If there was one place or two places I wished to see in Colorado it was Aspen and Vail.
I had heard many wonderful things about them over the years and although they would have been perfect to see in the winter, I will settle for the end of spring. AND, if we can fit in only one, great, I will take seeing one then nothing at all.
Today is the day we are off to Aspen. We had been advised by the campsite that it would be difficult to park the van on the mountain, therefore, we decided to park and ride at Carbondale and catch the local bus.
This would also be a bit more relaxing for Pete.
We arrived at the bus depot with 5 minutes to spare and after a 45-minute bus ride up the mountain, we reached Aspen.
AND it was beautiful, exactly as I had imagined the ski town to be. Gorgeous cabins both big and small and EXTRA LARGE (we are talking millions and millions of $$$), a lovely downtown surrounded by green and even in some spots, snow-capped mountains. It was stunning and had a very good feel.
We walked around the town, had a hot chocolate and muffin, went up the mountain on the gondola (where the views were amazing), played in the snow and then did some more exploring of the town.
After popping into a sports shop to look at mountain bikes we got talking to a lovely member of staff who gave us lots of tips on places to see. One of those was Maroon Bells, one of the most photographed spots in North America and only a few miles down the road.
Rather than go with our first thought of taking the 45-minute bus to Carbondale, grabbing the motorhome and driving all the way back we decided to jump in an Uber for $15 and go straight there.
We love Uber, but unfortunately you can’t pick your Uber driver. The lady was lovely, however a little different…
After arriving at Maroon Bells we walked down to the lake, took a few pictures and then got our driver to drop us back in downtown Aspen. The views were spectacular and worth the visit. We passed on the personal Uber guided tour of Aspen and its surroundings.
By this time it was about 2.30 pm and we were all getting hangry, what, we had missed lunch!
Our Uber driver dropped us at a popular eating area which we walked around looking for something that would not send us bankrupt. Eventually, we found a casual spot but the service was so slow we decided to get the bus back to Carbondale and have a feed there, probably at a more reasonable price.
Plus, Noah has spied a second had bike yesterday in town and I think he had been dreaming about it all day.
We arrived in Carbondale and the second-hand shop, again with 5 minutes to spare and Noah got his ‘dream bike’. Now he can ride around the RV Parks. We had a delicious meal at the White House Pizza sitting outside and taking in the country ambience.
Back in the motorhome and back to Carbondale / Crystal Springs RV Park. Tonight we have a spot right on the Crystal River.
I am so glad Aspen was everything I had dreamed it to be.
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