Colorado | FindPenguins

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Trip start
July 22, 2022
Colorado Traveler
Day 1: Travel Day
July 12, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F
Late flight. Delayed... sigh
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Colorado Traveler
Day 2: Denver
July 23, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 90 °F
Today started off kinda rough. The car rental company (Fox) wouldn't let Gary get the car we reserved because the credit card didn't match. Even though we had the confirmation email, his driver's license, and a regular credit card,..sigh.

He ended up getting another reservation from Nu Car Rental. That went fast but we were about an hour behind where we wanted to be.

After circling the airport in a bunch of different vans, we had a car and we're off to Right Hand Brewing. They had so many good beers on tap! We ate lunch and had beer there.

Denver Beer Company was having a block party so we decided to check it out, but it was not up to the hype. So we left kinda early.

Then we headed to Little Man Ice Cream. Gary got Mexican Hot Chocolate and coconut almond chocolate. I got salted caramel peanut butter cup. That was so good! And Gary was starting to feel better.

After checking in to the hotel, we headed to the bus stop to go to the Denver Summer Beer Fest. It was small, but a lot of the brewers were there so we got to talk to them. That was a lot of fun!

A bus ride back to the hotel in the pouring rain was the cap to the night. Tomorrow it is the mountains!!Read more
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Colorado Traveler
Day 3: Winter Park
July 24, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
We got out early this morning and drove to Winter Park. It was about a 1.5 hour drive through the mountains. We rented bikes from Epic Mountain Sports. The guys were super nice and very helpful. Giving us a great route for today (actually a couple) and answering all my questions.

We rode out taking Creekside, but made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up on Flume. When we popped out, I thought we were on Creekside and furthered our wrong turnedness. We rode a dirt rode to Iko. Creekside was nice and easy, Flume was uphill, but still ridable! The dirt road was horrible. All uphill and never ending!! Iko was the reward for that. It was two miles of downhill fun!! But this was also about the time we heard thunder! ⚡We took the Chainsaw trail out, I think it was fun, but I was super focused getting off the mountain before those really black clouds got to us! ⛈️🌩️⛈️

We made it back to the truck (our rental) just as it started to rain. I had packed a lunch for the trail, but didn't get to use it because of the weather. We sat in the truck and ate it as the rain just poured down! ⛈️

We called and the hotel has our room ready so we made our way over there. After cleaning up, we went to Hideaway Brewing where we had a flight of some really good beers. We walked around town and shopped before heading to the Mountain Bistro for dinner: gyros. Then we got some ice cream and went back to the hotel. It was pouring again and Gary left his coat in the room. So we just went in and got ready for our adventure tomorrow!Read more
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Colorado Traveler
Day 4: Byers Peak, Winter Park
July 25, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
This morning we got rolling early and out to the trail. So, I found someone who drives slower than anyone I know! Gary. It took him 1.5 hours to drive 10 miles this morning! To be fair, the road was pretty messed up, but still! Once we FINALLY got to the parking area, we got the bikes out and headed up. This biking was straight up the mountain for 2 miles. It was so hard! It could have been the elevation (10000 ft), or the fact that I was carrying a 20 pound backpack, but either way I walked a lot of it. Didn't give me confidence for the rest of the day!

Once we got to the biking "parking lot", we started our hike. It was supposed to be 2.5 miles to the top. It was hard climbing up. The elevation and the steepness made it a hard hike. But we kept going, even though I wanted to stop. Gary was really good at encouraging me to keep going! We went until the trail ran out and Gary's phone said we were at the top. No sign to let you know that it was the top. Kind of sad 😢 But the trail ended. The last quarter mile was really hard. I felt like I was rock climbing with no tether! 🧗 I was really scared. But we ate lunch up there looking over the snow and the valley. Then it was time to make our way down. After the first half mile coming down, the trail seemed to get easier. All the stuff that seemed hard a couple of hours ago was super easy! And when we got back to our bikes, well, it only took us 10 minutes to get down to the trailhead! 🚵

From there we drove back and cleaned up. Then walked through "town", shopping for souvenirs.

We had dinner at Big Trout. The beer was fantastic and the head brewer was from Michigan! We had pizza for dinner. Then over to Waffle Cabin for dessert. Gary got a waffle with cinnamon sugar on top (like an elephant ear) and cinnamon ice cream on top! I just got caramel brownie in a regular waffle cone. It was all so good! But now I'm tired and ready for bed 😴Read more
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Colorado Traveler
Day 5: Winter Park and Breckenridge
July 26, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
Today we got biking early. After our experience on Sunday we were excited to try the other side of Winter Park! Well, that was misguided. The trail was really rocky and Gary fell a few times! We walked most of Blue Sky, Take D Leap and WTB trails. On Take D Leap, there were boulders that were taller than me that had bridges up them signaling that people were supposed to ride these! Crazy people! But as we were biking, someone did one. And he didn't die! It was kinda of amazing. But we finally got to Razzmatazz Trail. This one was really nice and we had fun on it. But then I was done. And Gary was sick of these trails. So we made our way back to the car. It was tricky because we got into a subdivision and had a hard time getting through. But we did make it back.

