Our niece Louise flew in from the UK to join us for our last week of vacation in Colorado. She’s at the unfortunate age of 20, meaning it’s been perfectly legal for her to drink in the UK for over two years – but in the US, where the legal drinking age is 21, not a chance. This is the country where just about anyone can get ID’d at the supermarket buying alcohol. Even Judith, at the ripe old age of – let’s just say over 50 – got refused alcohol because she didn’t have her ID on her to prove her age. Luckily, we’d saved some fun stuff to do with Louise that didn’t involve drinking.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The absolute best introduction to Summit County, CO is the Dillon Lake rec path round robin. Darren, Louise and I did the 26 mile initiation route and gave Wayne and Judith a well earned break. I’m really not that much tinier than Louise, I was stood on a sloping bank. Honestly!Keystone was kicking and the beers were flowing at the Bluegrass & Brews festival (sorry Louise!). The girls were getting into the spirit of it as Judith tried to master a box cross step, ably demonstrated by her daughter. Louise was also chuffed to find the Summit Rugby stall representing the local women’s team, as she’s ’big into that’ back home. (Kind of an understatement, her role as rugby captain consumes much of her life.)A moth the size of a hummingbird was also enjoying the festivitiesAn early start the next day for a hike up Rabbit Ears pass. Turns out hiking is not J&L’s favorite thing.The fireweed was on fire, perfectly offsetting the yellow groundsel and daisies. Soooo pretty!No one was quite convinced that the large boulders at the top of the pass looked remotely like rabbit earsNot quite so bowled over by the views as I, the girls returned to the truck for a few impromptu games of Uno (yes, they came prepared). Unperturbed, I continued on the hike with the boys.Right up there in terms of wildflower hikesFloating down the Yampa River in Steamboat Springs was much more in Louise’s wheelhouse. Unfortunately, not so much mine and Judith’s. We bobbed around uncontrollably, getting ourselves stuck in the rocks and stranded. Our frantic paddling did nothing by way of pointing us in the right direction and Judith at one point found herself defying the laws of nature and floating upstream. Cue our river angel, Louise, to the rescue. We quit the ineffectual flailing and instead gripped on tight to her tube as she expertly propelled us to safety, nothing more to show for our drama than wet bums.Meanwhile, Darren and Wayne gleefully looked on from a distance in their own tubes. Aware that if at any point things started to look remotely hairy, all we had to do was stand up in what was actually very shallow water.We took ourselves up Loveland Pass for an impromptu wine and crisps sunset party. Bring on the woolly hat!We came prepared, with our Broken Compass rug to sit onCheers!Gotta love a Colorado sunsetAnother bike day for the American Hamiltons, while the British Hamiltons did their own thing (which I seem to recall involved some well-earned chilling by the pool time)And we all know that all that exercise is really just an excuse to stuff our faces with good food and drinkSome fun evenings were had in our extended back garden, putting the world to rights over a drink or twoAnd pizza or two…Next up, a bit of white water rafting down the Arkansas river near Buena VistaThe calm before the storm…The Storm!Actually a really enjoyable morning, those class 3 rapids were so much fun!Passing through South Park on the way back to Keystone… had to be doneLouise tried her hand at kneel down / stand up paddleboarding back at our local Dillon lakeIt wasn’t all go, go, go. When we weren’t on the bikes or the river, you would often find us just chilling out in the garden with a glass of something cold and refreshing.Taking the cable car at Breckenridge, where the ladies that brunch would do just that, along with a game or two of cornhole. Meanwhile, Wayne was off exploring on the mountain bike, while Darren and I set off to walk to Frisco.The hike from Breckenridge to Frisco took it out of me and Darren, with the heat. Luckily, the end of the walk was at Evo, where Aaron was on hand with a cold refreshing beer.“Let’s go climbing”, he said. “It’ll be fun”, he said. Hmmm. Judith wisely sat this one out, while the four of us took the chairlift up A Basin to try our luck at the Via Ferrata.The only other time I’ve tried this was seven years ago. Enough time to forget how terrifying it is. Climbing up a sheer rock face, high up on a mountainside, with let’s face it, not enough iron step things to stand on or grab hold of if you’re a short arse like me. A short arse with not the best sense of balance, not a flexible, agile bone in my body, and a fear of falling. Let’s just say I’ll not be doing this again.Cool views tho!And we did get to see some really cool, shaggy, mountain goatsAnd that’s about as much fun and games as we could squeeze into our Colorado trip. Time to jam those four bikes and all our other junk back into the truck for the long road trip home.And with the return to SoCal comes the return to work. Very much refreshed, with so many great memories, and maybe just a wee bit of a hangover!
I’m very nearly running out of fingers to count the number of times we’ve been to Colorado. We did a quick tally, and since we first fell in love with Summit County in the Covid summer of 2020, this would be our tenth trip. The vast majority of which have featured in the blog. So what could I possibly have to write about or photograph?
