August 11-16, 2017
This post will definitely be one of my shorter trip blogs simply because this is before I started writing down the details of my trips. I wanted to go back and record something short to keep track of the places we visited and loved on the Colorado road-trip in the event we ever go back. 🙂
This was the first vacation Jonathan and I went on together and we had a blast. We flew out of Nashville on Friday night and after arriving late in Denver we stayed the night in Aurora, CO at the Cambria Hotel (which was nice place to stay). We started our trip the next morning with Jonathan realizing that he had left the rental car door open all night… oops! Thankfully nothing was in there so there was nothing that could have been missing! I guess we were both too tired upon arrival to realize the door was never shut.
First thing Saturday morning (after a quick stop at a Subway to grab a quick breakfast), we drove to Colorado Springs, CO to visit Garden of the Gods. It is definitely worth stopping to take a walk through all the rock formations. After spending some time here we left for downtown Colorado Springs for lunch at Phantom Canyon Brewing Co.
After lunch we decided to go check out Cave of the Winds. We booked the Discovery Tour which was an underground guided tour. We learned about the history and the geology of the cave and got to see some really cool rock formations.
We checked into our room at the Manitou Springs Days Inn before heading to dinner at Amanda’s Fonda a mexican restaurant recommended by the front desk. It was great place to relax at the end of the day while enjoying some good food.
The next morning (Sunday) we left for Salida, CO. In the town of Salida, we ate at Moonlight Pizza and Brew Pub. This was our first time having pizza out west and it was not our last! It’s become a must eat food every time we’ve traveled out west since this trip.
Onto the day’s main attraction… Whitewater Rafting! We booked our rafting trip through Independent Whitewater and had a great time rafting on the Browns Canyon Half-Day Rafting trip. We did opt to rent wet suits after the mid day rain lowered the temps and I’m glad we did!
After our rafting trip was over, we changed into dry clothes and headed out for Breckenridge, CO. We checked into our room at the DoubleTree Hotel which was within walking distance to the main street. We walked downtown for dinner and went to The Breckenridge Tap House. The Buffalo Trace bourbon braised buffalo tacos we ordered were amazing!
The next day (Monday) we explored Breckenridge. We rode the gondola and walked the trails near the town. We also tried the crepes at Crepes a la Cart, the burgers at Empire Burger and grabbed some beignets to-go from The Lost Cajun before leaving Breckenridge. We left that afternoon and made stops at Sapphire Point Overlook and the Loveland Pass on our way to Golden. CO. That night we stayed at the Table Mountain Inn and decided to eat at Woody’s Wood Fired Pizza across the street. The hotel was nice and the pizza place was good as well.
On Tuesday, we headed to Estes Park, CO stopping along the way in Boulder, CO for a couple of Einstein Bros. Bagels for breakfast. Once in Estes Park, we headed into the Rocky Mountain National Park. Some of the stops we made in the park were the following places: Moraine Park, Sheep Lake, Alluvial Falls, Alpine Visitor Center via Trail Ridge Road (where we saw a lot of elk), and Bear Lake. We checked into the Maxwell Inn for the nights and ate at Grubsteak (the food was ok, but we probably would not eat there again).
On Wednesday, we got up and headed back to Denver. Before flying out, we went on a Denver Free Walking Tour and grabbed a bite to eat at Sam’s No.3. Then it was onto the airport to fly back home.
So Many Places So Little Time 