After the debacle in Colorado Springs, I lost all interest in Colorado Springs. Too bad because I would have liked to have seen more of it. But My brain shifted into drive mode and nothing was going to keep me there.
I decided to drive up to Breckenridge as part of my Ski Town Summer Theme. That never really took off as a Twitter handle like I had hoped but I still like Ski Towns in the summer.
To get to Breckenridge I took the back roads that I never knew existed since they close down in the Winter. This particular road took me through South Park as made famous by the TV cartoon.
I am not sure that there is any real connection beyond the name but they are wise to make use of it since I couldn’t see any other reason to go there. I think it is an outdoor sports destination but I think there are better in Colorado. Anyway, they play up the South Park connection just enough to let passers by stop in and have a bit of fun with it.
When I was done I headed over the Pass to Breckenridge. At 11,500 feet it is the highest I have pulled the trailer over. Didn’t cause the Escape any struggle either. I was kind of surprised.
I have only been in Breckenridge in the Winter time so seeing it without snow was almost like seeing a whole different town. It was pretty busy. Nowhere to park with the trailer and walk around so I just drove around marveling at how big and sprawling it had become since I first went there in the late 80’s.
I knew there was no better option than heading North to Interstate 70. There is a Walmart there that would do nicely. I stopped off at the little town of Frisco for a beer and some local flavor. Tonight’s townie drama was someone trying to bring a dog into the bar under the guise of a service dog. The dog owner and the Bartender got into a row over it and the dog owner figured he was caught and left.
After that, the bar seemed dull so I went back to the Walmart and went right to sleep.
I was up early and decided to drive to Steamboat Springs. A mysterious Ski Resort that I had always heard good things about but had never been. Mostly because it is in the middle of nowhere. It took me 5 hours to drive there from Breckenridge on a nice Summer Morning. It must take forever with snow on the ground. It is a nice enough place but a little too Condo-ized for my tastes. The little downtown was ok, but didn’t have the feel of an old west ski town that I like. I had some coffee and got back in the car and started driving again. I got as far as Glenwood Springs before I needed to give it a rest. That is a nice little town. It is at the western end of a beautiful Canyon drive on Interstate 70. It is one of the prettiest 30 miles of interstate I have ever been on. The only problem is that if you are the driver, you can’t really enjoy the scenery or you would become a messy part of it.
I got into Glenwood Springs just in time for a sunset stroll through town. I was too tired for the effort of finding a campground so it was another Walmart night for me.
As with most Walmart nights, I was up early and off to my next destination, Crested Butte. Another Ski Town that I have only heard about because it is far from anywhere else. As luck would have it, Aspen was just a short detour off the road to Crested Butte. I have never been there either. Not only because it is also hard to get to but incredibly difficult to afford. I must say though, it does make being rich look like its worth all the effort it takes to be rich.
But with my current negative cash flow situation, I couldn’t even afford breakfast so it was just a stroll through town and I was off again. I was told of a short cut to Crested Butte that shaves 100 miles off the trip. I wasn’t told that it adds 2 hours. It is a picturesque but winding washboard dirt road with top speed of about 20 mph for most of it. All I could think of the whole trip was the trouble I had in Idaho with the axle slipping. I popped out at the other end in Beautiful Crested Butte without any noticeable damage. In my short time in Crested Butte, I can say that it is the epitome of what I think a Western Ski town should be. Pretty much a historic one street town lined with unassuming bars restaurants, shops and art galleries. No chain hotels that I noticed. The Ski resort was a couple miles up the hill so the condos were all up there. I would like to have stayed longer but couldn’t find a legal place to park the trailer. The town is small enough that the unique teardrop styling would have stuck out.
I ended up driving 40 minutes to Gunnison. It seemed to be a town to pass through on the way to somewhere els
e, Nothing really stood out about it. I did find some lively conversation at a local microbrewery with some other tourists. It was fun. I didn’t stay long because it was meteor shower night and I needed to find a dark spot to watch. I drove all over and even had the help of the local police patrol who stopped me because my license plate light was too bright. Super nice though. He directed me back through town to a dark hillside which I didn’t go to because I was done driving. I pulled off to an unbuilt subdivision and waited all night for about 30 meteors. More than usual but I would have been happier all snuggled up in the Walmart parking Lot.
I drove back up to Crested Butte in the morning for a cup of coffee and people watching. Both were above average. I couldn’t really think of anything to do while I waited for Happy hour 8 hours later so I pulled up stakes and headed out again.
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