We’ve been using the 1 Second Everyday app for a good few years now to string together a whole load of short videos overlaid with music, in order to provide a documentary of our travels. But I think the initial inspiration for the app when they designed it was to see how things change over time – I’ve seen 1SE compilations of a puppy growing up or a baby’s first few months. How about then, an aspen tree’s daily journey from summer bloom to fall foliage. That almost imperceptible transition from emerald green to golden yellow. All I had to do was pick a tree, any tree, and take the same one second video shot of it every day throughout our month’s stay in Keystone, Colorado. Better pick one that’s handy then, one that I’ll see every day, oh here we go, a prime specimen on our balcony.

Hmm, well that prime specimen did its damnedest to hold out on me. It soon caught on to me filming it every day, only there was some miscommunication around the purpose. There was me, patiently waiting for the tiniest signs of yellow, egging it on to change color. And there was the tree, exhibiting classic Hawthorne effect as it realized it was being watched and wanted to show off its glorious green leaves for as long as possible. While all around, the other aspens were giving in to their seasonal coming of age, my one insisted it could be the bestest greenest tree around. The whole damn month. Seriously. Of all the trees in all the world… and I had to pick this one.

I’m actually not going to subject you to the video, only for you to conclude that you wasted 30 seconds of your life. Here’s the photo version that should take a mere few seconds instead…

Meanwhile, the neighbor’s trees on 15th September…

Apart from my disastrous attempt at documenting a single tree’s autumnal journey, we needn’t have worried about missing out on fall. Half way through September, that cold snap brought about the first sprinkles of icing sugar snow on the mountains, and all around the aspens took that as their cue.

Despite the chillier mornings, we continued to take it in turns to cycle round the lake into work.

One morning’s bike ride into work was particularly memorable. I leapt off my bike to snap a photo of the stunning rainbow appearing before me. Only for the elements to create a perfect storm in the mountains, the rainbow emerging like a phoenix from the flames into a fully formed end to end wonder of nature. One of life’s little special moments.

What goes up must come down and the rainbow disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving me to face the sudden deluge of rain, albeit with the biggest smile on my face. And what goes into work must come home again, so sometimes we cycled back in the evening.

The view when driving back wasn’t bad either…

And just like that, it’s back to cycling on a weekend 🙂

I think I may have mentioned the importance of hydration on a bike ride!

For the final Colorado weekend, we took a little road trip out to see some different fall scenery. We took the bikes of course 🙂

The ride we did to Maroon Bells, near Aspen, was fall to a tee. A perfect day for riding, with crisp clear skies and seasonal colors all around (making up for the poor showing on the balcony!)

Over the Kebler pass was a super pretty drive, albeit still a tad early for peak colors.

We took to our feet near Crested Butte, to give our butts a rest from the saddle.

Unbeknown to us when we decided to stay the night in Crested Butte, this coincided with Vinotok, a local festival to celebrate the transition from summer to fall. (Obviously my balcony tree didn’t get an invite!) Sounds harmless enough, in fact if I was playing that game of Balderdash where you make up word definitions, I think I’d go with “a joyous pagan festival of wine drinking, merriment and celebration”.

The word Vinotok actually translates as ”all that dies shall be reborn”. Otherwise known as ”Burn the Grump”. This is but a taste of what we got…

There was certainly wine drinking and pagan celebration. A wreath of twigs and flowers was almost mandatory – as you can see, someone took pity on me and gave me their very sorry for itself wilting version. With that, we joined the throng of a thousand marauders in a massive costume party parading down the main street.

The night was dark but all around burned torches of fire, held aloft by jovial revellers. We moved ceremoniously along, shoulder to shoulder with characters wearing medieval masks, intricate face paint and decorative elk-horn headwear. All this to an increasingly riotous chant of ”Burn the Grump, Burn the Grump”. The event culminated in a massive bonfire amidst more chanting and ceremonious drum thumping.

