I know most people go to Colorado for the nature. I like nature as much as your average city dweller might, but I went for the people. With the return of travel came the return of summer trips with my Lancaster Friends. This is my fourth trip with some of them so we have the routine down pretty well.
Have I mentioned how thankful I am to have friends to travel with? It’s everything.
We started our trip in Breckenridge, exploring the famous ski town and riding its lift in circles. We underestimated the affect of the elevation on us so we limited hiking our first few days. Word to the wise, if you are planning to go to Colorado, keep your higher peaks for later in your itinerary.
We closed out our second evening there with a ride through Boreas Pass for views.
We followed a dirt road to a little lake on our way out of town for some waterfall hiking and more tree time.
Our next stop was Colorado Springs for the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, Garden of the Gods, Pike’s Peak, and more hiking. Except that, surprise, surprise, I got tired of trees and requested a break. My friends (bless them) obliged me with a stop at a bookstore instead. Colorado Springs turned out to be a fun little town with decent restaurants, bookstores, and sometimes even folk music festivals in the park for you to enjoy while the rest of your group finishes their hike.
Our last stop of the trip was Rocky Mountain National Park. Tickets to national parks these days are a bit complicated, so make sure you do some research ahead of time. We were very thankful to snag some last minute tickets to round out the end of our trip. We spent the day stopping off for hikes between long, scenic drives. We found mountain lakes and elk and still had things to talk about after 5 days of traveling together. That’s always a good sign.
The trip ended with a short night at an airport hotel before we each departed to our respective destinations. The hotel had fun mirror running the entire length and height of the wall behind the beds, just to add a layer of oddity to a place we were already planning to leave at strange hours of the morning. I would not recommend.
Why Colorado?
- It’s domestic. In the era of COVID travel restrictions, domestic seems to be the way to go.
- It’s scenic. For someone who can get tired of trees, I still have to admit, Colorado is beautiful.
- It’s accessible. If you want to enjoy the scenery but aren’t very “outdoorsy”, Colorado is very drivable and beautiful spots are easy to access without exerting yourself too much. Take Pike’s Peak for example. You can take a train or drive if you don’t want to hike it.
A Pañuelo World 
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