This was my fifth visit to Colorado, but the previous four were during the summer or early fall. Winter has a totally different vibe with the snow-capped peaks. The biggest concern was the weather and if I had known that it would turn out the way it did, I probably would not have booked the trip. It turned out fine in the end, but I did have to drive on some snow at times. It’s a crapshoot and you really can’t trust the long-range forecast. It could be sunny and mild or snowy. Though the chances of a major winter storm are small, it’s a good bet that you will have a day or two per week with 1-3 inches of snow. Up until a couple days before the trip, it was forecasted to be 50 degrees in Denver and 35 in Breckenridge with sunny skies. At the last minute, snow entered the forecast both on my arrival date and the day I was to leave Breckenridge (9,600 feet elevation). Fortunately, most of the snow was to come in the evening and at night. I don’t have much experience driving in snow and ice.
2/15-
Direct flight from Birmingham to Denver with no issues. It was a little more than 2 hours from the Denver airport to my hotel in Breckenridge and I arrived a few hours before the snow began to fall. I spent the rest of the day touring the town. It was pretty cool with lots of souvenir shops, restaurants, and bars. I ended up getting some tasty ribs and enjoyed a conversation with a local guy.
2/16-
Woke up to find significant new snow with more to come later in the day. Fortunately, there would be a break in the weather until early afternoon. If I left Breckenridge early enough, I could beat the weather, but I would have to limit my time on the slopes. As expected, the powder was MUCH better than anything I had experienced in North Carolina but in my opinion, it’s not worth the money. Lift tickets plus rental equipment cost me over $300 and lodging is not cheap either. In my only bad call, I left my base in Peak 8 and took the slopes to Peak 9 because I read that they were easier. It was actually too easy, and I was up for a challenge. For some reason, the chair lift back to Peak 8 did not allow unloading at the midpoint. That meant I would have to negotiate an Intermediate trail on the way down. Yes, I took a seat. My shoulder took the brunt of it, but my knees are okay. I was extra cautious the rest of the way down and my quads were killing me. Regardless of the weather, it was a good call to end my session early. In conclusion, skiing is a fun activity for me, but I will be content to do it just once or twice per year in North Carolina. Some people take week-long trips to major resorts. I can’t see myself as an avid skier and unfortunately, I doubt that I will be able to do it 10 years from now. At least I can say that I went skiing in Colorado.
I left Breckenridge around 2:30 and the road out of town involved a mountain pass up to 11,500 feet. Definitely, it was a good call to leave early rather than take on that road in the snow! It was a scenic ride of a little over 2 hours to the town of Salida, at an elevation of 7,000 feet. I had Mexican food at a restaurant right next to my hotel along with a well-deserved Margarita. Not long after I finished eating, snow began to fall. I imagine that Breckenridge got a lot more. Again, it was a good call to get out of there early!
2/17-
Clearing skies and no more snow. It was an hour and a half to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. I successfully navigated another mountain pass up to 9,500 feet but most of the route was flat and straight. My only scare on the road involved making a turn from one highway to another. I should have slowed down to a near stop before doing so. I had a close call with a road sign, but no other cars were nearby when I began to slide. Fortunately, regained control in time, and when the sun came out, road conditions were no longer an issue for the rest of the trip. I predicted that I would skimp on the Great Sand Dunes to spend more time in Colorado Springs. That’s exactly what I did, and it proved to be a good call. The dunes were mostly snow covered and so were the hiking trails. I only did a couple of short hikes, but it was beautiful, nonetheless. By this time, skies were mostly blue with a few puffy clouds that dipped below the snow-capped peaks. It doesn’t get much better than that! I arrived in Colorado Springs around 3:00, so that left plenty of time to see the Garden of the Gods. I stayed there until sunset and did a couple more short hikes, then had a steak dinner in the tourist section of town.
2/18-
Up for the sunrise at Balanced Rock in Garden of the Gods. I got tickets for the 10:00 Cog Railway tram up to Pikes Peak (14,115 feet). It turned out that the summit was closed due to weather hazards, and we only made it to 12,600 feet. It was probably just as well. The air temperature at the summit would have been below 10 degrees with a wind chill factor of sub-zero. I still got plenty of good shots of the mountains below. The shorter trip also enabled me to spend a bit more time in Denver. First stop there was a science museum. It had some cool exhibits but my real reason for going there was to get the best shot of the Denver skyline. My hotel was right in the heart of town, so I enjoyed a walking tour of the city and another Margarita.
2/19-
Junk run at Cherry Creek bike trail just after sunrise. I got cleaned up and headed back outside to check out some museums. Today was crystal clear with a high temp in the low 50s. Unfortunately, the US Mint was closed for the President’s Day holiday, but the baseball museum was open. It was small and only required about 30 minutes, but it did have some nice exhibits from old parks like Forbes Field, the Polo Grounds and Wrigley Field. From there, it was back to the airport. I had almost 4 hours until my flight home. I tried to get on an earlier flight but since they required connections, it would not have saved me any time. I stuck with the original flight and got home around 10 PM. It was a memorable and enjoyable trip. Not sure where I am going next.
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