I admit, there’s some things we’ve done again and again because they’re just that cool. But what’s unique about this trip is that we had company. Brother and sister-in-law Wayne and Judith came to visit. And seeing somewhere familiar through someone else’s eyes brings a whole new magic to the proceedings.
There is absolutely no better introduction to Summit County than a circumnavigation of Dillon Lake on two wheels, taking in the Keystone/Frisco/Dillon triangle. Lucky we brought those four bikes with us.All still smiles at this point. Helping to ward off the Brits’ jet lag with fresh mountain air and one of our favorite treats, afogato (double shot of espresso poured over ice cream) at Abbey’s cafe.Almost overdosing on the highlights of Frisco on the first day: The best ever Thai-ish fried chicken you could possibly eat – lunch at Bird Craft in Outer Range brewery.25 miles in and hanging on in there for the last leg. The seat on Judith’s e-bike was unforgivably evil. An aerodynamic wedge engineered to crush dreams and tailbones alike. At this point, numbness was the best she could hope for. Thankfully, salvation came in the form of a cheeky margarita at the Tiki Bar.Maxing out day 1 with a boat ride across the lake to the Dillon amphitheater. Leaving behind sunny t-shirt weather and calm waters in Frisco, things turned a little spicy out on the lake as the wind came out of nowhere, whipping up a frenzy.What an amazing venue for a concert. Big Head Todd and the Monsters, no less. What do you mean, you’ve never heard of Big Head Todd? Still… cool venue!Cheers!A night ride back across the lake to round off the evening. With expert lighting assistance from Judith.Out came the woolly hat and the fleecy blanket.Impossible to capture on a I-phone. But the clear night sky stretched overhead with a myriad of stars, far far away from city light pollution. In contrast to the earlier storm, the water was calm, the wind was hushed, and we were in awe of the night.Allowing for tush recovery time, the next day started with a hike from Loveland Pass. I mean, c’mon… those views.Darren on top of the world!Early start to get to Rocky Mountain National Park before they started with the timed entry thing. No goat sightings inside the park, so token photo as we were driving over one of the mountain passes. No elk photos either, although we did see little specks of them in the distance.Couple of mini hikes and some awesome viewpoints in RMNP. But even though we went there early and deliberately picked a non-weekend day, it was still hellishly busy.My new breakfast thing: home made egg-bites. You can throw virtually anything in them (including pizza topping leftovers – ham, cheese, onion, etc.). Good for picnics and on-the-go snacks. Such as when you’ve got a hunger on after driving a few hours to a National Park. We sat at the above viewpoint and noshed our egg-bites, much like these ones but without a plate.Egg bites will only get you so far. Called in to Busey Brews in Nederland on the way back from RMNP for a late lunch and a refreshing beer.Back in Keystone, we needed to stretch our legs after the road trip. While Darren took the mountain bike up Keystone Gulch, Wayne, Judith and I discovered Rathbone taproom, just a hop, skip and a jump from the Airbnb.We alternated the non-biking days with biking days. Judith looking bad-ass. (Feeling bad ass too lol).Back at the ranch, we ran low on beer, shock horror. The quickest option for top ups was an e-bike run to the local gas station. As Wayne and I emerged laden with reinforcements, we were treated to this fabulous rainbow. Sunlight streamed radiantly to our left while the incoming storm approached ominously on our right. Classic Colorado.Gave the girls and boys a break from cycling to leave them to their own devices, while Darren and I did a hike on the Ptarmigan trail. Thunder and lightning in the distance but we remained dry.And would you just look at that… we had persevered through thick and thin, fueled by Oyster Bay and crisps. Success! And how pleased as punch was I. Got the serious giggles trying to re-enact this for 1SE. Happy days!Another day, another bike ride. Only this one ended up at the Breckenridge distillery, so can’t be bad.Long story short, everyone else ended up with alternate means of getting back from the distillery. Just me cycling then. Fueled by Breck Old Fashioneds and a bit of turbo boost on my e-bike, I literally flew up (and down!) Swan Mountain.More fun, back at the ranch playing corn hole.Bikes all safe, sound and tucked away.The next day’s road trip: Maroon Bells. Prepare for scenic overload.Despite the palaver of having to get a shuttle bus up to Maroon Bells, it really is one of the most picturesque places imaginable.And then there’s this. Aspens and wildflowers. Say no more.Aspen perfection.We hiked up to Crater Lake. Kind of similar to the view from below but with a different lake in the foreground. And a lot of cool birds swooping around and scooping up flies and insects. Keep up the good work!While Darren got his mountain bike fix in at Trestle, Winterpark, we had a much more relaxing day, starting with a cool crisp sauvignon blanc at Frisco marina. (Well hang on, we probably didn’t start with that… I’m sure we had breakfast first.) At a bargain $9 a glass, we weren’t expecting much. But despite the plastic glasses, we were very pleasantly surprised.Fun trip on the boat. Happy vibes, party music, Tiki bar. Holiday feels for keeps.Wilson made a surprising appearance to join us on the boat. My absolute favorite quote from Wayne, chatting to Aaron ”You know, I’m not normally a fan of dogs, but Wilson… well, he’s different”.So that blue route at the bottom… that was the initiation ride on the first day. Coming up to the end of the first week, we felt Wayne was ready to tackle Vail Pass. That’s the orange one.You wouldn’t even know I was there. But there I was, playing the role of official photographer on my e-bike, while the boys persevered on the road bikes. The Vail Pass ride: so damn scenic, just gorgeous, and actually a pretty damn good achievement.The boys up the top of The Pass. A fitting end to Colorado Week One. Bring on Week Two!
