Our First stop in Colorado has us visiting Glenwood Springs & Aspen.

With the intent of being completely transparent, we do not always stay exactly in the places we intend on visiting. Many of our stops, especially near the bigger metropolises, are in smaller towns “just outside” our true intended destination. For example, we didn’t stay in Duluth, MN, we camped in a town nearby called Cloquet. We did not stay in Charleston, SC, we camped in a town just 9 miles away called Mount Pleasant. Sometimes there are just no campgrounds in the area, and also, I’m not so excited about towing a 40-foot trailer through busy, downtown streets. Understandable?  I’ll cut to the meat of the matter. We did not stay in Glenwood Springs. We stayed in a small town just west of Glenwood Springs, CO called Silt. Each day we would drive the 19+ miles to Glenwood Springs, to explore a sight, to hike a trail, to attend a theatrical production, or do some shopping, and then return to the campsite. But what a magnificent ride it was each day as we followed the Colorado River along I-70 through Glenwood Canyon. Glenwood Canyon is a rugged, scenic 12.5-mile canyon with walls that climb as high as 1,300 feet above the Colorado River. Through this canyon runs Interstate 70, the Union Pacific's Central Corridor Railroad line, and a wonderful 16-mile walking / biking trail through the White River National Forest.  Just a lovely drive through some breathtaking landscapes.

As the title of this blog post suggests, our campsite in Silt, CO was within striking distance of Aspen, CO. Once the 5^th wheel is disconnected from the truck, we are free to visit places both near and far. It just so happens that Aspen was on the father side of that handy saying. Now 60 miles doesn’t seem like much, but when there is no direct interstate highway, and your route comprises traveling a 2-lane state route with many traffic lights, well then, that 60 miles can take over 90 minutes to complete. I’m sure ours is not a unique experience to be stuck in traffic trying to get into the resort town in the summer. It’s part of the overall experience and appeal. (Can you hear the dripping sarcasm?) On the other hand, to have traveled as far as we have, and visited as much as we have, and not taken advantage of visiting Aspen, no matter what the traffic conditions, would have been a mistake. So, we booked a 90-minute walking tour, called “Aspen Past and Present History Tour” through Trip Advisor.  We spent the day and had a really nice time. Here are some of the highlights:

A Picture with Rusty the Bear, Aspen, CO 

Mill Street Fountain, Aspen, CO

• We were doing some window shopping along the city blocks when we walked by a very square and white contemporary building with a glass frontage that just didn’t fit the Aspen motif; eventually, we figured out that the building was the Aspen Art Museum. The art exhibits in this museum were very abstract and conceptual. (I just wasn’t getting it). Had a very active rooftop café.

• We walked down to the John Denver Memorial Sanctuary.  It was lovely, and we paused for a moment for reflection, as we listened to John Denver songs on my phone, and read the rocks that had the lyrics engraved into the boulders. John Denver loved Aspen, and we loved John Denver, so it was kind of an emotional experience.

• We walked through Newbury Park and followed the Rio Grande Trail for a while as it wound its way around Roaring Forks River.  We got a bit caught up with ogling the dramatic residential houses in this area of Aspen. Dig this, the average selling price of a condominium in Aspen was 3.6 million. Who can afford that? Looks like I’ll be skiing in NH for another year. 

We spent a number of days exploring Glenwood Springs. There are real hot springs in Glenwood Springs. Hence the name. However, we did not don our bathing suits and head for the hot springs. Although very popular with the tourists, this was not an activity that appealed to us.  Glenwood Springs is situated in a rather small canyon carved out by the Colorado River over millions of years. Mountains occupy both the north & south, creating breathtaking vistas across the canyon. No place was this picturesque view more evident than from atop Iron Mountain and the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. Imagine, someone thought it was a good idea to put an amusement park, complete with thrilling amusement park rides, on top of a 7,000-foot mountain.  We took the gondola ride to the top of the mountain, in search of magnificent views, and found oh, so much more. Roller coasters and giant swings that propelled the occupants off the side of a mountain. No Thank You! We wanted to go underground and see the caverns.  There are actually two distinct caves, one called Fairy Cave and the other called Kings Row.  The caverns were discovered in the late 1800s by Charles W. Darrow. In 1895 Darrow opened the caves to the public, and in 897, Darrow was able to bring electric lights to the caverns with the help of the city's hydro-electric plant. Later that same year, a tunnel was blasted out to Glenwood Canyon with an observation deck, and it was named “Exclamation Point” (get it?).  Today, the Kings Row Cave Tour ends at the “Exclamation Point” and gives an amazing view of Glenwood Canyon. We completed our visit with a drink and a couple of photos out on the observation deck, before heading back to the gondola for a ride back down the mountain to the parking lot.

Judy Positively "Glowing" in Kings Row Cave, Glenwood Caverns.

Exclamation Point @ Kings Row Cavern, Overlooking Glenwood Canyon

• Walking the Glenwood Canyon Bike and Pedestrian Path down to the entrance of the White River National Forest, following the Colorado River and watching the Colorado River Rafting tours slowly make their way down the river. We logged over 15,000 steps on this walk.

• Attending local dinner theater at the Glenwood Vaudeville Revue where we were entertained by talented performers with a variety of comedy skits, jokes, high energy dance numbers, unique novelty songs, and original comedic presentations. It was an evening of delightful entertainment. 

Scene from Glenwood Vaudeville Review

• Climbing a pretty good-sized hill to the Linwood Cemetery. Here, we found the burial marker of the infamous old west outlaws, Doc Holliday and Kid Curry.   Grave marker aside, there are some questions about where Doc Holiday is exactly buried in the cemetery.  And, I’ll also add that this cemetery has the look and feel of the classic creepy “old west” kind of cemetery, perched upon a hill. 

Entrance to Linwood Cemetary, Glenwood Springs, 

And just like that, our 7-day stop in Silt, CO, just down the road from Glenwood Springs, is over. It was a busy 7-days of sightseeing. This blog post highlights some of the more interesting sights, but I never have a chance to tell you about everything we do.  For example, I didn’t get the chance to tell you about the fantastic meal we had in Silt at a restaurant started by a local chef, called the Miner's Claim Restaurant. We were picked up in a golf cart at our campsite and whisked off, across town, to the restaurant. Or the trip we made to the town of Rifle, to walk the Rifle River Trail along the banks of the Rifle River. Ooops, maybe I just did. The point is, we like to share our experiences with you as much as possible, and we hope you enjoy traveling along with us as we tell… the Rest of the Story.