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

Day 17: Estes Park, CO

We woke up and drove to a nearby Safeway to purchase a yogurt and some fruit for breakfast. We headed straight into Rocky Mountain National Park and were amazed at the difference in how much we could see in clear weather. We drove 21 miles to the Alpine Visitor Center and hiked the short but strenuous trail up to the summit, which is 12,005 feet above sea level. We read along the way about “taking your breath away” and definitely struggled to breathe well at that elevation. We drove the windy road back down through the mountains, constantly taken with the views.

We were very hungry when we exited the park and settled on Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ as our lunch choice. Arielle loved her Wild Salmon Reuben, and Abe enjoyed his Buffalo Ribs (with blackberry barbecue sauce), with sweet potato fries and regular fries on the side to share. Who knew that a barbecue place would have such a good vegetarian option?

We returned to our hotel to take advantage of their free bike rentals. Arielle opted for a kid’s bike because she is the perfect combination of not tall and not confident on a bike. We crossed the street and joined the Estes Lake Trail, which runs for three and a half miles around the lake. The one intense uphill section was rewarded with the sight of a number of deer crossing the street in front of us. We continued the ride, and when we reached the end of the trail, we turned to go into town and biked up past the Safeway to the Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for The Shining. Arielle was annoyed about the steep uphill but found the workout worthwhile. We returned to the hotel and FaceTimed with our parents while Abe did donuts on his bike in the parking lot.

We decided that dinner the night before had been so delicious that we would order the exact same food and eat it in front of the bonfire outside the hotel. We drove to Sweet Basilico and got to meet the owners, who were very gracious, this time. The food was just as good, and we enjoyed some conversation with a couple visiting from Florida around the fire. Too full from dinner, we played some more Connect Four and air hockey, in which Abe scored on himself much more than either of us scored on each other. We swam in the huge pool as the end credits from Despicable Me 2 played on a big screen next to it, distracted only by one kid who wouldn’t stop splashing despite repeated glares from Arielle. Our dip in the hot tub was nice, and our only disappointment was finding out that the bonfires had been extinguished due to an emergency stop, so our s’mores kit went sadly unused.

Approximate number of miles covered: 62