What a bizarre night!

Our final week in Colorado gave us peak color.

We spent a fab evening with our friend from Evo, Aaron who invited us over for dinner and a sunset stroll with his dog, Wilson.

All that was left was the long road trip home…

… with a slight diversion to Mountain Tap brewery in Steamboat Springs, for this…

On our way via dinosaur country.

And a quick stop at the Bonneville salt flats before home.

The last word however, goes to my Como bike. My pride and joy. My new lease of life. At the start of this month long trip, I set a goal to ride 100 miles. That seemed a bit low for an ebike to Darren, so he upped my goal for me to 250 miles for the month. Meanwhile, rather than set his own mileage goal, Darren decided his goal would be to just beat my overall mileage for the month. OK, game on.

We’re no strangers to Vegas. As the party city lies smack en route to Colorado, five hours in, this tends to be our go-to first night stopover. Many a time, we keep it clean and lay low in the ‘burbs. On other occasions like this one, we just can’t help ourselves. We feel the need and we feed that need to hit The Strip.

Well that made for a long next day’s drive! But just like that, we found ourselves back in our second home – Summit County, Colorado.

Much as we were taken with the view from the balcony we had from our last spot in Dillon, we felt we needed something larger than hobbit-sized. So we went to the other extreme this time in Keystone, with a ridiculously large 3-bed 3-bath property to rattle around in.

Ironically, the September weather on the whole was better than in July/August. Dryer anyway. We spent much of our weekends cycling the many miles of bike paths in the area.

And it is written, any and all good bike rides deserve to be followed by beer…

And then, who’d have thought it, an Oktoberfest festival right on our doorstep in Keystone. Bring out your steins and your lederhosen. Bring out your accordion and get up, get on down to the chicken dance. Otherwise known as the birdy song. Yes really.

Back to reality and the working week, which was at least broken up by the 15 mile ride in. Virtually all bike path with the odd super quiet road, I couldn’t imagine a better commute than this. We took it in turns to ride and drive.

It’s not all cycling you know. We fit a few hikes in too. Up the steep AF trail to Mount Royal, with its breathtaking views down to the town of Frisco. And up Loveland Pass to the Continental Divide.

When we fancied a change of scenery and a change of brewery, we hit up the town of Boulder, just a couple of hours drive away. We missed our Basecamp, especially for little overnight trips, but we found the next best thing.

Another reason to go to Boulder is to fill your face at Voodoo Donuts. They of ”Good things come in pink boxes”. It has to be said, the Americans like their donuts. And the Americans certainly know how to do donuts. And these are no ordinary donuts.

Their signature Voodoo Doll donut is loosely figure shaped, loaded with chocolate icing and bears a scary monster face in a grimace. It has a kiss of death pretzel bludgeon thrust into its body. And the best bit – when you bite into it, blood-like raspberry jam comes oozing out. The Maple Bacon Bar donut was another hit, slathered in sticky maple syrup icing and topped with a rasher of crispy bacon. I could go on. But to be done with it, we took a baker’s dozen back to the EVO3 co-working office. As you can imagine, we were pretty popular that day!

Inevitably as we reached mid-September, the weather was starting to turn and the temperature was starting to drop. I could barely contain my excitement. Far from the ominous threat of ’winter is coming’, this was the sign I’d been waiting for – me and the trees both – that ’autumn is coming’. The emerald green mountainsides would soon be deluged in golden yellow and I was like a kid counting down to Christmas.

In the meantime, we embraced the oncoming seasonal transformation with pumpkin spiced lattes and cozy nights in, snuggled up by the fire.

Three weeks down in Colorado, one to go.  Difference being the three weeks was spent mostly working, with just a little bit of playing.  Whereas the last week we get to proper go play, with a week’s holiday from work 🙂 

You could be forgiven for thinking the pictures look remarkably similar, at least they start off that way.  We spent a few more days exploring the Keystone, Frisco, Breckenridge triangle, giving me ample opportunity to play some more with my new toy, my Specialized Como e-bike.