In September 2024, after four and a half years of working remotely, I returned to the office full time. Well, not quite five days a week, because on Mondays and Fridays we were still able to work from home. But it might as well have been full time, insomuch as it put a full-on hard stop to our nomadic lifestyle.
Nearly a year on, and not to be deterred, Darren booked an Airbnb in Colorado for a month. I was pretty sure I could swing two weeks holiday. As for the other two weeks, it’s only really six days worth of in-office-ness. Surely they’d bend the rules a bit and let me work remotely?
Err… nope.
Not a chance.
That’ll be a no then.
So that’s how I ended up commuting from Colorado to California for two weeks…
Starting with the 1,000 mile road trip portion. Me and Darren up front. Two bikes in the back of the cab. Two bikes on the bike rack. You can never have too many bikes.Kolob Canyons (part of Zion National Park). A nice little hike and diversion along the way. Delayed us long enough so the ice cream shop was open by the time we were passing. Can’t beat a bit of Jolted Cow from The Creamery, Beaver, Utah.Summit County, Colorado. First stop: Whole Foods for provisions. The world’s highest Whole Foods at that.View down to the Airbnb from our very own hill. Home for the next month (minus six days – I’m not bitter).All sorted out the back of the Airbnb. Two e-bikes, tick. (Two other bikes inside.) Grill and pizza oven.Pet squirrel standing by.We got the mileage in on Friday evening and Saturday, leaving us all day Sunday to play tourist. Perfect opportunity for a 50+ mile bike ride up Vail Pass.Bike ride not complete without stopping at the Tiki Bar for a cheeky margarita on the way back.Not a bad view from the Tiki Bar. Typical mixed mountain weather, stormy and sunny.Well this should keep us busy on an evening. Spoiler alert – it did.Come Monday morning and we squeezed in a little pre-work hike on the peninsular. Loving the summer wildflowers, the clear mountain air and the lake view back to the Frisco marina. Making the most of it before a frantic week ahead.And just like that, the road trip/Colorado weekend was over and Darren was driving me to Denver airport on Monday evening. One of the craziest flights I’ve been on, where in order to stop the passengers going stir crazy with the 2+ hour delay, the air hostess started a singalong and a Mexican wave on the plane. Yes, really.The unfortunate timing of my birthday meant it fell during my three day Billy-no-mates stint in California. I rustled up a not too shabby celebratory dinner of lamb cutlets with mint sauce and one of my fave bottles of pinot noir.Thursday night had me back at the airport to begin the return trip to Denver. I absolutely felt in need of a weekend away having realized I just spent a whopping $30 on a gin and tonic at Burbank airport!!! All worth it when I can get a Friday lunchtime bike ride in, with this view.The ride took me up to Montezuma, where the little green man with a tambourine was on hand to make sure I wasn’t speeding…… And if that didn’t work, there was back up in the form of his friend with an electric guitar.Friday evening and the local town of Keystone obligingly put on a free gondola from River Run up to the top of Dercum mountain, at 11,640ft. Amazing views over the Ten Mile Range and down to Dillon Lake. Time out with Aaron, Emily and a few beers. Emily starstruck at the opportunity to be in the 1SE video. Darren and Aaron oblivious.There’s worse ways to spend your Friday evening than with a beer up a mountain.A new-to-us walk on Saturday morning round Tenderfoot Mountain. Don’t get me started on the Aspens and the lake views.Larking around on Aaron’s boat. Because no trip to Frisco is complete without a little jaunt on the boat.My Colorado work colleague Jarrod and his wife Jess came over to visit. Would be rude not to start with a beer.Back to ours for fun and merriment. And a walk up ‘our’ hill for the view…… this view.And the first (but not the last) appearance of the pizza oven.Roll on Sunday. Up bright and early for a bike ride up Loveland Pass.Me on my e-bike, Darren on his road bike. I made it to the top with time to spare to get into my official photographer mode. Here comes Darren.Come on Darren, nearly at the top!Proof we made it. The ride back down was so chilly we had to recover with a steaming mug of hot chocolate back in the village.One last walk at Windy (not windy) Point before it was time for me to haul my sorry arse back to work in California.Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go…Three days back in the office before it was time for yet another flight back to Denver. Only this time, I would get to proper wind down, with a whole two weeks holiday. No more work hard, play hard. Just play hard. And… relax!
