Colorado 2023

 

Another Colorado trip is in the books! This was our first trip to Colorado in the summer. (In the past, we've gone in the spring or fall). And it was kind of a last minute type of trip because (drum-roll please) we are moving to Ohio! While flying to Colorado will always be an option, especially since my cousin has a house there (and hopefully we can meet up), it won't be the same as just "zipping" over the border. (Zipping is relative. It did take us 8 hours to get from our house to our cabin in the mountains).

We decided to head out to the Nederland area again - the place we visited during Sept 2020 for our covid vacation. We loved the area so much we opted to go again. It was funny to remember little things that came back to us during our stay. For example, the last time we hiked in that area, all hikers had to wear masks. So we would wear ours around our chins until we came across someone then quickly put them on while we passed them. Thankfully we didn't have to do that this time.

This trip was different for us in the sense that it was a "workcation" for me. Meaning - I worked some when we were there, which was a bummer. But we're launching a new website and, even though I do not work with the website normally, that meant that I could not take time off. Whatever. We made it work. I would work in the mornings. Then we would go on a little hike around lunch time. Then we would come back and I would work for a few more hours. It actually wasn't that bad. I did manage to get one day off and we took the whole day to do a big hike at Lake Isabel. We've done that particular hike before but loved it so much we wanted to do it again. (The views were worth the heavy effort it took to get to the lake). 

For the purpose of remembering for any future adventures, here are the hikes we did this trip. 

1. Frazer Meadow via blue Grouse trail at Golden Gate Canyon State Park

This was to be our easy first hike. But since it is Colorado, I still was trying to catch my breath the whole time. Overall, it was just an okay trail. But it did have a few moments of good views. Plus we went to this mountain meadow which had a lot of lovely wildflowers blooming.

2. Lake Isabelle via Pawnee Pass trail at Brainard Lake Recreation Area

This is my favorite part of this area of Colorado. We had to reserve a time to arrive (11am) and spent the rest of the day hiking up to the lake. We had a rest and a windy picnic at the top and then headed back down (part of which was in the rain). In total, we almost hiked 8 miles and were very exhausted, but happy when we got back to the cabin.

3.Super Vu trail

This trail was definitely what super fit Colorado people do for exercise - mainly running and biking. We were the odd ones out walking it with our water packs. But it was very close to Nederland and was bursting with wildflowers. Definitely worth it.

4. Sugarloaf Mountain trail

Sugarloaf was a straight up the mountain type of trail, but thankfully, not a long one. The reward was a 360 view at the top.

I, once again, did not adjust to the altitude the whole time. Classic Anna. But thankfully, Levent is always patient with me and is fine with us taking our time. Classic Levent. I love him for that.

Don't worry. There were food highlights too. 

We arrived on a Sunday evening and planned to get pizza takeout. But turns out Crosscut Pizzeria, the one pizza restaurant in Nederland, does not do takeout on the weekend. So we ended up dining it which was a nice change of pace for us. I remembered loving their pizza last time we were in Ned and was not disappointed this time either.

I need to try and recreate the top pizza at home. It's just mozzarella, peperoni, jalapeño, but the real treat of this pie is the candied bacon and hot honey 

Another food highlight for me was Decent Bagel, a bagel shop that also sold breakfast sandwiches. We opted not to drive the 18 minutes to Ned every morning for breakfast. So on our first morning we went to Decent Bagel, got great bagel sandwiches and then bagels to eat for breakfast the rest of the time at the cabin. Our own breakfast sammies were fine, but I really liked the one we got from the shop that first morning.

And yes, of course, ice cream. After we climbed Sugarloaf mountain, we had to drive through Ned to get back to the cabin so we stopped for a ice cream cone. Yum.

Overall, my favorite part of this trip was the cabin we found on Airbnb. It was in the woods (and only like 18 minutes from Ned. So we could still get good takeout and didn't have to cook for ourselves). There was also a nice fenced in area for Tito, which is always a plus when we travel with our pup. It was a relaxing space. In the evenings, Levent and I would watch a movie (or movies) and eat a ton of ice cream. It was the best.

Who knows when we'll get back to this part of the country again. So I am really grateful that we decided to make a it a priority and spend a few more days in the lovely mountains of Colorado.