As a kickoff to the July 4th Holiday, we were able to get out of town to Steamboat Springs, a beautiful Rocky Mountain town. The drive took us west from Denver on I-70 Frisco/Silverthorne area. From here we took a two lane highway northwest to the Yampa Valley. We had rain on our drive into the ski town and there were bicyclists along the road on our way, which made for a white-knuckled drive in.Steamboat is probably my favorite mountain destination that we have visited in Colorado thus far. The city has an actual downtown area that felt very different from the villages of other destinations. It seemed to have a larger variety of people and the stores were more accessible. During our one night stay the city was having a "First Friday Art Walk" (much like Denver's), and the Rodeo was also in town. I tried to talk Frank into buying some straw hats and chaps, and attending the event in full gear, but failed to convince him! I wish I had some pictures of our hat shopping adventure to share.
We had excellent food while we were in town including some amazing Mexican at a place called "Cantina" on the main drag. We agreed this was the best Mexican we have ever had; and we were glad we skipped the Rio there, as we have access to this in Denver. We also tried a Barbecue joint for lunch (Frank's choice) complete with buckets of peanuts and rolls of paper towels on the tables. The Steamboat Smokehouse had a great atmosphere and even better food. The sweet potato fries were tasty!
Although there was a storm brewing on the edges of the valley, we managed to get a Gondola ride in to the top of the mountain. Many people took their mountain bikes up to the top to ride the slopes down. You could even rent bikes to take down. The way up gave us a good view of some beautiful houses, and allowed us a panoramic view of the whole valley. The entire area was much bigger and more spread that I had realized. As we rode to the top, we were able to map out the ski runs, and both agreed it would be a great place to return to in the winter.
At the top of the mountain a wedding party was being assembled. We watched metal containers passing us on the Gondola ride back down probably carrying food and supplies. Later that evening, the glow of the reception could be seen back down at our hotel. What a beautiful setting for such an event. I cannot imagine how magical it would be to take a Gondola ride down the mountain after wedding in the dark, the stars lighting the way.
The next day we traveled back to Denver and, sans rain, were able to much better enjoy the two lane drive. The only hassle was arguing over who would get to drive around the fast winding mountain curves... Frank won.
