re: Colorado vacation suggestions (late July)

We rode the train from Durango to Silverton a few years ago and it was awesome , drove back up the next day with my son to do their gold mine tour and it was pretty cool

Tons of hiking around there...

1)Drive/hike up to Rollins Pass

2)If you're really adventurous hike up Byers Peak~12,800', beautiful, but exhausting...

3)Eat at Hecks Restaurant at Devils Thumb Ranch in Tabernash, the patio opens up to the Continental Divide

4)Drive Trail Ridge Road in RMNP

5)Do Long's Peak, or at least get to the boulderfield on the keyhole route

6)There's a brewery in Grand Lake last I checked, pretty good

7)Check and see if the Granby or Winter Park Rodeo is still going on. All the local wranglers from the ranches always enter.

8)RMNP- Stay away from the popular spots and just get into the wilderness, too many tourists go to one or two overcrowded spots

I worked at a ranch out in Granby for a summer back in college. It's beautiful out there.


ETA: If you're taking I-70 out there, you'll go across Berthoud Pass. You can hike from there to Colorado Mines Peak and blue lake to get a fantastic view of the divide.

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Berthoud Pass

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Yeah there's always wild weather on the divide. When I did my stint out there it was snowing at the end of June @ 9,500 ft. Definitely different than anywhere in the south.

If you have the time I highly suggest going up Mt. Evans on the way. It's wild driving above treeline. Also, and this is a little further out there on I-70, drive up to Loveland Pass. Better views, and its a little higher than Berthoud Pass, w/ Loveland being a hair under 12,000 ft.

Durango

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Is it easy getting a similar type of job up there

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Yeah definitely. There's a number of different job types if you want to work a summer. They're most friendly to college age kids though, as the ranch season out there is mostly from May- Sept. A lot of these ranches have restaurants (like Hecks mentioned above) that you can be a server, or you can work outdoors maintaining the property (chopping wood/ mending fences), or taking care of horses as a wrangler. Most of the wrangler positions are really the most skilled as you're really responsible for all the horses. It also pays the most, and can last throughout the year.

In terms of $$ I made like 6.5k over three months (Mid may- mid Aug) on top of room & board. It was a pretty cool experience. I can give you more info if that sounds like something you'd like to do.

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I can give you more info if that sounds like something you'd like to do.

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definitely. I've already called one place that had just filled up, and I just submitted an app for another ranch.

I teach high school so my time is limited to the last week of May and all of June and July.

I think we've agreed on Flattop/Hallett Peak for our long hike.

Still need a short/easy to moderate hike and rafting suggestions if you have them.

Fly into Montrose. Drive and Stay in Ouray. Rent jeep. Take Durango-Silverton train ride. Horseback. Pan for gold. Flyfish. Did this about 3 years ago and enjoyed every minute.

better stick to the well-known, well-traveled areas everyone loves then.
BTW I will be out in Boulder in a couple of weeks for my sons graduation from grad school at CU. He loves the state... ice climbing, 14ers, etc.