Friday Photo Post: Million Dollar Highway

The 25 miles of U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado is called the Million Dollar Highway. It is also part of the San Juan Scenic Byway, and we enjoyed the drive on our way to Telluride from Durango, even the scary parts just south of Ouray.

Those scary parts include steep drop offs and no guard rails going through the Uncompahgre Gorge. It is recommended that you drive the route south to north so you can be away from the edge of the road, especially on the S curves. These pictures were taken in a safer area with pullouts.

Friday Photo Post: Telluride, Colorado

Bridal Veil Falls

Related Post: Puppy Parking in Telluride

Friday Photo Post: Guanella Pass

Photo by Scott Carpenter

On a quest to find even more "scenic panoramic vistas" for my brother when he visited us in Colorado, we drove the Guanella Pass Scenic Byway from Grant to Georgetown.

It was a fun drive, if a little scary.

This last photo was taken at the pass, where we didn't stay longer than it took to snap a few pictures. We did learn an important lesson, though. In September, it is cold and windy at the top of this mountain, so bring hats and mittens if you want to go exploring; a jacket isn't enough.

Other photos from Scott's visit:
Mayflower Gulch
Loveland Pass

Friday Photo Post: Copper Mountain

We had another great ski/snowboard trip to Colorado this year. Blue skies and fresh powder led to smiles all around.

Related post: 5 Tips for Saving Money on a Colorado Ski Vacation

Reader's Question: Hiking Copper Mountain

Chris from Austin sent an email:

Stacy:

I found your blog by googling "hiking Copper Mountain".

We're planning a trip to Colorado in July, and are looking for a nice getaway with good hiking. We're taking my 6-year old son. We were thinking about Estes Park or Colorado Springs, but friends told us we should check out Copper Mountain.

Do you know of any good books or websites which will give us the inside, opinionated scoop on where to stay, where to hike, etc.?

Thanks. I really enjoyed looking through your blog!

If you are also considering a hiking vacation in Summit County, here is what I suggested for Chris:

A good place to get the inside scoop is the Trip Advisor Colorado forum. I did a search on Summit County hiking and several posts showed up in the results with opinions on where to go and what to do during the summer.

For other ideas, check out:

Lodging Options:
Copper Mountain
Keystone Ski Resort and Summit Cove for Keystone lodging
Craig's List for other vacation rentals in the Rocky Mountains.

Hiking Trails and Other Things To Do:
Copper Mountain for summer activities
Hiking trails in Summit County
ALL Summit County.com

If you have any other suggestions for Chris, please add them in the comments below.

Related posts:
Hiking at Copper Mountain
Friday Photo Post: Hiking Copper Mountain

Friday Photo Post: Pikes Peak

This was an interesting drive with no guard rails!

Jim Bishop's Castle in Colorado

During our year in Colorado, one of the places we made sure to visit was Bishop Castle near Beulah. Jim Bishop has been building the castle by himself for nearly 40 years and people visit not just to see his castle, but to see the man himself. He is well known for his anti-government stance and his conspiracy theories. If you visit while he is working on the castle, he will share them with you.

Mr. Bishop wasn't at the site when we stopped in, so we didn't get to meet him, but we had a great time exploring his castle. I would like to go back now and see what has been added. If you are ever in Colorado, especially near Colorado Springs, consider planning a visit to Bishop Castle.

Bishop's Castle:
Address: 12705 CO-165, Rye - Beulah, CO
Directions: I-25, turn west at highway 165 going through Rye or Colorado City approximately 27 miles to Bishop Castle.
Hours: Daylight hours
Admission is free, but donations are requested to help fund construction of the castle.

There used to be a website for the castle, but it is no longer available. For more information on the castle and Mr. Bishop, I enjoyed these two articles:

The Craziest Castle in Colorado
Bishop's Castle

Friday Photo Post: Mayflower Gulch

Here are more pictures taken by my brother, Scott, during his visit with us in Colorado. These are from Mayflower Gulch, just west of Silverthorne near Copper Mountain. There is an easy 2 mile walk with beautiful scenery that leads to the site of Old Boston Mine. (His other pictures were from Loveland Pass.)

If you are interested in free, or open source software, you can check out Scott's blog at MovingtoFreedom.org.

Friday Photo Post: Fall Colors at Rocky Mountain National Park

Autumn colors at the Alluvial Fan in Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colorado.

