Travel Diary | Road Trip, 5 days in Colorado

Among the (long) list of place I am dreaming about in the United Stated, I must admit that Colorado what not one of the highest. But some close friends of ours bought a house over there and, without really realizing how, we were on a plane to Denver!

4.5 hours later, we set a foot in this perfectly rectangular state of west USA. It was pouring like crazy and cold AF, but there we were: ready for 5 days of road trip in Colorado!

Stage 1 | Denver – Colorado Springs (70 miles)

We rent the car – the furthest on the parking – obviously – it’s still pouring and we hit to road, direction Colorado Springs, for our first night. It’s extremely cold and start to realize 2 things: 1) Denver’s elevation is 1 mile, and therefore 2) it seems I didnt’t think it thru when packing (and that we are probably gonna freeze to death in the upcoming days).

After a good night of sleep and a lot of petting in the morning – our airbnb hosts have a pretty friendly cat – we drive to Colorado Spring for a (disappointing) breakfast at one of the most famous restaurant in town then to Garden of Gods. It’s all red rocks and it looks just like a movie!

Stage 2 | Colorado Springs – Breckenridge, Co (110 miles)
At the end of the day, we are on the road again, driving to Breckenrige to find the next airbnb. We drive thru 2 national park to see some wildlife – and boy, we saw what we wanted to see!

To road to Breckenridge is AMAZING, in the middle of a tall, beautiful green forest. We almost break the car on an unpaved road in the middle of nowhere – while only seeing big pick up cars passing by and halfway there, we realize that, perhaps, there is a reason why there is no other small car on the road!

In Breckenridge, the “best mexican restaurant in town” turns out being absoutelty disgusting, but the town itself is the cutest. It looks like a little version of Gsaad! And Kody – our Airbnb host- is the best and the room is great, with pool table and video games!

Stage 3 | Breckenridge, Co – Glenwood Springs (100 miles)
In the morning, we take a few hours to discover Breckenridge under the sun, and it’s one of the cutest towns I’ve ever seen, with a lot of restaurants, bars, small shops and even a Swiss restaurant!!! We finally leave Breckenridge to visit the Hangin Lakes but unfortunately the parking is full, and there is no other way to access it. We decide to drive around in the canyon, and the view is incredible!

Before leaving for our next destination, we eat a nice pic nic next to the Colorado River (we had decided to avoid restaurants in Colorado, as everything seems to be blend at best!) Next stop: Kremmling.

Stage 4 | Glenwood Springs – Kremmling, Co (85 miles)
Between Glenwood Springs and Kremmling, we drive thru a lot of small American looking towns, with mostly saloons and gun shops (!) before driving up and up in the mountains. The address given by airbnb brings us in the middle of litterally nowhere and of course, none of our 3 phones (!) has reception. We end up driving back and forth until being able to call our host, and we finally find her home. It’s a well known fact that I am as patient as a 5 y.o and this little hitch put me in a pretty bad mood but I forget everything as soon as I set a foot in the house. The view on the river and mountain is incredible, it’s quiet, huge and Maureen is amazing. The day ends on swings, watching sunset with the hummingbirds flying around. If you should pick only one Airbnb in your whole life, it should be this one.

Stage 5 | Kremmling, Co – Louisville, Co (14o miles)
The morning after, we are really sad to leave but the next stop is promising: we are going to Hot Sulfur Springs, for a morning of swimming in the hot pools and to get a massage. This is my first time dipping into sulphur pools and even after two showers, I still feels like I smell like eggs! Besides that, everything is perfect!

For the last part of our road trip, we head to Louisville, driving through the Rocky Mountains National park up to 130’000 ft in altitude. It’s insanealy cold but boy, it’s beautfiul!

Stage 7 | Boulder – Denver (3o miles)
After a good night of sleep and a big BBQ, we visit Louisville, Boulder, Red Rocks and Denver. First 3 places were great, but we really didn’t like Denver, maybe because no one was there over the holiday week end. Walking down the streets there, I finally realized why it was so cold when we arrived: Denver is called the Mile High City…

Is Colorado a mountaniuous region? Well, it seems so!

What about you? Have you ever visited Colorado?