Vail 2.0

Turquoise Lake, Leadville, Co

This weekend The Girl and I headed up to Vail for the second time this month. We were attending a wedding in Vail on Sunday, so we drove up on Saturday so we could spend the night in Leadville.

Despite thinking we were pros on the route, we managed to miss my beloved Gun Barrel road. It may see odd in today's GPS-everything world that we could make a wrong turn and not instantly be scolded by an electronic voice of our error. However, The Girl and I enjoy using an atlas for adventures (remember what that thing is?). It is hard to appreciate your sense of place and connection between places when you just follow the directions of an electronic voice. Plus, sometimes, like today, the wrong turn ends up being the best part of your drive. (The atlas was also one of the many amazing birthday gifts The Girl gave me last month!)

By the time we realized our error, we were committed to the detour. At first, we were both a little bummed; the postponement of lunch and a general desire to be out of the car did not welcome the added time to the drive. However, our detour brought us to probably my now favorite road in all of Colorado. It was just a two-lane road, but the views and feel of the road was amazing. There were fantastic entrances to ranches (see below!), we saw a massive herd of buffalo at one ranch (The Girl and I decided we will need to have some buffalo at The Barn House), and the road just wound through green hills and big sky. This detour also brought us through Salida. I am pretty sure I will be stopping at Salida again in the future. It had a fantastic western main street, ending into the mountains. There were many food options, breweries, coffee shops, and micro distilleries. We, of course, stopped at our now favorite Brown Dog Coffee.

Sometimes the wrong turn is the best turn

Albeit a little later than planned, we eventually rolled into Leadville, at 10,152ft it is the highest incorporated city in the US. We had previously driven through Leadville on our way up to the GoPro Games, but did not take the time to stop. In her knack for finding travel gems, The Girl had arranged lodging for us at the Governor's Mansion. Built by the former Colorado governor, Jesse McDonald, in 1893, the house is now owned/operated by the Stuevers. These Florida transplants are not just inn keepers, Jaime is also the mayor of Leadville. The suite was amazing (a definite must if I ever lose my mind and do one of the classic races out there). Following pizza at High Mountain Pies and a beer at the old-time saloon, Silver Dollar, we headed for bed, looking forward to a trail run in the morning.

Canoeing with The Blades at the wedding

After a coffee at City on a Hill, we went for a fantastic trail run along Turquoise Lake. We were hoping to complete the whole loop (~13 miles), but around half-way some bad intel made us worry that the trail might not completely surround the lake (in retrospect it appears that it does), so we doubled back. We also discovered Leadville hosts an amazing set of groomed trails in the winter. I am will be encouraging The Girl to head back for some snow shoe running come winter!

After food and shower, we continued our trek up to Vail for the wedding that afternoon. The wedding was not in Vail proper, but rather a ranch ~12miles down a dirt road. Correction, ~12miles down a rather rough dirt road. While a bit of a journey out, the location was beautiful. It was a small wedding with a lake and mountains as a backdrop.

Definitely the highlight of the entire weekend was between the ceremony and reception. Seeing some people out on the lake in a canoe, The Girl and I rented a canoe and headed out. It was fantastic canoeing in wedding attire. I have to admit, while I never would have thought it possible, The Girl looked even more beautiful on a mountain lake, with huge mountains in the background, and a canoe paddle in her hands!

Glamour shot!

After several hours of reception, The Girl and I were feeling pretty done with wedding festivities, but it still was only 9PM. Comparing the rustic cabin we had arranged for that night to our soft beds back at home, we decided upon the only logical thing, lets drive home right now. I think that ended up being one of the more painful drives I have made. Some of those hour-plus straight roads through desert had me seeing many things that definitely did not exist. But we made it and sleeping in my own bed was so sweet.

It turned out to be a fantastic trip, just as every trip with The Girl seems to be. But, I think I am ready for a break from Vail and that same drive. The West is big, there are many more places to see!