from Andrea Kuehne /
After half a year in southern climes, I miss the mountains a little. So apply for a few days off, book flights, and go…
Colorado has a lot of forest and a few mountains and snow there too! So for a few days, change of scenery.
DENVER
It is Sunday, August 9, 2020, and we embark on the short trip. Ok, our friends in Germany ask how long one “drives” to Colorado. Well… one would drive with the car approx. 15 hours… but we prefer the 1.5-hour flight to Denver. The distance corresponds to the distance between Berlin – Naples in European conditions…
At the airport, Denver fix picked up the rental car, sightseeing first and strolling through LoDo – Lower Downtown. It’s not busy on Sunday, but the streets are closed to allow the restaurants to serve outside. Here, Corona seems kind of far away. As we drive to the Capitol, we notice many weird people happily sitting together in grassy areas. Here marijuana may be consumed… so it smells also, and some seem to float already in her own Nirvana. So better book a motel a bit outside and look for the next destination. As always, we do not have a plan!
GARDEN OF THE GODS
Of course, we decide again for a round trip and head first south to Colorado Springs. The “Garden of the Gods” is the Monument Valley of Colorado. Incredible stone formations in intense orange colors await the visitors. You can take the “American way” there, i.e., drive round by car, but we prefer to walk. It is simply impressive what wind and weather can produce.
IN SWITZERLAND
The route continues in a westerly direction. The landscape becomes rougher and insignificantly more mountainous. We chug through lonely areas for a few hours and stop in the winter sports towns of Breckenridge and Vail. If you didn’t know we were in Colorado, you would think we were in Switzerland. Well, ok, both places were also founded and built by the Swiss… And because it’s so beautiful, we also stop for lunch at the “Gasthof Edelweiss.”
ON THE BACK OF HORSES
Now we don’t just want to sit in the car, but also in the saddle! And so we chug into the mountains to the Beaver Creek Stables to enjoy the excellent landscape cowboy-like from the back of the horses. For three hours, a nice cowgirl leads our small trail ride group over hill and dale, on steep, narrow paths up to the top of the mountains, through the forest, over meadows, and to incredible viewpoints. Yeah, that’s going to be sore tomorrow, but Western-style riding is much more relaxed and comfortable than the English style that is common in Europe.
THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS
Continue through the mountains towards Golden and Boulder…
… to the Eldorado Canyon State Park
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
And because we always found it so beautiful in the Alps and mom and child have a longing for snow, we go further, high into the mountains of the Rocky Mountains. First, through huge forest areas, the Trail Ridge Scenic Route winds its way further into the hills, up to about 3,713 m (12,183 ft)! Up here is a tundra climate and accordingly little vegetation, and “cold” it is! But a representative ibex is squatting on the plateau, on the roadside, a fat marmot is watching the passing cars, and the chipmunks are happy about the tourists. Of course, there has to be a snow photo on top! It is already spectacular, especially since we know today that a large-scale forest fire has affected much here, not four weeks later.
On the way back to the motel, we briefly stop in the Estes resort. Again, not entirely voluntarily, but here deer and elk have the right of way, and we wanted to take a closer look.
WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
And because our child is so fond of animals (already mentioned several times)… well, there may not be missing also in this short vacation… And we put the Wildlife Sanctuary on the way to the airport. The Sanctuary in Colorado is one of the USA’s largest Wild Animals Rescue Habitats. Here live animals, which are from harmful and/or forbidden private attitude, from closing zoos or circuses before death were rescued and/or ill animals. The tigers, lions, bears, wolves, and bison are first kept separately and “rehabilitated” so that they can live in groups with other animals. Afterward, they come into large, extensive enclosure areas where they can live to a large extent under natural conditions. It should be noted that this is NOT a zoo but a rescue facility financed exclusively by entrance fees and, above all, donations. You ot stand in front of the cage but walk on a walkway 4m above the ground without disturbing the animals in their living environment. This is already a special kind of encounter with these fantastic animals.
Unfortunately, five days were too short for this fantastic landscape, even though we missed some things from Texas…. But, yes, Colorado is worth a trip. Let’s see… maybe again at Christmas… with meters of snow…
