Day 3.18: Denver, CO to Colby, KS

We got up a bit head earlier to head over to breakfast and couldn’t believe how long the line for omelets was, with at least thirty people ahead of us. To make the most of the long wait, Brenda stood in line while we loaded the car with all of our stuff, hilariously packing the trunk completely to the top with more than a few things left for the backseat since we’re not used to having two extra passengers and multiple additional suitcases and parcels.

After finally getting breakfast and concluding a somewhat disappointing stay at this Embassy Suites, we left to drive about thirty minutes downtown to the breakfast place Syrup.

We circled a bit and then managed to find a parking spot on the street just two blocks away. We put our name in at the restaurant and went to walk around, ending up on the 16th Street Mall.

We nearly got hit by a train while we were in the middle of crossing the street, and couldn’t believe that the train conductor didn’t care and seemed irritated at us for already having been walking when he decided to go. We enjoyed some nice downtown walking and made it back to Syrup just in time to be seated with Arielle’s cousins Lindsay and Michael. We had a delicious brunch. Brenda got the D*Lish, which was smoked salmon crostinis. Arielle got Nutella-stuffed French toast with bananas and strawberries. Abe got French toast with bananas foster sauce on the side. Harold got the Maryland, which was crab cakes with tater tots and eggs. Michael and Lindsay got different variations of the Cherry Creeker corned beef hash. It was wonderful to be able to catch up with our cousins and for Brenda and Harold to meet them. Brenda thought that Michael looked just like his grandfather Eli, who was Harold’s father Ulu’s brother.

After a thoroughly satisfying meal, we said goodbye and left to drive around to a few different local parks before looking at houses in the area, doing some more light Zillowing. We walked around a nice pond in Washington Park, chased some ducks, and found out that Brenda and Harold’s flight was once again delayed by multiple hours.

On the drive to Cherry Creek State Park, we got through on the phone and managed to get them moved to an earlier flight that was also delayed but would get in at a reasonable hour. We found out that it was expensive to get into the park but were told we could drive in just to use the bathroom, which ended up providing us with a nice view of the water. As we were getting back into the car, we panicked because we learned that the new flight had been un-delayed and was now taking off in just over an hour. We raced to the airport and miraculously got them there with no issues. Arielle went in to help them check in and Abe repacked the trunk of the car and managed to look busy enough so that he didn’t have to move it while waiting for Arielle to come back. We left around 7:30pm and drove for a while until we got hungry and stopped at the most random Domino’s Pizza ever, which was part of a tiny line of shops on the side of the road a mile off the highway.

We got back on the highway and drove about three hours into Kansas, Arielle's 47th state!

Arielle got creeped out by the flashing lights we kept seeing, which we realized the next day were wind turbines. They all flash together - like 300 of them – it’s very creepy! We arrived at the Sleep Inn in Colby, Kansas just after midnight, having lost an hour due to the time change. Agreeing that we didn’t much like nighttime drives like this, we went right to bed.

Approximate number of miles covered: 267

Day 3.17: Denver, CO to Boulder, CO to Estes Park, CO

We woke up in time to catch the end of breakfast, where we were able to order custom-made omelets but were disappointed to find that they ran out of a bunch of items early and didn’t replace them.

We got on the road to head about forty-five minutes to Boulder, stopping along the way at a pullout to take pictures of the mountain view. We met a nice transplant from Kansas City who said she really liked it in Colorado.

We continued on to Boulder and found a parking spot right across the street from Snooze, our chosen lunch spot. Since we weren’t hungry for lunch just yet, we walked along the city blocks and did some casual zillowing of the homes along it.

We returned to Snooze at just the right time to be seated after putting our name in when we arrived. We sat outside and ordered an array of delicacies, including avocado toast, banana white chocolate chip pancakes (with everything else that came with it on the side, per Abe style), and a pancake flight featuring sweet potato, blueberry, and pineapple. It was a delicious meal.

We drove a few minutes to go check out of a rooftop view of the city and the mountains at the top of a parking garage, which was nice.

We then got back in the car to head to our next surprise destination: the Celestial Seasonings factory. We had visited back in January 2018, and we knew that tea lover Brenda would be particularly excited about this attraction. Because it was a Saturday, the production lines weren’t open, but we still enjoyed an informative and very scented experience. Arielle was also disappointed that they don’t give you a raspberry zinger packet as your ticket anymore, but we still got to sample both hot and iced teas after the tour.

Abe had seen signs for Rocky Mountain National Park on our drive up, and even though it was an hour away, we decided to go for it since we had liked it a lot back in August 2018. Brenda wasn’t sure how she would do with the rising elevation, but we kept tabs on it as we ascended. We stopped for gas in Estes Park, the town outside the park, and Arielle gave Brenda some (salty) chips and lots of water, and advised her to take Tylenol to make sure she’d be okay. As we drove into the park, we all started to feel the elevation a bit more, but we were distracted by the gorgeous scenery and then by the moose we saw on the side of the road! A couple hours later, Arielle asked a ranger, who confirmed that it had actually been an elk, which made Arielle sad. We did see tons of deer and elk, and mountain goats with huge horns.

After about an hour of driving slowly through the park, we left to head back into Estes Park to the amazing Italian restaurant we had gone to two nights in a row, Sweet Basilico. It didn’t disappoint. Harold got seafood in a broth, and the rest of us shared eggplant parmigiana, fettucine Alberto, and ravioli. Conveniently, we each had a different favorite, and we got to chat with the owner’s son, who remembered us from last time. This is a great place and a must-visit for anyone who travels to Rocky Mountain National Park.

We drove back about an hour and a half to the hotel, where we went to relax in the hot tub. There were other guests there who had already called about the fact that there were no towels, which finally showed up after multiple other calls and twenty-five minutes, just as we were about to head back to our rooms. We went to sleep to prepare for our final day in Colorado.

Approximate number of miles covered: 144