Any good bike ride leads to good food and drink, including two of our favorites, Broken Compass brewing and Breckenridge Distillery.  I can highly recommend The Godfather cocktail at the distillery.  “Revenge is a dish (or a cocktail) best served cold”.  Aged blended whiskey and amaretto, stirred and poured over ice, with personalized delivery in a wooden keg to maximize the hit of applewood smoke.  And drama.  And 1SE video opportunities.

One of the quieter cycling routes took me up to the mountain hamlet of Montezuma.  With no pub or post office, it’s pushing it to call this place a village.  Even the Americans wouldn’t have the audacity to call it a city.  Actually, I just looked it up.  According to Wikipedia it’s a ‘town’. Population: 65.  You get the picture.

Lovely as it was to pay a short visit, Montezuma is probably not where it’s happening.  Given we’re looking at coming back later in the year for some autumnal leaf-peeping, we had a good scout around for other Airbnb options.  So the bike riding became a bit of a house hunting initiative, lots of fun cycling around and poking at the outside of houses.

Darren unfortunately had to spend a bit of time recuperating from a cold of man-flu proportions.  Luckily he still had the balcony to gaze out upon the lake wistfully.  While my e-bike pride and joy had pride of place in the living room for charging.

Another Colorado fan favorite would have to be Rocky Mountain National Park.  During Covid times, they introduced timed entry into the park, whereby you have to book in advance a two hour time slot for when you want to enter the park.  And then they kept it going afterwards.  Which means you and everyone else who booked for the same two hour time slot are generally going to arrive around the same time at the beginning of the slot, resulting in a lot of waiting in line.  

Queuing is not one of my fortes at the best of times.  Luckily, there is a loophole.  Just get there before 9am and you’re good.  Simples.  Even with a two hour drive for us to get there, this was very do-able.  And the later you leave it, the busier it gets.  So if there’s one day worth setting your alarm for early, this is it.

Next up, Crested Butte.  An impossibly beautiful mountain/lake setting that is classic Colorado.  We were last here on our very first Covid road trip three years ago, and did one of my favorite hikes ever. This time around, more bike porn I’m afraid.

We did separate bike rides so whoever got back first got to choose the pub.  That would be me then.  I opted for Eldo brewery & tap room… “a sunny place for shady people”.  Complete with sunny balcony, that’ll do nicely.

One of the things we miss about living in the UK, is being so close to Europe.  Yup, that ability to immerse yourself into a different culture, scenery and climate at the drop of a hat should not be underestimated.  

Some of our most memorable European holidays included hiking to mountain huts or lodges, in the Alps, the Dolomites, even the Spanish Sierra Nevada.  You could only get to these places by hiking into remote mountain locations.  And once there, you were transported to a world more basic than we’re used to.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a definite step up from backpacking, you have your own bed, food and drink.  (And let’s face it, the older you get, the more averse to camping hardships you get; at least I do).  But in these huts, we had a sense of camaraderie with others who had also hiked in, with their own sense of adventure, their own stories to tell.  A feeling of escaping from the monotony of work to the fresh air, with nothing to worry about other than the freedom of where tomorrow’s hiking would take us.  And there was a glass of wine or two on hand to toast to that.

There is nothing equivalent in the US.  There are some basic mountain huts in Colorado but they are just an itty bitty step up from backpacking, the main difference being a roof over your head vs carrying your tent.  Nothing where you can be treated to a good meal and bed at the end of a day’s hiking in the mountains.  That is, until Hayden Mountain Backpacking Lodge came along.  It’s early days for HMBL and unfortunately no other hikers on the night we hiked in and stayed over.  But that remote sense of being far from the beaten track, having walked in on your own two feet (one of those feet being, for me – let’s face it, a little delicate to say the least), had that same element of accomplishment and remoteness without hardship.  

