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Colorado Trip - Rocky Mt, Black Canyon, Mesa Verde, Sand Dunes & More
Posted on 7/13/20 at 8:28 pm
Posted on 7/13/20 at 8:28 pm
Just finished a family trip with a week in Colorado. We flew out of MSY on Friday Morning (7/3/20) and returned Saturday the 11th. Family of 4. Me, my wife, 7 & 5 year old boys. (I'll sift through pics, as most have my kids and I'm avoiding posting those)
Typical of how we enjoy traveling, it was 8 nights in 8 different (h/m)otels. It wasn't too bad with the covid nonsense. There were several spoiled plans, and restuarants, coffee shops, bakeries stuff like that being closed unexpectedly. We did our best to just roll with the punches. The most difficult part was timed entries at ticketed places. The Denver Art Museum, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Rocky Mt. NP...etc. It is difficult to time your arrival times when making such a big trip.
Day 1 - Denver to Estes Park
Day 2 - Rocky Mountain National Park to Grand Lake
Day 3 - Grand Lake - Breckenridge - Glenwood Springs
Day 4 - Glenwood Springs - Black Canyon of The Gunnison NP - Telluride
Day 5 - Telluride to Ouray - Silverton - Durango and Mesa Verde National Park
Day 6 - Mesa Verde NP to Great Sand Dunes NP
Day 7 - Great Sand Dunes to Colorado Springs
Day 8 - Colorado Springs to Denver
Day 9 - Denver and fly home
Friday - Day 1.
Pretty low key. We flew out of MSY at 10am and got to Denver around noon. Grabbed a late lunch and went to the Art Museum. Coffee and a snack and then drove up to Estes Park for the night.
(Approaching Estes Park)
Saturday - Day 2.
We had an 8am entry at RMNP, so we hit the grocery to stock up the Yeti (Checking the big Yeti Hopper was a great move. It really helped with food and drinks along the way with so much unexpectedly closed) We spent July 4th night in Grand Lake. There was supposed to be a big fireworks display, but they cancelled it to prevent crowds. The town was packed regardless. Interesting little town, but smaller and less polished than Estes Park even.
Entering Park at 8:01am
Despite metered and limited entry, the Bear Lake parking was already full at 8am. We took the shuttle down.
Nymph Lake. The hikes had people, but not crowded. Minimal mask nonsense.
Hike to Dream Lake views
Sunday - Day 3
Grand Lake in the morning
We set out from Grand Lake and headed to Breckenridge. I've never been, so was curious what it was all about. It's fine for a short stop, but it felt like a giant summer tourist trap. We paid to park and took the free gondola ride, which was very cool. Walked the downtown strip a bit and decided we'd seen enough. We had no big plans there, and had figured this day would be mostly driving.
Along the drive to Breckenridge
Breckenridge Tram
We headed on to Glenwood Springs for the night making a few stops for snacks and coffee along the way.
Monday - Day 4
Glenwood Springs was just a hotel stop, but it was nice as it was a modern hotel vs the motels that tend to surround the national park areas. The goal was to hit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and we had a few options for directions. Ultimately we went towards Grand Junction because I hoped to do some cherry picking. Most of the orchards had an untimely freeze and all of the crops were lost. I found one You-Pick farmer who had cherries, raspberies and currants for picking. We texted back and forth about him being open that Monday, but it didn't pan out that morning. It was a bit of a bummer, but whatcha gonna do?
Not the farm I mentioned, but in the general area. They were growing grapes here.
Headed towards Grand Junction
Approaching Grand Junction
We made our way down to The Black Canyon around lunch time, and opted to just make sandwiches out of the cooler. There are only so many hamburgers you can eat, and the dining options in western Colorado are fairly boring. It probably helped me not pack on 10 lbs of vacation weight in the long run coupled with 5 mile walks most days.
The Black Canyon was really stunning. A very easy park with mostly short hikes to viewing areas. Each one giving you a different spectacular view.
We left and continued the trip down to Telluride for the night. Telluride was much nicer in my opinion, and more of a town feel than I got in Breckenridge. Of course, we could barely afford to pretend like we couldn't afford to be there for a night
We rode the free tram there as well, and the boys really enjoyed it.
Typical of how we enjoy traveling, it was 8 nights in 8 different (h/m)otels. It wasn't too bad with the covid nonsense. There were several spoiled plans, and restuarants, coffee shops, bakeries stuff like that being closed unexpectedly. We did our best to just roll with the punches. The most difficult part was timed entries at ticketed places. The Denver Art Museum, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Rocky Mt. NP...etc. It is difficult to time your arrival times when making such a big trip.
