Salina, KS to Boulder, CO 6 hours and 50 minutes.
Weather: Record highs in Boulder, close to 80 degrees!
Boulder was beautiful, I only wish we had more time to explore. We checked into our motel and headed straight for Chautauqua Park. Dashing out of the car we made an ambitious attempt to conquer a 5-mile loop at an enthusiastic "I am never getting back in that car" pace. Within 800 meters my heart was racing and my lungs were burning. Confident in my athleticism and endurance I pushed on but soon found my self slowing to a shuffle. Annoyed and embarrassed, I asked Mike if we could slow down a bit. He was huffing and puffing too, and we realized quickly that it would take some time to adjust to the altitude of Boulder (5430 ft above sea level). We agreed upon a brisk hike instead. The views were amazing and the weather couldn't have been better!
Next we headed to the Left Handed Brewing Company in Longmont, CO. We sampled some of our favorites and some new (to us) brews too.
In the evening we explored Pearl Street in downtown Boulder, the street is lined with shops including Patagonia, Billabong, and Urban Outfitters and lots of restaurants and coffee shops. We decided on a place called Salt for dinner and sampled their farm-to-table menu and designed our own cocktails.
We woke up early Tuesday morning and hopped into the car, driving an hour north to Estes Park. Much of the park was closed for the season but we were able to drive a 10-mile loop which offered breath-taking views of the Rockies and herds of elk. (see our photo journal for more pictures from Estes).
Tuesday afternoon we met up with my friend Annie (she moved out to Colorado in July) for lunch at a pub in Denver. It was great to see her, I think it's been all most five years. After lunch we completed a whirlwind tour of the flagship Denver REI store (much too large to explore in just an hour). We left Denver around 2:30pm (GMT) in an effort to avoid the impending snow storm threatening to strand us in the mountains.
Overall, we LOVED Colorado and can't wait to get back. Lots to do outdoors, plenty of sun, good restaurants, and friendly people. What more could you ask for? If San Diego doesn't work out...
Stay tuned for our harrowing trek across the Rockies...
~Roberta
No comments:
Post a Comment