With the benefit of time, we spent a few days roadtripping the route home, instead of the mad rush to do a thousand miles in a day and a half.  After working our way through Colorado via Crested Butte and Ouray, we hit up Moab in Utah.

After the blues and greens of Colorado lakes and mountains, Utah is very orange, red and brown.  If you’re ever doing one of those pictures where the pixels are made from individual photos, Utah could be your staple for those sandy ochre tones.  Arches National Park was first on the list but unfortunately had limited cycling options. Luckily we’ve been there before, so didn’t feel like we were missing out, and the nearby cycle paths offered ample miles of alternatives.

Dead Horse Point State Park was a new one on us.  And definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.  The western rim trail offered stunning views and an awesome walk for me while Darren hit up some mountain biking trails.

Last but not least on the way home was Zion national park.  

The most fabulous aspect of Zion is that much of it is closed off to traffic, allowing only shuttle buses and bikes to use the road.  Yes, you read that right – bikes.  Genius idea. What an experience to cruise along the virtually empty roads surrounded by sheer rock walls of awesomeness.  

Again, the best advice I can give is to go early.  The US National Parks are a downfall of their own success.  As we were leaving, the park was starting to look like a zoo.  With humans as the exhibits.  

Go early… or do yourself a favor and go to a state park instead.  Go early… or go home.  Or be like us.  Go early AND go home.  Destination California.

You might wonder what on earth I can find to write about a place we’ve visited so many times before.  Frankly I’m wondering the same… it might be mostly photos!  

As a reminder, Frisco is where it all started.  Back in the deep dark Covid days of Summer 2020 – our first experience working remotely at a co-working office together and our first three month road trip.  Fast-forward to 2023 and this will be trip #5 to Frisco!

Given we’re staying in one place for a month this time instead of traveling around, we opted for the more permanent Airbnb option, sans-BaseCamp.  (Sorry BaseCamp!). Our previous Frisco trips had us camping at Peak One & Pine Cove campgrounds, right on the reservoir peninsular – outdoor living with picture postcard views.  So we weren’t about to slum it in a back of beyond apartment – a lake/reservoir view was number one on our list of requirements.  Space, we could compromise on (and we did), but not the view.  And so it was we ended up in Dillon, the next town over to Frisco.  And this was the view from our balcony.

Funnily enough, we spent a fair amount of time on our balcony.

We arrived in Colorado just in time to celebrate my birthday 🙂 

As luck would have it, there happened to be a beer festival on in nearby Breckenridge.  There was me in a ‘boot’, having had my foot diagnosed with a stress fracture, and there was this great (and free!) bus triangle, which came almost but not quite close enough to our place for me to hobble there.  Turns out everyone’s having far too much fun out hiking, biking, paddle boarding and the like to think that driving for Uber is a good thing to do on a weekend.  Which made logistics a bit of a challenge.

And speaking of celebrating, there was some great birthday free stuff in the mix. Whilst Dillon was our weekend and evening base, it was back to Frisco for work.  We were welcomed back to EVO3 – the co-working office, like old friends by Aaron, the owner. Constant reminders of the outdoors and beer on tap.  What’s not to love.

Just because I had a dodgy foot, there was no reason for Darren to miss out on his morning outdoor fun and games, so he squeezed in a few cool bike rides before work.  

Me?  I enjoyed a lazy few weeks where my mornings consisted of a bit of lie in (like normal people?) before starting work at 8am.  And the odd scenic morning wander.

But my invalid state didn’t stop us getting out and about for a few scenic drives… 

The imaginatively named peaks surrounding this area start at Peak 1 just behind Mount Royal and Mount Victoria in Frisco.   Up they go towards Breckenridge, Peak 2, Peak 3… etc. We did a 4X4 scenic drive in the truck up the Peak 9 road from Breckenridge up high into what is prime ski country in the winter.  

