitol and the Denver Mint, both easy to spot. Civic Center Park lies between them.
We were honestly not that taken with the rest of the downtown. It seemed a bit sprawling, and for a Monday, not very peopled. But, to be fair, we didn't spend much time there. We were grateful for the respite we found in the near north side of the city.
On 9/25/24, we left Denver for Taos, NM.
We had a lovely lunch in Colorado Springs with my former student, Catherine, who is a successful lawyer in Colorado Springs where she and her husband raise their two boys. We had a great catch-up after 7 years!
The rest of the drive completed our time in Colorado. We saw the last of the alpine mountains and the aspens coloring their sides, as we drove into Taos, New Mexico. We hope to be back!
The entire time we drove through the Colorado Rockies, I kept humming "Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver. I think his first line is perfect: "He was born in the summer of his 27th year, coming home to a place he'd never been before." I felt this exact feeling when I went to the French Alps in 1974 - coming home to a place I'd never been before. Paul says he felt it the first time he went to Japan. Maybe you only get that sensation once in your life, I don't know. I've recorded the song on my ukelele.
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