National Parks Traveler has more information about seeing the fall colors at National Parks.

*related post: Rocky Mountain National Park

Driving the Highest Paved Road in North America

Echo Lake

Yesterday I mentioned driving the Peak to Peak Scenic Highway when we lived in Colorado. Another scenic drive that we enjoyed was the 14 mile Mount Evans Road which ends at an elevation of 14,230 feet above sea level. There are several places to stop along the way. If you go, consider packing a picnic and allow time for exploring.

The last four to five miles of the road closes early in September, but you can still drive up to Summit Lake at about 12,000 feet. It is cold and windy at that elevation, so if you go, bring warm clothing.

Summit Lake

Fall Colors on the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway

During the fall, one of my favorite things to do is take road trips to enjoy the trees changing colors. Last week, I mentioned a road trip on Skyline Drive in Virginia. When we lived in Colorado, we took several trips like that. One beautiful drive is the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway from Black Hawk/Central City to Estes Park.

Once we reached Estes Park, we also enjoyed the fall colors and elk watching at Rocky Mountain National Park. The best time for fall colors is usually the last week in September and the first week in October.

Friday Photo Post: Loveland Pass, Colorado

Looking through photographs from our year in Colorado, I found several pictures of Loveland Pass that my brother took when he came out to visit us. It brought back some fun memories, and I decided to share two of my favorite pictures with you.

I thought this shadow from the clouds looked like a monster opening his mouth to take a big bite out of the mountain.

Thank you to Scott Carpenter for the pictures of Loveland Pass in Colorado. If you are interested in free, or open source software, you can check out his blog at MovingtoFreedom.org.

5 Tips for Saving Money on a Colorado Ski Vacation

Skiing Keystone in 2003

With the cooling temperatures, thoughts in this household turn to the coming winter. Thoughts of snow, skiing, snowboarding, and our annual road trip to Colorado's Summit County. Based on our past experiences, here are a few simple tricks to making these vacations more affordable.

1. When to go- The best prices for lift tickets and lodging will be during the early and late seasons (before Thanksgiving and the month of April). Good deals can also be found between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Possible downsides are a limited number of open runs, and the amount of snow on those runs.

Avoid the holidays (Christmas to New Years Eve, Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, President's Day weekend, Spring Break). Not only are prices higher, but it is also a lot more crowded. More people equals longer lines and wait times at the chair lift or gondola.

My favorite time to go is in January, before the holiday weekends and spring break. All the runs are open, and the snow is usually good for skiing.

2. Lodging- We like to rent a condo instead of staying in a hotel. With 3 boys, having the extra room is nice and having a kitchen saves us money on meals. We have found great deals just by searching for Summit County lodging on Google. Condos in the Keystone area seem to have the best prices, and Summit Cove has a nice site for vacation rental lodging in Keystone.

3. Lift Tickets- Discount lift tickets are available at Front Range King Soopers and Safeway grocery stores. You can also purchase them at sporting goods stores like Sports Authority. Something we haven't tried yet is buying lift tickets on eBay, but I've heard good things about the discounts you can find there.

4. Renting Equipment- If you need to rent equipment, don't wait until you get to the resort. You can save a lot of money if you rent from other places like Sports Authority in Dillon. Look online and compare prices before you leave your house. Websites like skicoupons.com offer discounts at various ski and snowboard shops.

5. Meals- If you have a condo, eat breakfast and dinner there. You can even pack a lunch and store it in a locker at the ski resort. Buying groceries is a lot less expensive than eating at the ski resorts, especially for a family. When you are on the slopes, carry trail mix or granola bars so you aren't tempted to stop at a chalet for an expensive snack between meals.


BONUS TIP: This year, we ordered a Denver/Boulder Gold C book over the internet. The $10 price of the book was well worth it. We saved over $125 on weekend lift tickets at Copper Mountain compared to the discounted price available at King Soopers. The savings are even more if you buy weekday lift tickets.

Related articles:
Keystone and Copper Mountain Ski Resorts
Friday Photo Post: Colorado Skiing

Friday Photo Post: Hiking Copper Mountain

The above picture was taken just past Solitude Station as we began our hike down Bouncer. The picture below was taken after we crossed over to Fair Play and Foul Play.


