Cruising Past 70: Finally, On the Road Again I: Colorado

July 17, 2022

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When the
cases of coronavirus had almost completely waned and people had heralded the success
of good vaccination rates, we planned on resuming our road trips. And then there was the dreaded resurgence of cases due to the Covid variants. But we decided not to change our plans. After not
seeing family for almost two years and having been fully vaccinated, we went on a six-week road trip visiting them in Colorado,
Idaho, Montana, and Alberta, Canada. This is the first part, the one to Westminster,
Colorado where my husband’s daughter and her family live.

On the Road Leading to
Grand Junction

The usual
attractions—Rocky Mountain National Park, Downtown Denver, and the
ski resort areas—are quite familiar to us. On this visit, we looked for more
“under the radar” places. Bill’s daughter took
us on day trips to the first three of these landmarks. And, on the way to our
week at a timeshare in the Grand Junction area to celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary, they suggested stopping at the fourth which we did. Finally, when
we were on our vacation week, we took a
day trip to the last one.

The Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison,
Colorado

Just seven
minutes southeast of Westminster is Morrison, best known for the Red Rocks Amphitheater, one of the
best concert venues in the US. Owned and operated by the City and County of
Denver, it is a masterpiece of minimal architecture, making the best use of the 300-ft.
high Creation Rock to the north and the 200-ft. high Ship Rock to the south.
Between them lies a 320×480 feet open space that drops 100 feet to a small
Stage Rock to the east. The combined rocks acoustic properties, enhanced by technical wonders,
created the platform for notable performances such as the Beatles in 1964,
Johnny Cash in 1965, Jimi Hendrix in 1968, John Denver in 1974, Bruce
Springsteen in 1978, U2 in 1983, Bob Dylan in 1986, and Stevie Wonder and Diana
Ross in 2019.

Beau Jo’s of Idaho Springs, Colorado

Another 30
minutes west from Morrison and you will come upon Idaho Springs. The main draw
here is Beau Jo’s, the maker of the
famous Colorado mountain pie. I do not understand why this fabulous “pizza” is
not as famous as the Chicago deep-dish or the New York thin-crust. In fact, it
is a combination of the two: thin crust in the middle and deep mountains of
crust on the circumference that holds in the bountiful toppings. And it is not
just unusual in form. The edge crust is your dessert, dipped in oodles of honey served
at every table.

The Georgetown Loop Railroad in

Georgetown, Colorado

Just 16
minutes from Idaho Springs is the beautiful town of Georgetown. We went here to
ride the Georgetown Loop Railroad,
a narrow-gauge steam train ride that hugs the hillsides, taking you to vistas
of colorful mine tailings on mountainsides, a view of the tumbling rapids of
Clear Creek down below, and even a tour of the silver mining camp of the Pike’s
Peak Gold Rush. Only open-air cabooses were offered during these Covid times. It
was a trip down the Wild Wild West memory lane. Actually, this was my first
adventure of this kind.

The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Vail,
Colorado

An hour from
Georgetown is Vail, Colorado, better known as one of the celebrity ski resort
areas. But we went there for the Betty
Ford Alpine Gardens, a small specialty botanical garden of alpine shrubs,
trees, and flowering plants next to the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. The slogan
“the Bush’s brought the world to Vail” is quite apt as the many species of alpine plants have been brought to this quaint little garden from many parts of the world. It was so refreshing to visit this small relaxing area,
reminiscent of the Berry Ford Gardens we visited in Grand Rapids, Michigan, adjacent to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. A visit to the cute little
cabin gift shop was also a treat for me.

Hot Springs in Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Another hour
west from Vail is the town of Glenwood
Springs where a beautiful red mountain lords over the city from every angle.
But I was most fascinated by the huge public pool/hot springs that all city
residents and families enjoy. And that is not all. My husband had a kick doing a
short but moderately difficult hike up the hill to Doc Holliday’s supposed
gravesite at the town’s Linwood Cemetery.

Around Grand Junction,
Colorado

We used to
just pass through Grand Junction when we went from my husband’s daughter’s home
in Westminster to his son’s home in Boise, Idaho, or vice-versa. This time we
thought of staying for a week. And soon, we were asking ourselves: “Why didn’t we think of this before?” We have been practically
everywhere but we were pleasantly surprised.

Colorado National Monument

The Colorado National Monument should
not be missed because of its spectacular viewpoints of towering rock formations
amid a panoramic landscape. It also has many hiking trails, including Otto’s
Trail which we did. We loved the Coke Ovens Overlook among the viewpoints the
most. Still, the most significant highlight of our visit was when a group of three
bighorn sheep posed for us among the rocks for about a full 30 minutes before
they went on their way!

Grand Mesa

We stayed at
the Goldenwoods Condominium at the Powderhorn Resort, up in Mesa, Colorado.
Little did we know that Mesa is the small ski area that bounds Grand
Mesa National Forest to the north. This Mesa is the largest flat-topped
mountain in the world, all 500 square miles of it, with steep cliff sides. At its southern slopes is the bigger town of Cedar
Edge. Between these two towns are pristine mountain meadows, as many as 300
alpine lakes, and evergreen and aspen forests at maximum heights of 11,000 ft.
It is a haven for hunters, fishers, and hikers. We even found three ladies
painting by a lake. And there is a Grand Mesa Visitor Center to cater to tourists’ needs.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National
Park

And about
two hours from Grand Mesa is the North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National
Park (the South Rim is more accessible). Finally, we had the chance to get
a taste of this mysterious-sounding national park. And it turned out to be
quite an adventure indeed. I tried to keep pace with my husband on our hike to Exclamation
Point, the best view of the national park. It was a 3-mile round trip
that was supposed to take 1.5 hours trek. It ended up to be a 4.5-hour ordeal
for me, with a ranger and an ambulance waiting for me at the end. I have
learned my lesson and will keep hydrated!