Day 1 - Denver to Estes Park
Day 2 - Rocky Mountain National Park to Grand Lake
Day 3 - Grand Lake - Breckenridge - Glenwood Springs
Day 4 - Glenwood Springs - Black Canyon of The Gunnison NP - Telluride
Day 5 - Telluride to Ouray - Silverton - Durango and Mesa Verde National Park
Day 6 - Mesa Verde NP to Great Sand Dunes NP
Day 7 - Great Sand Dunes to Colorado Springs
Day 8 - Colorado Springs to Denver
Day 9 - Denver and fly home
Friday - Day 1.
Pretty low key. We flew out of MSY at 10am and got to Denver around noon. Grabbed a late lunch and went to the Art Museum. Coffee and a snack and then drove up to Estes Park for the night.
(Approaching Estes Park) Saturday - Day 2.
We had an 8am entry at RMNP, so we hit the grocery to stock up the Yeti (Checking the big Yeti Hopper was a great move. It really helped with food and drinks along the way with so much unexpectedly closed) We spent July 4th night in Grand Lake. There was supposed to be a big fireworks display, but they cancelled it to prevent crowds. The town was packed regardless. Interesting little town, but smaller and less polished than Estes Park even.
Entering Park at 8:01am Despite metered and limited entry, the Bear Lake parking was already full at 8am. We took the shuttle down. Nymph Lake. The hikes had people, but not crowded. Minimal mask nonsense. Hike to Dream Lake views Sunday - Day 3
Grand Lake in the morning We set out from Grand Lake and headed to Breckenridge. I've never been, so was curious what it was all about. It's fine for a short stop, but it felt like a giant summer tourist trap. We paid to park and took the free gondola ride, which was very cool. Walked the downtown strip a bit and decided we'd seen enough. We had no big plans there, and had figured this day would be mostly driving.
Along the drive to Breckenridge Breckenridge Tram We headed on to Glenwood Springs for the night making a few stops for snacks and coffee along the way.
Monday - Day 4
Glenwood Springs was just a hotel stop, but it was nice as it was a modern hotel vs the motels that tend to surround the national park areas. The goal was to hit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and we had a few options for directions. Ultimately we went towards Grand Junction because I hoped to do some cherry picking. Most of the orchards had an untimely freeze and all of the crops were lost. I found one You-Pick farmer who had cherries, raspberies and currants for picking. We texted back and forth about him being open that Monday, but it didn't pan out that morning. It was a bit of a bummer, but whatcha gonna do?
Not the farm I mentioned, but in the general area. They were growing grapes here. Headed towards Grand Junction Approaching Grand Junction We made our way down to The Black Canyon around lunch time, and opted to just make sandwiches out of the cooler. There are only so many hamburgers you can eat, and the dining options in western Colorado are fairly boring. It probably helped me not pack on 10 lbs of vacation weight in the long run coupled with 5 mile walks most days.
The Black Canyon was really stunning. A very easy park with mostly short hikes to viewing areas. Each one giving you a different spectacular view.
We left and continued the trip down to Telluride for the night. Telluride was much nicer in my opinion, and more of a town feel than I got in Breckenridge. Of course, we could barely afford to pretend like we couldn't afford to be there for a night
We rode the free tram there as well, and the boys really enjoyed it.
2
Posted on 7/13/20 at 8:28 pm to RaginCajunz
Tuesday - Day 5
We left Telluride in the morning and backtracked so we could drive the Million Dollar Highway and check out Ouray and Silverton on our way to Mesa Verde. That drive is totally worth it! It wasn't the most direct route, but driving anywhere on that side of CO is beautiful. You really don't mind the time in the car.
Ouray I believe.
We hiked the Box Canyon Falls. It's a small local park with a really cool waterfall. We did both the upper trail and the lower trail into the narrows with the rushing falls. I realize I don't have any pictures of the falls without my kids in the shot, so use your imaginations.
We had a short list of places to try to eat, but all were closed in Ouray so we pushed on to Silverton only to find the same issue. We settled on your tourist town americana type joint and had a very solid lunch. Continued down to Durango for more grocery supplies, coffee and a little window shopping downtown. Then off for the final hour of driving to Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde National Park.
