http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from North America , United States , Colorado en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:13:16 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:13:16 +0000 We are a nonskiing family but we want that to change My husband our two children and myself are keen to learn and we have picked Aspen as our destination. The two main reasons are that wersquove read it is one of the best places for beginners in the US and there are more off snow activities and nightlife than at any other resort. My husbandrsquos parents are accompanying us and have offere http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Aspen/blog-460483.html Independence PassThe gray gigantic curtain of rain hid the Independence pass. The smell of water filled the air. The temperature was dropping quickly. The dark shadow of the thick heavy clouds slowly enveloped the mountain sides. At the bottom of the valley the condition was the opposite. The flat bottom was basking goldenly in the bright sunshine.Earlier when we just left Aspen we passed a beau http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/blog-460183.html AspenDonrsquot get fooled by the bland brick building and simple Victorian architectures around town. Aspen is very opulent the epitome of luxury style and grace. Strolling down the streets big fashion names that fill Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills Fifth Ave in Manhattan Avenue Montaigne in Paris and Bond Street in London are well represented here. Arts Galleries that cater to the strangest http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Aspen/blog-460181.html VailWe were pleasantly surprised to find Austria on the way to Aspen when we decided to make an icecream stop. Vail a ski resort town had to be designed by a homesick Austrian architect. It features the wooden Austrian bridge that goes over a creek narrow roads Alpine houses and condos with ornate shields crests and flags and colorful and fragrant flowers on the windows.At around two thous http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Vail/blog-460178.html Loveland PassAfter a brief stop at Georgetown we headed west on I70. My longing for exhilarating driving was answered by the Loveland Pass highway sign. Anything with the word ldquoPassrdquo in this mountain region means driving ecstasy. Without a GPS I took the exit ramp. I didnrsquot care where this US6 West would lead me. All I knew I was about to experience the mountain road that wo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Loveland/blog-460175.html Reaching to the SkyIrsquod like to add one more instance of addiction if I could the instance that I personally have an addiction for driving through mountain passes. To satiate such longing my girlfriend and I decided to head for The Rockies for my long weekend getaway. First I didnrsquot want to drive my car to the Rockies as it would be quite a drive from my hometown San Francisco. But http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Georgetown/blog-460171.html This is my first entry on a blog. We just watched the movie Julie and Julia yesterday and I thought that it was about time that I created a blog. We have been traveling since we got married 45 years ago and I have documented little of the stories that we have accumulated. This is my chance to write about our many adventures both good and bad. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/blog-458203.html La vida es loca. Quiero experimentar lo todo.It's all becoming so real. Daily conversations detailed itineraries a potential sublet my life is progressing full force down an unknown path. Oh.... the joy. Today Alex came by to meet the roomies and check out the place. She was really cool calm collected the perfect roommate. The day progressed into a blur of internet perusing and a stell http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Boulder/blog-455190.html I meant to keep a log but I didn't oh well. Had a great week riding horses in the Colorado Rockies in Ward Colorado near Boulder. Scroll down for pretty pictures though http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Boulder/blog-454686.html New car loans are easily available through the online services and the loans can be obtained through hassle free process. The borrowers must find the best car and finalize the type of car that has to be bought. It is not always required to have the hot cash in hand and to look for the best deals. If people come across a good deal on their dream car they can avail loan from the various bankers and http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Denver/blog-452817.html Tomorrow is the big trip sorry for the color change. something is wrong with the computer. We will not have time to write this tomorrow so Happy Vetrans DayWe will be flying from Denver to New York and from there to Madrid.We will arrive in Madrid on Thursday and we will go to my grandparents' in Mallorca. From there we will leave for Paris on November 17th.The travel blog is so you could al http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Colorado-Springs/blog-452300.html Liz bloggingI have done the monotonous drive across Kansas countless times from listening to Hanginrsquo Tough on a walkman to driving it with friends for impromptu winter break ski trips. Mark and I started our trip across by nearly JimIcenogle ldquoOrsquodark Thirtyrdquo standards. Even though the drive is ten hours of practically nothing but wheat fields churches and cattle transpo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Denver/blog-451220.html Leaving Monument Valley after breakfast we headed North to Colorado. After driving around the enormous landform that proved to be Mesa Verde itself we entered the National Park and drove up to the top of the mesa then South to the area where most of the cliff dwellings are found. We checked in at the Visitors' Center and found that in order to see the ruins up close we would need to sign up f http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Mesa-Verde-National-Park/blog-447073.html Day 1This weekend Eric and I took a long three day weekend to go see the fam. We had to get up at 330 to make our plane by 600am. We arrived in Colorado and waited for Adam to pick us up at the airport. As we were waiting we went outside to see the Rocky Mountains. This was my first time in Colorado and I have never seen any Mountain range like the Rockies. What was so surprising to me was http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Boulder/blog-446720.html From Silverton we headed to Durango. The aspen trees were way passed peak in this area of the state. Temps were definitely colder. The road traveled over several mountain passes and Frank enjoyed them because he collected alot of rocks. We didn't stop in Durango we started home. We had decided to return home by the southern route. We spent the night in New Mexico and pushed home from there http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Durango/blog-446509.html after a week of rain ice and snow i'm ready to get to some lower elevations. there's alot more of colorado i want to explore hopefully in the near future but for now it's off to warmer places. be back in a week or two. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/blog-446380.html The Great American Beer Fest Beer heaven... beer haven... Over 2000 different beers most on tap some bottled all available for our tasting pleasure According to the Guinness Book of World Records there is no other place on earth where a beer aficionado can find more beers on tap. This annual event allows people over 49000 this year to sample more than 2000 different beers from http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Denver/blog-445671.html Today our destination was Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. The south entrance which is the most accessible is 12 miles from Montrose. We arrived at the Visitor Center about 900 am. It was a windy day mostly sunny and not cold. After orientation at the VC we took a 2 mile hike on the rim of the canyon and in the upland scrub oak. Black Canyon is dark and narrow and known for the light to pi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Black-Canyon-of-the-Gunnison-National-Park/blog-445327.html Our first stop this morning was a stop off the main highway to a place called Marble CO. The small town is named after the marble quarry that supplied the marble for the Lincoln Memorial and the tomb of the unknown soldier. It was a beautiful ride with shimmering aspens lining the road. You could tell when we were getting close to the town large pieces of marble were in peoplersquos fron http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Montrose/blog-445316.html This morning we visited the Maroon Bells a much photographed set of red mountain peaks near Aspen. By the time we arrived at 830 am the parking lot was almost full and many many photographers were surrounding the lake to photograph the Bells. The aspen were past peak here but the area was still beautiful. I spent an enjoyable hour photographing. We left the crowds behind and drove to Ashcr http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Aspen/blog-445309.html