Then we were off to Wake N Bacon for brunch. It was really good, but while we were eating, Gary said, "I think we should do Breckenridge today." Since the weather for Thursday and Friday is kind of iffy.

After brunch we were off to more biking. But this time we knew what we were getting into. We made it to the bike shop in time to get bikes for the afternoon. We just had to be back by 5. We rode the same route as we did a few years ago, but one of the trails was changed because houses had been built there. The beginning was a huge climb, but then the fun set in. We got to the end and I was so tired. 20 miles of biking so far, but we had to get back to town. Gary was mad, but we took the easy River Trail back to town. I was so tired I didn't care.

Then it was off to Fairplay to check in and get dinner. We went to Casa Sanchez. It was Taco Tuesday (tacos for $0.99). We got them to go and they were so good!! Time for bed. We're hiking tomorrow!Read more
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Colorado Traveler
Day 6: Fairplay
July 27, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F
Today we hiked a 14er! We have been admitted to the club!! We started around 8am this morning. It was a perfect day! The sun is strong, but the breeze keeps you cool. It started with a bumpy 10 mile drive to the gate where you start. There are abandoned mines all over the place. There is one right at the start. But we said we wanted to get up the mountain first and we could check these out later.

I paced myself to keep from being too out of breath. But Gary wanted to hike faster. Oh well! The start was uphill (no surprise there) but it was a better uphill than Byers Peak! At about the halfway point, it got pretty steep and the terrain became loose rock. We had hiking sticks so it wasn't too bad, but there were people that were almost crawling! The route was easy to follow and was manageable! At about 13,900 feet I did start to get dizzy, but I think it was because I was so excited about being at the top that I was going too fast! But after the last push, we were there!!

It was really cool! We even could see Leadville! We had a lot of fun there the last time we were in Colorado. We took pictures had some food and drank a celebratory beer! After about half an hour we started to make our way down. The loose rocks kept us from going too fast, but at least I was breathing easier! We got down and went to check out one of the old mines. We ate lunch there and then hiked the rest of the way down. It was such a feeling of accomplishment! After we got cleaned up, I told Gary I wanted to get a shirt with Mt. Sherman on it. So we went into town.

We found our shirts, got some ice cream, walked down to the river and went to the Visitor's Center. We talked to the guy at the desk and he told us all about the mining in the area. He said it was actually more profitable to dig up gravel!! Instead of gold!! So a lot of the mines had switched over to mining gravel. Crazy! 🤑

We watch Gold Rush (a TV show) and they used to have a mine in Fairplay. This guy knew all about it and told us where it was. We went to check it out. That was pretty cool! Then it was dinner at South Park Brewing (where we watched it rain on My. Sherman) and bed. I am tired!! 🥱😴Read more
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Colorado Traveler
Day 7: Breckenridge
July 28, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 48 °F
Today was kind of weird. They were predicting a wash out for today. So we did our Breckenridge riding a few days ago. And we really didn't have anything to do. All our activities are outdoors. And what do you do in the rain?

Gary had seen the Hoosier Pass (Continental Divide) and found out there was a hiking trail. We decided to do that before the rain came in. It was a tricky start. Nothing was marked. Gary had told me it was a flat hike around a lake. It ended up being a climb up a mountain (Hoosier Peak)! I was mad, but what are you going to do about it? The hike was ok, and gave us some exercise. We got some bonus miles because we started out the wrong way! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Then we drove into town and took the gondola 🚡 up to the top of Mt. Breckenridge. There was a whole town up there!! And there was more mountain biking 🚵 that we didn't even know about!! But it was starting to rain and they shut down the gondola in bad weather. We would be stranded up there. Gary wanted to hang out up here, but I forced us to leave. I'm glad we did! They were shutting down the gondola!!

On to Broken Compass for lunch and then to Country Boy Mine. But when we got there, they told us everything was sold out! Even the panning for gold! We walked outside and saw some pans laying on the ground, so I picked one up and started panning! There was a lot of Fool's Gold, and some really small real stuff. We had fun doing that for a while. Then we went in search of a dredge. But the weather was looking a little scary ⛈️ We did find the dredge and some other great biking trails! Next time!! The dredge was cool!

Then it was to town for ice cream, dinner, and beer. Like I said...a weird day. Tomorrow is Colorado Springs!Read more
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Colorado Traveler
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Day 8: Colorado Springs
July 29, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
Today we made our way down to Colorado Springs and rode Red Rock Canyon. The guys at the bike shop said it was well marked with a lot of fun trails. They told us about a "flow trail" that was just finished up this spring.