I was hoping this whole time that the ranger lead tours would open back up for getting into the cliff dwellings, but covid ruined that one. I still figured we'd have a great night of star gazing and see the dwellings in the morning from overlooks.
View from our balcony in the lodge (which is 30 minutes into the park)
The sun setting into spectacular darkness.
I was most looking forward to this for some reason. My kids have never seen a shooting star, and we saw 3 in an hour including a fireball that made a few flashes 20 seconds before showing up. I can only assume it was it punching through the initial atmosphere?
Wednesday - Day 6
As anticipated, we had a jump on any crowds and set off to see the cliff dwellings. It is a pretty surreal experience to view into these canyons with no one else around (saw one park employee picking up trash cans). We also saw deer, wild horses (Indian reservation wonderers I believe) and a coyote. We took a few hikes that were a mile and change before the day got too hot. Nice views for sure.
We spent a solid 4-5 hours touring the park and seeing the sights until the boy's were tapped out. So we continued our way back through Durango for lunch and then on to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. That last hour of the drive was a trip as you could see the dunes the entire time. They seemed to get no bigger or closer. Just endless driving towards a visible goal. The scale of these things is hard to fathom.
The view from our back porch at the Great Sand Dunes Lodge
Thursday - Day 7
We spent the night at the lodge adjacent to the park. It was clean, AC'd but very basic. They are known for the humming birds that swarm the feeders. We also rented a sand sled from the nearby oasis store. Thank god that this was turned into a National Park, as the Oasis store had the feel of somewhere some Rob Zombie movie characters would work. I suspect the dunes would be trashed in a matter of years as it seemed to attract an odd element. Maybe that was just my off impression. Anyway, rent the board. It was a blast and worth the money.
Just like the driving part. The distance is deceptive. You walk for a good while before hitting even the small dunes up front. Plus, this isn't like beach sand. It is almost fluffy. You sink with each step making it extremely tiring to hike through.
We spent a few hours in the morning hiking the dunes and boarding down. Eventually we were all exhausted and the sun was starting to really heat up. We went back to the lodge, took showers to get the sand out of everything and started driving up to Pikes Peak.
Pikes Peak was a blast. My best tip is make sure you gas up before you enter. We had a half tank of gas in the SUV and I get super nervous when we headed back down and realized that I was at a 1/4 tank. It felt as though the low gear downhill driving was sucking up fuel faster than up. In hindsight I suspect it was just the angle of the vehicle, but it sure as hell made me nervous. I'd have enjoyed it way better with a full tank of gas and peace of mind.
We left Telluride in the morning and backtracked so we could drive the Million Dollar Highway and check out Ouray and Silverton on our way to Mesa Verde. That drive is totally worth it! It wasn't the most direct route, but driving anywhere on that side of CO is beautiful. You really don't mind the time in the car.
Ouray I believe. We hiked the Box Canyon Falls. It's a small local park with a really cool waterfall. We did both the upper trail and the lower trail into the narrows with the rushing falls. I realize I don't have any pictures of the falls without my kids in the shot, so use your imaginations.
We had a short list of places to try to eat, but all were closed in Ouray so we pushed on to Silverton only to find the same issue. We settled on your tourist town americana type joint and had a very solid lunch. Continued down to Durango for more grocery supplies, coffee and a little window shopping downtown. Then off for the final hour of driving to Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde National Park.
I was hoping this whole time that the ranger lead tours would open back up for getting into the cliff dwellings, but covid ruined that one. I still figured we'd have a great night of star gazing and see the dwellings in the morning from overlooks.
View from our balcony in the lodge (which is 30 minutes into the park)
The sun setting into spectacular darkness.
I was most looking forward to this for some reason. My kids have never seen a shooting star, and we saw 3 in an hour including a fireball that made a few flashes 20 seconds before showing up. I can only assume it was it punching through the initial atmosphere?
Wednesday - Day 6
As anticipated, we had a jump on any crowds and set off to see the cliff dwellings. It is a pretty surreal experience to view into these canyons with no one else around (saw one park employee picking up trash cans). We also saw deer, wild horses (Indian reservation wonderers I believe) and a coyote. We took a few hikes that were a mile and change before the day got too hot. Nice views for sure.
We spent a solid 4-5 hours touring the park and seeing the sights until the boy's were tapped out. So we continued our way back through Durango for lunch and then on to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. That last hour of the drive was a trip as you could see the dunes the entire time. They seemed to get no bigger or closer. Just endless driving towards a visible goal. The scale of these things is hard to fathom.
