Colorado Hiatus

Well, it is our last night in Steamboat...Ian and I both feel so lucky to have been able to stay here for such a long length of time. This condo is truly beautiful and so luxiorous. We were so blessed to be able to walk out the front door of the hotel and immediately be in the mountains!
Colodorado most definitely agrees with us and we could most definitely picture ourselves living in a place like this!
There are a few more pictures on the flickr site- from the top of the gondola!
This may be, but hopefully not, the last edition of this journal, as internet access in Denver is questionable. Thank you for reading!

Yesterday was a day of repeats for us! We liked going tubing so much that we went again yesterday morning! It was just as much fun the second time around...the afternoon was the same mix of running/rehab. Then for dinner we really wanted to go back for dinner to the Slopeside Grill, where we had an excellent meal earlier...but this time it was packed. Instead we walked across to the Tugboat Girll & Pub, which was just as good!
Today is our last day in Steamboat...we'll see what it brings!

This morningn we set off to explore some of the Colorado back country, and also to scout out a potential camping spot for tonight. We drove up the Buffalo Pass, on what should loosely be considered "roads." It took us an hour to drive about 15 miles...the "roads" were more like clearings in the woods. It was well worth the drive however, as the views were spectacular. We found the camp ground where we wanted to camp- Summit Lake. It was an idealic place to camp, as the temperature was a blissful 60 degrees (!), the lake was very serene and peaceful, and there were no other people around. The only problem...the bugs!! The mosquitoes were absolutly swarming us, and after a short photo session, we each left with no less than 10 bites. That did in the camping...it turns out it was for the better, as some significant thunderstorms rolled through, and 10,000 feet with few trees is the last place we wanted to be when lightning is flashing. Instead, we did a bit more exploring, found another beautiful lake and headed back down. I may need my back re-aligned and I think I may have lost a filling or two from the bouncy ride back down, but we felt accomplished for having completed the back country expedition and also vindicated for renting an SUV for the trip!

Lots of other photos on our Flickr site!

After a day of swimming, biking, reading, watching movies (and a TASTY dinner at the Slopeside Grill) we were ready for a road trip today. Steamboat has been infiltrated with the little league world series, so we thought today would be a good day to get away.
First, we drove down to Vail! We were so lucky in that they were having a street festival in one of the villages, so we cruised around to the different vendors, had a few snacks and checked out some of the shops. Vail is enormous, and I can only imagine what it must be like to ski there. Ian says that it drips with money in the wintertime...seems plausible as there a lot of high end and "fur" shops. It was a great morning. After Vail, we drove through Beaver Creek, which is even FANCIER than Vail- I didn't think that was possible, but BC is unbelievable. You have to pass through a gaurd gate just to get to the village! There is a Ritz Carlton there, and one of the gondolas goes right into the lobby!!
After visiting the ski areas, we drove though Glenwood Canyon- quite remarkable. We made a nice loop through western Colorado, where, by the way, the heat wave had returned- 103 degrees in some spots.
It was a great day, and we were very glad to have been able to visit some other parts of Colorado!

We just got back from the natural hot springs! How wonderful!! Strawberry Park natural hot springs were so relaxing and hot! The pools were about 108 degrees. We went in the evening time, which was just perfect, as the tempreatures began to cool down, and the night was so clear. The springs are at the top of a mountain, and the last two miles are unpaved and four wheel drive is mandatory. We spent about 2 hours there, and it was just heavenly.
In the afternoon we went tubing down the Yampa River- it was SO much fun! However, Ian and I were a bit humbled, as we were riding down the same rapids in tubes that we earlier in the week navigated in our kyacks...somehow the rapids seemed a bit more daunting in a kyack. Never the less, tubing was a great time.
I survived the morning mountain biking with Lee- he graciously rode SLOWLY up and down the mountain with me, and I didn't even crash this time!

Pictures forthcoming...