Durango and Boulder Round 2

We stayed in Durango through Wednesday afternoon and loved the town. It was relatively small compared to Boulder but so quaint and had lots to do. We had to spend a few days getting some work done on the car but were able to explore town via bikes. We found a pretty neat bookstore (Maria's Bookshop) and spent lots of time in there. We also ate at Carver's downtown where we were able to chat with lots of locals while we waited out a rainstorm about some pretty cool camping spots around the state.

Will also spent some time at the whitewater park one day while I went for a run through town. We were able to stay in Will's friend's backyard...it is amazing how we make connections through life. Will met a guy (Richard) boating in Brevard a few Christmas breaks ago. He lives in Durango but his wife went to Brevard college and his parents retired in Brevard. They were so gracious to let us hang out and stay with them for a few days. They also live in a great part of town that is only about a mile from the start of the Colorado trail and a great network of mountain biking trails. We went for a ride on Wednesday morning and had some great views.

On the way out on Wednesday we had planned to spend some time at Vallecito but the weather here has been pretty hit and miss. We got there just as a big thunderstorm was rolling in so we spend a little time at the local cafe planning our next activity/route.

We spent Wednesday night at Big Meadow. Golden rule campgrounds are interesting (the ones where you pay the little box on your way out for how many days you stay). They all have a campground host and generally we never see them....not a Big Meadow. Big Meadow Bob (the campground host) was there to greet us and follow us around as we chose a campsite. Bob checked in with us frequently throughout the evening :)

The next morning I had time to do some stand up paddle boarding around the lake right next to the campground. Definitely some great views.

We stopped in at Great Sand Dunes National Park on Thursday afternoon. The dunes were enormous and so neat to look at. We thought we would be adventurous and ride our bikes long the 4 wheel drive roads that went around the dunes instead of the hanging out at the beach with the other tourists. We got the bikes down and went about a mile down the road before we were completely eaten by mosquitoes (a miserable feeling when there are 3-5 on you at a time and you feel like there is nothing you can do to get them off). Needless to stay we quickly turned around after a photo!

From Big Meadow we headed back to Boulder to meet Margaret and Cornell. We enjoyed dinner with them on Thursday night at Efrain's.

On Friday we drove up to Mark's house for a visit (he definitely lives in an amazing part of the state) and then took the Peak to Peak highway to Estes Park for the day. The drive was beautiful with lots of big mountains and great views. Will did some play boating that afternoon at the Boulder Playpark while I went for a run up Boulder Canyon. They have a great trail (similar to a greenway) that is very populated with bikers, walker, and runners. It goes up the canyon a good ways and then down into town.

This is the hotel The Shining was filmed in located in Estes Park

Saturday we went for bike ride at Table Mesa near Golden, CO with Margaret. The weather was perfect and the view was gorgeous. It was a pretty steep climb about a mile up initially but then we had 6ish rolling miles that went along the side of the mountain for great views of Denver and Golden. We stopped at Eldorado Canyon for a quick hike and a picnic after our ride.

We had such a great time visiting with family on this last part of our trip! Thanks for feeding us and letting us tag along with you on your adventures!!!