When we first started planning our trip, we knew that Colorado was definitely going to be a stop. Got to check to in with some great friends with some great dogs. Mandy and Matt (2 friends from umass) have lived in Superior for a couple years now and were amazing hosts. They have three awesome dogs; Boston, Sammy, and Tellie keeping the house alive!
The first night we got there, we took a nice walk through downtown Boulder and got to check out the local hippies in their element. "Nah.. I'll pass on the free hug." Stopped off at the "crunchy" local brewery pub only to find that their special beer on tap that night was a brew from Russian River Brew Company. Located in Sonoma, we will definitely be enjoying there brews once we arrive. Some complimentary quesidilla and fries held us over until we had a much anticipated dinner at Pizzeria Locale, where fried arancini (risotto balls) and in-house 2 year old prosciutto were quite memorable.
The next afternoon we ventured north to Rocky Mountain National Park, where animal sightings and accompanying animal trivia facts were the specialty of the day. Even before we entered the park, we spotted a large herd of elk relaxing in the shade. We drove through the park, stopping at some high altitude vistas for some photo-ops with the Rocky Mountains. We reached peaks roughly 2 miles above sea level, and the temperature got colder the further we went up. Before returning home, we stopped off for a light walk on the Coyote Valley trail, but were unable to find the moose we were hoping for.
The next morning we decided to include the dogs in on the fun, and did a local hike. We planned on only going a few miles, but the adrenaline was pumping and we ended up completing a pretty decent hike. By the time we got home the dogs were fast asleep for the night.
Got a ton of great animal facts from Mandy along our hikes! Check out her website for a class she is taking. It's an animal fact a day.. http://nerdyanimaltrivia.weebly.com/
Continuing west, our next stop was a night of camping by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. One of the lesser known National Parks, this one proved to be quite dramatic! After an arctic night of camping and being soothed to sleep by local a hippie and his guitar, we spent the morning driving around the rim of the canyon stopping at overlooks along the way. At the end of the drive we took a short hike and were rewarded with some great views of the canyon walls and the river below.
Had a really great introduction to Colorado and will definitely be back to visit.
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