Need Travel Recommendations - Colorado

Me | 10/1/10 | Self

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Hey, FRiends. Mrs. POF and I are driving from Twin Falls, ID to Boulder, CO week after next. We are going to visit relatives in Twin and SLC and then have 3-1/2 days to get from SLC to Boulder.

What do you recommend we do in CO? Should we stay on the Western Slope? Visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison? Crested Butte? Head more into the Rockies? We love to hike, but probably 6,000 feet tops because we live at sea level in CA.

Ideas on what to see and where to stay would be greatly appreciated. Mrs. POF would like to stay at ski resort towns like Vail or Aspen, but I say "over my dead body." I want to find a ranch or remote resort, rustic but comfortable. What do you say?

[unkus]

Have fun!

[blkmontecarlo]

We stay at Highland Haven Creekside Inn in Evergreen. It is a beautiful place and the owner makes the best breakfast.

[BreitbartSentMe]

Niceeee! We had to bring back a case of the Colorado Native this year since it wasn’t available in Calif.

[mozarky2]

Falcon Guide’s “Scenic Driving Colorado” is a must-here’s a copy for 1 cent!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0762727020/ref=sr_1_2_olp?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286006930&sr=8-2&condition=used

BTW, Hwy 141 south of Grand Junction is jaw-dropping. Yes, by all means Black Canyon of the Gunnison, especially the North Rim.

[Thermalseeker]

In Utah, the Flaming Gorge in the NE part of the state was an unexpected surprise for us. Moab is kind of neat, too. Nearby to Dead Horse Point, Arches NP, Canyonlands, etc. Not far from Mesa Verde, either. In Colorado Hwy 550 from Durango to Ouray, over Red Mountain Pass, is nothing short of stunning. Probably one of the prettiest drives in the USA that I’ve seen. Telluride is a beautiful spot. Take a drive through RMNP if it’s not snowing up there already and closed the road. The elk should be in the rut now and the males should be “bugling” a lot. Estes Park is a neat little town, too.

[Mountain Mary]

Right on, Mjaye...liberal repellent and more. Our resident granola munching enviro whackos are rabid but easy to identify. They drive around in beat up Subarus with peeling BO stickers. The mountain women have white bushy hair and yellow teeth, men same except add professorial beards.

But we have a core group of Conservative patriots who live here as well..thus, my ability to remain. :-)

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks for the Falcon Guide tip! I just bought it. We purchase the flat-rate shipping from Amazon every year, so shipping is “free” on items purchased directly from Amazon. I bought the $4.01 copy from Amazon with free shipping which turns out to be essentially the same price as the 1 cent copy with shipping. If you use Amazon a lot, the flat-rate shipping is outstanding and their fulfillment is excellent. I know this book will be here in two business days, next Tuesday, so I’ll have time to peruse before we leave.

I’m torn whether to hit the southern part of the state or the northern (Dinosaur Nat’l Monument over to RMNP). We’ll have two more Parent’s Weekends at Boulder after this one, so we can do another route in ‘11 or ‘12.

[2111USMC]

Couldn’t agree more.

If you haven’t been to Rocky Mountain National Park at Estes Park, you haven’t been to Colorado.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks for the tips. A buddy and I drove along the Flaming Gorge on a road trip from Missouri to Idaho Falls, ID right after I graduated from Mizzou. We unfortunately didn’t time it very well and drove along the Flaming Gorge after dark! Oops. I do remember it being the most desolate place I had ever seen. We could get out of the car and look 360 degrees and not see a single light anywhere. Dead silence. Nothing but stars. For a kid who was raised in upstate NY and Missouri that was really something.

[mountn man]

Just a little FYI.

If you're going to be going to Co. from SLC, that means your going to have to return towards SLC.

Why not loop Colorado?

Leave SLC and head to Dinosaur and Estes/RMNP. Boulder is about an hour from Estes.

Then for the return, head down towards Denver and take 70 back west, going through Vail and Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction. Vail is...well...Vail, not quite Aspen. Its a nice town to walk through anytime of year. Glenwood Springs has Hanging Lake.

Vail

Hanging Lake

The difference, according to Mapquest, in drive times from SLC-Dino/Estes-Denver is 10 hours 45 minutes versus SLC-Grand Junction-Denver is 8 hours and 34 minutes.

SLC-Grand Junction-Gunnison-Denver is 10 hours 36 minutes.

Whether you go north or go south, travel time is about the same. You could go to Boulder via Estes/Dino and return via the south or visa versa. Or just cut 2 hours off and take 70 through Vail and Glenwood.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks. We’re doing a one-way trip. Flying to Boise, drive to Twin Falls to visit my 90 year old uncle, then drive to SLC to see my cousin, then the long segment SLC to Boulder to visit our son who’s a soph at CU. Then fly home from Denver. So we’re planning a one-way across CO, west to east.

Last year we took a day trip from Boulder to RMNP which was wonderful. On the way back to Denver airport from Boulder, we detoured to the west up through Nederland and down to Idaho City before going back to the airport.

So this trip, I’m trying to figure either across northern CO or southern CO and maybe doing the other portion next year.

Great photos. Thanks.

[BluH2o]

Colorado National Monument is near Grand Junction

In addition to the CO National Monument in GJ you have vineyards to visit as well as the Grand Mesa. Palisade peaches are now at their prime ... peach orchards are interspersed among the various vineyards.

[mozarky2]

I’m an expert in all things Colorado-let me know when you need advice.

You can’t go wrong with Dinosaur and RMNP. Study them both well before you leave. (Falcon Guides also have guidebooks on both of them).

BTW, how many days do you have to explore CO?

[Thermalseeker]

One of the things I liked about the Flaming Gorge was the signage that gave you insight into what you were looking at in terms of the area’s geology. Another “don’t miss” in that part of the country is the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge railroad. The trip up the Animas River valley to Silverton, CO, is nothing short of spectacular.

[bert]

La Junta is the home of the wealthiest Boy Scout Troop in America. They have a museum containing one of the best American Indian relic collections in existence. It is valued at $5 million + I think

They also study and recreate Indian dances. the Koshare Dancers perform in their magnificent log Kiva adjacent to the museum.

http://www.visitlajunta.net/koshare.html

[jnaujok]

Only because I type slow...