We made a plan of what we wanted to do and started out. We started on the left side of the park trying to find Hogback Trail. The signage out there was HORRIBLE and we never did find it, but we did piece something together. We somehow made it over to the right side of the park. This side had good signage and we could actually find the trails we wanted. Someone saw us trying to figure out where we were and helped us out.

Mountain bike trails are set up one of two ways:
1. They are loops, or loops of loops, that allow you to ride one long trail.
2. They have one or two good trails to ride up, and then you have a bunch to choose from for a fun ride down. Much like a ski slope.

What we didn't know is that this park was set up like the second option. We thought it was like option one and couldn't figure out the loop! Once the person helped us out, we got the hang of it. And we did a couple of downhills, but my legs were so tired from climbing up so much that I didn't want to do more than that! We did ride a piece of each trail. It was a lot more fun once we figured it out!

Then we went to Storybook Brewing for some beer. They have a cool logo and some really great beer! Gary even got one to go home!

By then it was time to check in and I really needed a shower! And it was dinner time. We went to Trinity Brewing. I have decided that they are so good I have to hate them! They had so many great beer choices and food options that I couldn't decide! So we are planning on coming back tomorrow to get brunch... Gary got sliders and pumpkin beer, and I had toasted ravioli and ice cream beer. 🤤 I had brought some Michigan Brewery Running Series stickers with us. The bartender put it on the freezer door with the stickers of lots of other breweries! It was pretty cool! 😉

The ice cream beer was made with ice cream from Josh and John's Ice Cream. Of course that inspired us to find it for dessert. At this point, our phones were going off with alarms for flash flooding and severe thunderstorms. We ate our ice cream and headed back to the hotel. It did get pretty bad out there. I just hope that we can ride tomorrow! 🤞Read more
Traveler The trail went over these red rocks
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Traveler Can you find our sticker?
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Traveler Biking up the steps
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Colorado Traveler
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Day 9: Colorado Springs
July 30, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
Today was good and frustrating. We started out on Ute Valley trails. The riding was good, but we had to stop every 5 minutes to check that we were on the correct trail. And the signage was horrible. By the end we were on a black diamond trail that I had to walk and Gary was frustrated. There were good views, but it would have been nice to ride for a while before needing to stop!

From there we went back to Trinity for brunch. That was amazing! 😍 The sausage was outstanding! And they had a really good pickle beer...yes, you read that correctly!

Then it was on to Palmer Park trails for some afternoon riding. These trails were ok. The Greencrest Trail was good. Nice and smooth. But then we got to Palmer Point Trail and it got really rocky. I had to walk, but then we got back on to some good riding with the Grandview Trail. We stopped and saw Pike's Peak. Someone gave us some ideas for places to ride. We have already ridden most of them. ☺️ Then we got stuck in the circle of death, also known as the Kinnikinnick Trail. Every time we came to an intersection all the signs pointed in all directions to Kinnikinnick! 😵‍💫 Obviously we got lost. And Gary got frustrated again. Somehow we found our way out, and then it was back to the hotel for a shower and a nap! 🛌

Once we were refreshed, we went to Local Relic to try their beer. They were gross as the best description. Then it was on to Cogstone for dinner. This place has too many good beers as well! 🍻 We ended up getting a few to go. My suitcase is starting to fill up! 🫣 And they had a "hamburger pizza". We got it and it was really good! We stopped at Rizuto's for ice cream. They had gelato too! Gary got a sundae and I got watermelon gelato and cappuccino ice cream. 😋

To work off some of that ice cream, we went to the Garden of the Gods and walked the loop. There were a lot of deer and some crossed the path so close to me I could have touched them!! 🦌

Then it was time to head back and get some sleep.Read more
Traveler Garden of the Gods
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Traveler Valley of the Garden of the Gods
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Traveler Kissing Camels formation on the top
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Colorado Traveler
Favorites
July 30, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
Favorite DINNER

Gary: Cheeseburger Pizza from Cogstone
Cathie: Burrito from South Park

Favorite TRAIL

Gary: Chutes and Ladders (Colorado Springs)
Cathie: Iko (Winter Park)

Favorite ICE CREAM

Gary: White House (Cherry Sundae) from Rizuto's (Colorado Springs)
Cathie: Watermelon from Rizuto's (Colorado Springs)

Favorite HIKE

Gary: Mt. Sherman (Fairplay 14er)
Cathie: Mt. Sherman (Fairplay 14er)

Best "Other" Thing

Gary: Gondola in Breckenridge
Cathie: Panning for Gold (Breckenridge)Read more
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Colorado Traveler
Day 10: Colorado Springs
July 31, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
Today was a good, hard day. It started out with a 5k with the Colorado Brewery Running Series 🏃🏼‍♀️ Brady is in charge of this state and he has been very successful (making $500,000 last year). I wanted to pick his brain. We went early and helped him set up. He was really nice and answered all our questions. I got some great ideas too.

