Rocky Mountain High – Denver, Colorado

image from flickr by bradley newman

Maroon Bells – Aspen, Colorado

John Denver sure nailed it. The beauty and majesty of the Rockies is almost impossible to put into words.

What we did

She said:

I don’t know where to begin with this.  Bill had never been to Denver, and I thought it was most important to see the mountains.  We got up early on Friday to beat the crowds heading to the mountains for their “ski” weekend.  It had been snowing like crazy the day before, but I had checked and the roads were snowy but fine, and the mountain passes were open.  I’m going to share what used to be a well kept secret about Denver.  When you see the weather maps of Colorado, and you hear that we are getting major snow storms and a ton of snow, it is usually only the mountains and sometimes foothills that are getting all the snow.  It can sometimes be 50 degrees in Denver and sunny.  You always need to check the weather in the mountains before you “just” head to Vail.  It can be sunny all the way to the Eisenhower tunnel and a blizzard on the other side.  I have had that happen many times. Anyway, I digress. We headed up to Vail and I thought we would have a leisurely walk around the village and then have a wonderful lunch in a little restaurant by the creek.  I had never seen Vail so crowded.  I had forgotten that it was President’s Day weekend and the kids didn’t have school.  Everyone was there to ski, and there were NO parking places- for miles!!

He said:

No first time visitor to Denver can leave without going into the Rockies. Even though my skiing days have long passed – I’m a danger to myself and even more so to others – I was excited to see the mountains and resorts I’d heard so much about. We headed towards Vail on Friday, when we thought it be a little less busy. The drive is thrilling and the scenery spectacular. But, unfortunately, in addition to being Valentine’s Day weekend, it was also President’s Day weekend, and, to top it off, it was snowing! The traffic moved slowly, but steadily, although it was stop and go through the Eisenhower Tunnel. Vail, however, was even worse! It was a complete zoo! Everyone had the same idea of beating the weekend rush. All the public parking lots and garages were full and cars lined the streets for miles in either direction. After about a half an hour of dodging skiers hiking towards the slopes and other parking space seekers, we paused at the Marriott when nature called. We couldn’t leave the car unattended as the valet, and security, were Johnny on the spot – no pun intended! So, after three hours of less than relaxing driving, Marla apologized for not being able to explore the village, promised we’d make a return visit, and headed us back towards Denver! The mention of a return visit brought a smile to my face and served to ease the angst created by the thought of the three hour, snowy, downhill slide back to the city.

Category: Denver, Colorado, Mountain, United States, what we didTags: colorado, parking in Vail, rocky mountains, skiing, vail |