The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park Elevation 7,522

Not too much to say on this one over the photos, it was a long day and we were exhausted haha. Thankfully on this drive, Adam drove so I was able to be the photographer along the road. I will never be able to get over seeing snow on the mountains when it's so hot outside. I feel as if I could reach out and touch it while we're driving.

 

Upon getting into Estes Park, we saw a ton of different hiking trails that looked like adventures all their own, so don't fret, there will be more posts of adventures here.

The Stanley Hotel was absolutely beautiful! Talk about 'grand'. It was so much fun wandering the grounds and checking out all it had to offer. In the front room there were old antique cars, and this absolutely breath taking piano. Stephen King's 1990s version of The Shining took place here, and even the feel of the place makes you feel a chill up your spine. We walked around and then got a beer in the grand ballroom, which was quaint but still nice. 

 

 

And of course, the beautiful mountains on the way back to Boulder.

 

Iron Mountain Hot Springs, Glenwood Elevation 5,761

During this drive of 170 miles each way, Colorado showed us a slice of how colorful she truly is. The drive was about 2.7 hours, & the entire way there were so many types of mountains. From the snow caps, to the plateaus, to canyon walls, we saw the gradient that mother nature has to offer. Sometimes there were evergreens taller than tall, and other times the mountains look like those that you see in the cartoons of your childhood. In only a couple hours we were able to see several different landscapes each astounding us more and more.

 

Ah Vail...Vail was...underwhelming. When you hear people talk about Colorado back east you hear many things about Vail. It is pretty, don't get me wrong, but when you know that places like Estes Park, Telluride, and Crested Butte exist, it no longer excites you like other people make it seem. However, we did find it absolutely necessary to take another stop to take some pictures.

There's a thing that you'll hear natives say after you've gushed about how beautiful the mountains are for far too long, and that is "yeah but after awhile it's just like "oh...there's another mountain...cool..."." After that long in the car, you start to understand. At least until the point that you go through "just another tunnel, just like the last 5" and you let out into an ancient riverbed that has carved steep cliffs over great lengths of time through the rocky mountain. Yes, you noticed i'm using very colorful language to describe a canyon. You're all probably like "yo, i've seen a canyon, its a canyon." But when you can't even capture the cliffs in one single frame without using the windshield, window, AND sunroof, then they deserve that kind of descriptive language.

Upon entering Glenwood, you are driving along these huge mountain walls, carved out by the Colorado River, which is merrily rushing along next to you. Iron Mountain is like a secret, it is tucked back away from the big resorty Glenwood Springs. Iron Mountain was set directly on the Colorado River, and offered you this outstanding panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. The view alone was well worth the drive. The water was nice & hot, as promised, and we enjoyed some delicious beverages while we sat back, and took in the magic all around us.