Colorado Side Trip

Part of our fall vacation was spent in the Colorado mountains.  It was unplanned, but I'm glad we went.  We cut our Moab sightseeing short and headed to Monument Valley where we were treated with a beautiful sunset.

We spent some time in Snowmass and in Breckenridge.  It was not yet skiing season so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  Being right at the end of fall was a beautiful time to be there with the fall color still around yet a bit of snow in the mountains.  The sun was warm enough for us to enjoy the hot tub then lay out in the sun even though it was in the 30's!  We were treated to a great breakfast with our room.  While in Snowmass, we drove to Aspen and took the ski lift up the mountain where we saw incredible views of the city. 

Hanging Lake Trail

Our day started at 4:45 am.  And I'm not a morning person.  We flew 2 1/4 hours into Denver Airport, rented our car and headed west on I-70.  It was a little bit chilly when we landed at 8 am, about 45*.  As you can see, there is some snow in the Colorado mountains.

We arrived in Glenwood Springs, CO about 3 hours later where we found a Brew House for lunch.  Our waitress suggested we must do The Hanging Lake hike.  We followed her advice and went in search of the trail.  Heeding little attention to the signs suggesting taking plenty of water and that the hike was strenuous, we made our way up and up and up. 

It never stopped being an incline the entire 1 mile up which took us about 2 1/2 hours to get to the top.  I struggled, having just come off of being sick and still a little congested, up to the top having to stop a lot and catch my breath and bring my heart rate back to normal!  But the lake was worth the effort as it does literally seem to hang up there in the mountain. 

 That night we went to a natural hot spring pool and recuperated from the hike.