Related post:
Hiking at Copper Mountain

Hiking at Copper Mountain

After hiking several trails in the Denver area, we drove up to Copper Mountain to explore some of our favorite ski runs without snow. The American Eagle chairlift takes people up to 11,250 feet at no charge. From there, we hiked a short distance up to a rocky area perfect for our young boys to go climbing.

We climbed all over the rocks, and enjoyed the incredible views. After working up an appetite, we hiked back down to Solitude Station where we enjoyed a barbecue lunch on the outside deck.

When we finished eating, we started walking down Bouncer, then crossed over to Fair Play and Foul Play. A narrow trail for hikers and mountain bikers criss crosses over the different runs.

If you are interested in biking down the mountain, a mountain bike chair lift pass is $14.00. The bike hooks on to the chair lift, and you can relax and enjoy the ride up.

It wasn't at all crowded when we were there, so we only came across a few small groups as we walked down to the village. For the most part, we were alone, and it felt like we had our own private mountain.

If you go, be sure to wear sunscreen, and bring plenty of water.

Hiking and Biking in the Denver area

If you are looking for something to do on a free day, consider visiting one of the many parks in Jefferson County.

Mount Falcon Park - We visited the park several times when we lived in Denver. Although it was steep at times, the 1.7 mile Turkey Trot Trail was a good hike for the boys when they were younger.

They can hike longer distances now, and I would love to go back and explore some of the other trails. In the picture to the left, we were heading back down to the parking area. If you look closely, you can see the Denver skyline in the background. From other parts of the trail, there are great views of Red Rocks Park.

Deer Creek Canyon- Another easy hike is the 1.6 mile Meadowlark Trail at Deer Creek Canyon. There were rocks for the boys to climb, and we also walked through some woods, reminding us of the parks in Minnesota. Again, I would like to go back now that the boys are older and hike some of the more difficult trails.

Waterton Canyon- If you've had enough hiking, and want to try biking, head over to Waterton Canyon. The dirt road is closed to traffic and follows the South Platte River for 6 miles up to the Strontia Springs Dam. Past the dam, you can continue up Waterton Canyon to the Colorado Trail, but you will need a mountain bike for that part of the trail, otherwise a road bike is fine.

Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre

When we lived in Denver, one of our favorite places to visit was Red Rocks Park near Morrison. The amphitheatre is a famous venue for concerts during the summer. In the Visitor Center, you can see an exhibit about the people who have performed there.

The park also has other events at the amphitheatre. One of them is the very popular annual Easter Sunrise service. Dress warm and get there early! In May, several Denver area high schools have their graduation ceremonies at the park.

We didn't attend any concerts at the amphitheatre, but we had fun driving through the park and walking the Trading Post Loop trail. The boys thought it was great when Amazing Race 9 started at Red Rocks. "Hey! We've been there!"

If you go to Red Rocks, consider also visiting Dinosaur Ridge and the town of Morrison.

Friday Photo Post: Gunnison Nat'l Forest

These are my favorite pictures from our adventure in Gunnison National Forest. Looking at them makes me want to go back and do more exploring.

Puppy Parking in Telluride

In western Colorado, a popular drive is US 550 from Durango to Ouray. It's a beautiful route, especially the Million Dollar Highway from Silverton to Ouray. When you are done, head over to Telluride.

When we visited Telluride with young children, we explored the town, played at the park and ate pizza for lunch. While we ate, Gabby visited with new friends at puppy parking.

After exploring the town, drive up to Bridal Veil Falls where you can do some easy hiking. The drive to the base of the falls can be tricky. The dirt road is narrow with some tight switchbacks. People were surprised we made it in our suburban. I wasn't surprised, Doug was driving.

Gunnison National Forest

If you are ever in Crested Butte, Colorado, and are feeling adventurous, drive into Gunnison National Forest. From Mt. Crested Butte, go past the town of Gothic, to the Schofield Pass and on to Paradise Divide. It is an incredible drive with amazing views.

Driving on roads that a Chevy Suburban had no business being on, we were lucky to only meet one other vehicle, and at a place where there was a very slight pull out. If you look carefully at the picture on the left, you'll see the very narrow road (FR734) we were on.

At one stop, we saw a family on several 4 wheelers driving on the road. They had tents and coolers strapped to the back and were probably going to camp at one of the sites spread out along the road.

This was one of our favorite adventures during our year in Colorado, and I highly recommend it. The drive is not for the faint of heart, though, so prepare yourself!