The view from our back porch at the Great Sand Dunes Lodge
Thursday - Day 7
We spent the night at the lodge adjacent to the park. It was clean, AC'd but very basic. They are known for the humming birds that swarm the feeders. We also rented a sand sled from the nearby oasis store. Thank god that this was turned into a National Park, as the Oasis store had the feel of somewhere some Rob Zombie movie characters would work. I suspect the dunes would be trashed in a matter of years as it seemed to attract an odd element. Maybe that was just my off impression. Anyway, rent the board. It was a blast and worth the money.
Just like the driving part. The distance is deceptive. You walk for a good while before hitting even the small dunes up front. Plus, this isn't like beach sand. It is almost fluffy. You sink with each step making it extremely tiring to hike through.
We spent a few hours in the morning hiking the dunes and boarding down. Eventually we were all exhausted and the sun was starting to really heat up. We went back to the lodge, took showers to get the sand out of everything and started driving up to Pikes Peak.
Pikes Peak was a blast. My best tip is make sure you gas up before you enter. We had a half tank of gas in the SUV and I get super nervous when we headed back down and realized that I was at a 1/4 tank. It felt as though the low gear downhill driving was sucking up fuel faster than up. In hindsight I suspect it was just the angle of the vehicle, but it sure as hell made me nervous. I'd have enjoyed it way better with a full tank of gas and peace of mind.
This post was edited on 7/13/20 at 9:04 pm
Posted on 7/13/20 at 8:29 pm to RaginCajunz
Friday - Day 8
We spent the night in Colorado Springs and visited Garden of The Gods and then later on to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Both are well worth the trip alone. I had low expectations for the zoo thinking that Denver would be the "big" zoo and this zoo would be a small town zoo, but I read good things on here. It might be my favorite zoo ever. It was really laid out well and you got up close to so many animals. Garden of The Gods is much bigger than I remember. We went 5years ago, but barely scratched the surface. The fact that it is free is amazing. We even had a 2 jet flyover from the Airforce Base while we were there.
Pretty skimpy on zoo pictures that don't include my family. Plus, it was 95 degrees and taking pictures is a chore in that heat. It was still bearable and we spent more time here than I think we've spent at any zoo in any temperature.
Wallabies up close.
Sloths up close
Saturday - Day 9
Not much to post on Saturday. We spent Friday night in Denver and did some shopping and a bit of sight seeing. Hit the farmer's market, grabbed food and headed to the airport to brace ourselves for landing in 100 F temps and 100% humidity. Yay Louisiana.
We spent the night in Colorado Springs and visited Garden of The Gods and then later on to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Both are well worth the trip alone. I had low expectations for the zoo thinking that Denver would be the "big" zoo and this zoo would be a small town zoo, but I read good things on here. It might be my favorite zoo ever. It was really laid out well and you got up close to so many animals. Garden of The Gods is much bigger than I remember. We went 5years ago, but barely scratched the surface. The fact that it is free is amazing. We even had a 2 jet flyover from the Airforce Base while we were there.
Pretty skimpy on zoo pictures that don't include my family. Plus, it was 95 degrees and taking pictures is a chore in that heat. It was still bearable and we spent more time here than I think we've spent at any zoo in any temperature.
Wallabies up close. Sloths up close
Saturday - Day 9
Not much to post on Saturday. We spent Friday night in Denver and did some shopping and a bit of sight seeing. Hit the farmer's market, grabbed food and headed to the airport to brace ourselves for landing in 100 F temps and 100% humidity. Yay Louisiana.
This post was edited on 7/13/20 at 9:17 pm
Posted on 7/13/20 at 9:13 pm to RaginCajunz
What were your thoughts on far view lodge? I liked the views and where it was situated, but that place needs updating some kind of bad. National park lodging is usually marginal (I’ve stayed in some really good ones Though), but we had a rotten spot in our floor in the bathroom, the walls were paper thin, and the outside needed attention. I did like the small balcony though and supper at the metate room was very good.
Posted on 7/13/20 at 9:19 pm to iwantacooler
quote:
What were your thoughts on far view lodge?
I figure with any of those NP lodges, you are paying for location. It was about what I expected. It was worth it to me for the jump on the morning heat into the park. Plus, kind of like Estes Park, Cherokee NC, Grand Lake CO, those places surrounding the parks are never particularly nice. I just as soon stay in the park if you have proper expectations. I was glad it was AC'd, but the Colorado Springs night at the new Drury Inn by the Air Force training grounds felt like it was made for a king after Far View and then the Sand Dunes lodge.