There’s something quite cool about going over the Continental Divide.  And we hadn’t been able to attempt Independence Pass with the BaseCamp, no trailers allowed on windy mountain hairpin roads (and for good reason!).

One thing I’m very much not impeded from doing is a boat ride.  I can sit on Aaron’s boat chilling out with a cocktail, as he obligingly tours us around Dillon reservoir, as well as I ever could.  Every time is different and it’s the weather challenges that kick the level of adventure up a notch.

No boat ride is complete without a little trip to the Tiki Bar, a very low key container bar at Dillon marina that punches above its weight in awesome cocktails. It also happens to be our local.

And then there’s our other favorite haunt. Outer Reach Brewery in Frisco has a mountain view that you never tire of, a wide range of IPAs to choose from, and a thai franchise that specializes in the most delicious fried chicken. Just go easy on ’the bird’ sauce or it will blow your head off.

Not forgetting Prosit, if you’re a fan of German beer and sausages. Which we are!

We were surrounded by the outdoors – bombarded with stunning lakeside views and breathing the fresh clear mountain air. And so I have to admit to being a tad frustrated at the no hiking/ no running rule. Bring on my savior – the electric bike!

You could say things escalated pretty quickly. I believe it was Darren’s suggestion initially for me to rent an electric bike one afternoon. With no intention or expectation that this would lead to me buying one. But I was sold that quickly. As I felt the wind rush past me, the speed gave me a sense of freedom that had been somewhat lacking the last few weeks. I was finally able to appreciate the Colorado I know and love.

And so by the following weekend I had my very own Specialized Como Class 1 e-bike, complete with Integrated Gear Hub. Without getting too technical, this means the gears feel like they’re on a smooth sliding scale, no annoying clicking or clunking or dropping of the chain.

Como, my Como, you have given me a new lease of life. I didn’t think I could love a bike more than my California beach cruiser, but I was wrong. I guess there’s a time and a place.

So come on then Colorado – let’s be having ya!

The lengthy roadtrips we’ve done in the Basecamp over the last few years have been a great ‘introduction’ to the US. As in, they’ve allowed us to appreciate many different places, albeit fleetingly. A week here, a few days there, all while working full time. An awesome and enriching period in our lives – however the urge to see so much and experience different places has limited our in-depth intimacy with the towns and cities along the way.

One thing our road trips have given us (over and above a much improved knowledge of American geography) is insight into where to go back to. It’s a bit like a cruise that way… you get to visit lots of different ports and/or countries and can decide where you’d like to go back to for a longer vacation.

All this by way of background as to why we decided to leave the Basecamp behind for a change and spend three full weeks grounded in one spot. That spot being Bend in central Oregon. Go back to any of the Bend blogs from our previous road trips and you’ll find that “we love, love, LOVE Bend”.

The 800 mile road trip from Santa Clarita to Bend included a pit-stop in Chico, California for an all-important almond croissant or two from Stobl coffee shop, and an opportunity to stretch our legs in Sisson Meadows in Mount Shasta. Both familiar to us from our road trips and conveniently located along the way.

The method in our madness of driving up over Memorial Day weekend meant that we still had some weekend left to do stuff by the time we arrived. Top of our list was nearby Smith Rock State Park. A friend had described it as ”insanely cool rock formations” and he was not wrong. The jagged basalt Smith Rock rose 600 feet over the Crooked River in a sheer cliff-face, with other impressive rock formations beset by the eager climbing community.

We chose to hike Misery Ridge (that of steep wooden steps clinging to a rough, crumbling trail with crazy hairpins), definitely worth it for the rewarding views. Sheer ’tuff’ pinnacles in the foreground, the wide meandering Crooked River in the valley far below, ‘tiny’ mansions and homesteads dotted among vibrant green fields and farmland, and on the distant horizon – the immaculate snow-cloaked peaks of Mount Bachelor and the three Sisters (plus a couple of other mountains I don’t know the names of).

