The Wrap Up

Let's start off with the bottom line first:

We have to go back to Colorado ... several more times.

There was too much awesome, too little time.

We had to trim a week off the trip to begin with, but I could see a bi-annual trip, taking in new areas each time.

What ranks the best of this trip?

It is not so easy. So I'm going to cheat and break it down into categories.

Most Important Thing:
Seeing Jacob graduate (and with honors) and spending time with him.

2nd Most Important Thing:
Leaving Texas and New Mexico. Just HOT & DREARY. Take me to the mountains.

Best Camp Ground:
Difficult Campground. It was quiet, peaceful, in the woods, cool, near the river but most importantly, it didn't just give us an opportunity to ride our bikes, but it would have crazy if we hadn't riden those awesome trails into Aspen.

Best Hike:
I preferred the Gem Lake Trail with the multitude of payoffs.
The Maroon Bells Trail was a close, almost too close, 2nd. Maroon Bells was challenging and had a big payoff. But the Gem Lake Trail had many more.

Best Day:
Aspen, Maroon Bells. It was a big day with giant bike ride and an exceptional hike.

Best Bike Ride:
Maroon Bells was oh so close. It was fantastic. A nice long ride, very doable. You ride from the campsite through Aspen and on to the hiking, then 10 miles downhill. It was more than Awesome.

However, our favorite was the Old Fall River Road. It was more challenging. It had the opportunity to be bigger than we were. But this ride was my lifetime favorite.

The Extra Special Add In:
The phone calls with Jacob. He is at tech school in Biloxi. We got to hear the excitement in his voice shortly after he got there. We got to hear his disappointment in his first duty station (Columbus MS). How can disappointment be Extra special? It is love. It is sharing. It is life.

Surprise:
The Kansas Sticker. Eisenhower Presidential Museum. Before all is said and done, I expect that we will see them all (all that are available).

2nd. The Patty Melt. I like them ok, but My Lovely generally avoids bread. She asked if I could make a patty melt, and they came out great -- with a side home fries (one of My Lovely's favorites). The next thing you know .... Patty Melts 4 times in 2 weeks.

A few short things to mention:
We liked seeing elk grazing right there in town.
Several times, we saw an elk just taking a nap in somebody's front yard.

Driving Trail Ridge.
My Lovely did the driving, and she did great. I saw no white knuckles, but the wind gust and camper swung a bit while we drove. It is a drive that she would prefer to avoid in the future. I guess I should feel guilty for enjoying it as much as I did -- but I don't.

Wild Flowers
My Lovely found great joy in the wild flowers everywhere. They were beautiful, but her enjoyment, taking those close up photos, the excitement of an even larger columbine, was beyond cute.

I (Amy) was thrilled to get the chance to visit with Robin, Catherine, and Shandie for the day. It has been 16 years since we've seen each other in person. It was so, so sweet to see them! Pat enjoyed himself very much, too! We look forward to seeing them again on our future trips.Read more