Posted on 7/13/20 at 9:26 pm to RaginCajunz
Looks like a great trip, we hit most of your stops between our last 2 trips out west.
The first week of June we stopped at the Sand Dunes and there was a sheet of water (snow melt) running across the sand, close to the parking area. The stream was probably 50 yards wide and around ankle-deep. I assume that water had dried up on your trip? People were stacked in that water, like a beach trip with canopies and beach chairs. It was very strange to see.
The first week of June we stopped at the Sand Dunes and there was a sheet of water (snow melt) running across the sand, close to the parking area. The stream was probably 50 yards wide and around ankle-deep. I assume that water had dried up on your trip? People were stacked in that water, like a beach trip with canopies and beach chairs. It was very strange to see.
Posted on 7/13/20 at 9:29 pm to RaginCajunz
quote:
I figure with any of those NP lodges, you are paying for location.
This is exactly how I feel, but after staying in 12 different NP lodges, Far View is by far the worst.
Posted on 7/13/20 at 9:39 pm to iwantacooler
quote:
This is exactly how I feel, but after staying in 12 different NP lodges, Far View is by far the worst.
Our room wasn't that bad. It was clean and maintained I found. I think it was a bit nicer than the Sand Dunes Lodge. That said, I went into it thinking the Sand Dunes Lodge was in the park and similar to Far View or the ones run by Xantera. It was not. I am willing to bet Xanterra does a better job overall than Aramark.
I've stayed at Zion, Yellowstone and Crater Lake all within the parks, and those have all been Xanterra.
Here is what $200+ buys you at the Sand Dunes.
(Booksack and Yeti Cooler not included)
Posted on 7/13/20 at 9:47 pm to RaginCajunz
quote:
I am willing to bet Xanterra does a better job overall than Aramark.
This has been my experience as well.
I thought about staying at sand dunes, but we ended up staying in Walsenburg and coming in over medano pass primitive road.
Posted on 7/14/20 at 6:24 am to RaginCajunz
Going out west for the first time July 19 Flying to Denver. Renting a car Me, wife, 9 year old son and 3 year old son. 12 nights. I know we trying to do a lot but I think it should be possible. We don't mind long drives if something to reward us is at the end.
When get to Denver drive to Colorado Springs (pikes peak, Garden of the Gods), Next day drive to Gunnison (Royal Gorge, Tin Cup, Saint Elmo), Then to Durango (Telluride and Million Dollar Highway),Then Williams, AZ (South Rim), Then Vegas (Hoover Dam, Never been to Vegas), Then to Bryce Canyon (Zion, and whitewater rafting that evening), Then Moab (Arches), Then 2 nights in Glenwood Springs(Amusement Park, Hot Springs), Then Grand Lake Co (RMNP), Then back to Denver stopping in Golden and Boulder. Fly back July 30. Anything I am missing or any where I really should not go. Was going to the North Rim but my oldest son wanted to do white water rafting and Bryce Canyon has a 2 hour trip that allows 3 year olds. So what you think? Similar trip to what you just got done. Anything I am missing that I really should do? Something I should not? Read the box Canyon falls post, how was that?
When get to Denver drive to Colorado Springs (pikes peak, Garden of the Gods), Next day drive to Gunnison (Royal Gorge, Tin Cup, Saint Elmo), Then to Durango (Telluride and Million Dollar Highway),Then Williams, AZ (South Rim), Then Vegas (Hoover Dam, Never been to Vegas), Then to Bryce Canyon (Zion, and whitewater rafting that evening), Then Moab (Arches), Then 2 nights in Glenwood Springs(Amusement Park, Hot Springs), Then Grand Lake Co (RMNP), Then back to Denver stopping in Golden and Boulder. Fly back July 30. Anything I am missing or any where I really should not go. Was going to the North Rim but my oldest son wanted to do white water rafting and Bryce Canyon has a 2 hour trip that allows 3 year olds. So what you think? Similar trip to what you just got done. Anything I am missing that I really should do? Something I should not? Read the box Canyon falls post, how was that?
Posted on 7/14/20 at 7:28 am to Lsutmorg
An easy waterfall to hit in ouray while you are there is cascade falls. Short walk from a parking area to the base of the falls.
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