And then you have Monkey Face rock. Which kind of looked a bit like a monkey face if you squinted at it the right way. More impressive were the insane climbers about to attempt the sheer walls of its non-monkey body.

Our home for the next three weeks was an Airbnb nestled among the pine trees of the Mount Bachelor Village Resort. It provided an alternative workspace when we fancied a change from the co-working office, it had a cozy fire for the few evenings that turned chilly, and there was a spacious balcony large enough for not only the grill/BBQ but also the three bikes we’d brought with us.

Before and after work, recreation was heavily centered around the Deschutes river, which ran past our apartment complex and all through town. A trail ran alongside, the perfect setting for many a training run, a commute to/from work or a stroll to check out the wildlife.

Darren even managed to get a bit of Stand Up Paddle-boarding in.

All of this bookended the working day but let’s face it, there’s worse environments to be working in. Even the Haven co-working space had a view of the river. Not to mention an open deck and beer on tap, perfect for a happy hour drink after work.

And when we were not recreating or working, there’s always eating and drinking to be done, including a couple of upscale experiences. My favorite was probably the steakhouse Rancher Butcher Chef or RBC. The steak tartare was sublime and the hangar steak delicious but that’s not why it was my favorite. That space in my heart was reserved for the piece de resistance, the sherry flight. I don’t know who was more excited about this, me or the lady serving me who had spent a couple of years in Jerez and was passionate about her sherry choices. And let’s face it, I don’t think she sells many.

We were also very fortunate to bag a table at Ariana for their six course tasting menu and wine pairing.

The extra time we had from being centered in one destination for three weeks allowed us to really embrace the experience of living in Bend. And yet we still got to explore a little further afield. Including Palisades Cove State Park, Tumalo Falls, the Cascade Lakes scenic byway and for old times sake, a walk up Pilot Butte.

It was a good job we brought our bikes with us, because there was no shortage of mountain biking, road biking and pootling along bike paths to be done. And then there’s the McKenzie Pass. At an elevation of over 5,000 ft, this road is snowbound and closed in winter. Come the spring and there’s a magical window after which it’s been ploughed and before it’s open to cars. Bingo.

It’s a most spectacular ride, starting with a lung-piercing incline and the lowest of the low gears. There’s thick forest on both sides, eventually emerging at Windy Point to a stark, barren moonscape. The rocky ex-lava flow extends as far as you can see. The view is awe-inspiring – once you catch your breath.

Given the ride was all along the road, it was fair to say it was somewhat dominated by road bikes. And more than the odd electric bike thrown in. Needless to say I was on the only mountain bike I saw all day. It’s a good job I have no ego as cyclist after cyclist overtook me. I just trundled on at my own pace, loving the fresh air and the sense of achievement.

And then there’s this little spot, less than a mile from our place but sometimes it’s just easier to bike. A secluded hideout on the rocks, with an awesome view of the river and just perfect for chilling out with a beer and people watching. Aka watching the crazy people jump into the river.

On the more casual side of eating and drinking, Bend outdoes itself with food truck hubs and breweries. It’s a bit like chilling out in a beer garden of an English pub, with picnic tables scattered on a lawn… sitting in the afternoon sun sipping a cold beer and trying to decide between wood fired pizza or spicy Mexican tacos.

And when the weather’s not all that, there are perfectly acceptable inside options too…

Good job we like to balance all that eating and drinking with something a bit more energetic. Our last weekend entailed the finale of what we’d been working up to with our training – a one mile ’run’ up Pilot Butte hill, a half marathon for me and a sprint triathlon for Darren, courtesy of Pacific Crest Endurance Events. Well organized, perfect weather and a lot of fun.

All that was left was to celebrate our event successes and close out a fabulous three weeks at Bangers & Brews. And yes, I can confirm that we still do love, love, LOVE Bend!