The run was another story. I thought after being here for a week that I would be able to run a 5k. Nope. Gary and I both walked during the run. It was a really hilly run. And it was hot 🥵 And there was the elevation...I know, excuses. Carl and Linda, two of our runners came out (totally unplanned). So after the run, we got to drink beer with them. They had just finished running with Indiana Brewery Running Series, so I had them compare all three. They had great things to say about us! And they helped me see a bit more from the runner's perspective. It was a really good morning.

Then we got in the car and went to the Air Force Base up here for mountain biking. It was scary cool because we had to have our car checked and IDs scanned to get on the base. It was just neat! And the biking was actually pretty good! We didn't get lost, and we didn't have to stop every 5 minutes to make sure we were on the right trail. We both rode a good portion of it. I was really tired, but it was a good tired!

After a shower, we went to Cerberus Brewing for dinner and back to Rizuto's for ice cream. Gary got another sundae, but I got a waffle cone with coconut and pineapple. It was so good!!!

We got back just in time to catch the sunset. I hope tomorrow it goes as well as today!Read more
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Colorado Traveler
Highlights of the Trip
July 31, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
Favorite BEER

Gary
1. Pumpkin Brown from Cogstone
2. Chips and Salsa from Cogstone
3. Moltres (cinnamon habanero) from Batch Slapped
4. Peanut Butter Nitro Milk Stout from Left Hand
5. Pumpkin Blender from Trinity

Cathie
1. Taste the Rainbow (Skittles flavor) from Batch Slapped
2. Pucker Nuts (pistachio) from Berkeley Alley (Beer Fest)
3. Cold Brew from Big Trout
4. Dilly-O Pickle Beer from Trinity
5. Mango Pepper Ale from South Park
6. Hazelnut Cream from Peculiar (Beer Fest)
7. White Out from Red Swing

Favorite BREWERY

Gary
1. Cogstone (Colorado Springs)
2. Trinity (Colorado Springs)
3. Left Hand (Longmont)
4. Batch Slapped (Colorado Springs)
5. South Park (Fairplay)

Cathie
1. Trinity (Colorado Springs)
2. Cogstone (Colorado Springs)
3. Red Swing (Colorado Springs)
4. Big Trout (Winter Park)
5. South Park (Fairplay)Read more
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Colorado Traveler
Day 11: Colorado Springs
August 1, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
Today's ride was both great and terrible! It started out with a looooooong gradual climb. The guy who took our picture a couple of days ago said that it was a 5 mile climb, but then it was a fun downhill. Well, we rode a trail to a dirt road. The dirt road was interesting because it had old railroad tunnels. It even had one that was collapsed. That was all interesting, but that was when things turned terrible. We had to climb Buckhorn and that was a horrible trail. I ended up walking all of it. It was too steep and too many rocks/roots! 😵‍💫

We got to the top and Gary couldn't figure out which way to go, so we had a few false starts. That wasn't bad, but when we finally found the correct trail (Capitan Jack's), that downhill was too tricky for me to ride! I was so mad! 😡 I had ridden 10 miles UPHILL for this trail and I couldn't ride it!! And when I did try to ride it I fell! 🩹 But I did see a fox on the trail, so that was cool!

We made it down, eventually, but we still had to ride the Chutes Trail and I was out of water (Gary too). But we tried it and that was really fun!! Back at the car, we ate sandwiches and drank some carbonated water that I had brought to be a treat for lunch. We were both wiped out! It ended up being harder than anyone said and twice as long!

We headed off to Pike's Peak Brewing to drown our sorrows. The beer was meh. There was a different brewery across the street so we jumped over there. Their beer was much better!! We stopped to get beer to bring home, then went to the Garden of the Gods. There was a mountain that we had seen a bunch of people on and wanted to go up. But the last time we were here we ran out of time. Today made up for that. We got to the top and just sat. Then we went in search of dinner.

We were told there was the "best buffalo burgers" at the Trading Post. We went there for dinner. After dinner we went looking for Balanced Rock. We had been there on our honeymoon and Gary wanted to go again. We found it! There were so many people!!

Then we went to Batch Slapped for the last of the Colorado beer. Then it was back to the hotel to try to get everything packed up! 🧳Read more
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Colorado Traveler
Day 12: Travel Home
August 1, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
We got one last short ride on today - Chutes and Ladders from yesterday. It was much better when you took out all the rest of that other stuff!!

Then it was off to the airport...bye Colorado!
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Trip end
August 2, 2022