Colorful Colorado

If you have ever spent any time in Colorado you know how incredibly amazing and beautiful it can be. We have friends in Golden, and spent a bit of time there in October. From Golden you have access to so many great hiking opportunities. Brennan partook in South Table Mountain several times when we stayed in Golden on this trip, as it was within walking distance from our friend’s front door.

We also made the venture up to Indian Peaks Wilderness outside of Boulder. We hiked on the Lake Isabelle trail to a beautiful and scenic alpine lake. This was our first opportunity to hike in our new boots we picked up while in Golden. We chose Lowa and Soloman brand. We also strapped on our new crampons for this hike because the trail was mostly frozen and icy from previous precipitation but the sun was shining that day. This trail is really beautiful and the area has plenty of hikes to explore.

Lake Isabelle

From Golden we attempted to hike a 14er. This is a hike – for those of you who don’t know that involves hiking a peak that reaches or exceeds 14,000 feet elevation. We set out early, Brennan and Adam (our good friend) with high hopes and no expectations. We decided on Mount Bierstadt at 14,065 feet! We made it to about a mile from the summit. Once we reached 13,000 feet the winds were blowing with 60 mph gusts and our footsteps in the snow were disappearing behind us. We decided to call it even though my male compadres were willing to summit, our gut feeling told us we may have blown off the top.

Video of crazy winds

Mount Bierstadt Also while in Golden we had a chance to eat out at some pretty awesome places. I️ had the best banana bread French toast at a breakfast joint called Goodies. We had an amazing craft cocktails at Miner’s Saloon and even better absinthe cocktails at The Golden Moon Speakeasy with superb mixologists, Max and Carl. We checked out Golden City Brewery and a Farm to Table hipster spot called The Preservery.

Speakeasy trouble Of course as we are leaving Golden the camper decided to help pull the gutter off the side of Adam’s house. Which happened to be filled with water, the snowmelt from the previous Monday making it a dramatic exit!On way to Great Sand Dunes National Park in Southern Colorado we also had the chance to change a flat tire on the side of a two lane road outside of Alamosa. It was a day in the life of a gypsy that’s for sure. This would be the third tire we would buy for the trailer! We found a great camp spot right outside of the National Park at San Luis Wilderness Area. It is a campground in an old state park that is not maintained. So we couldn’t hook up water but we could still plug in! With views of the dunes and a reservoir filled with plenty of birds this free campsite could not be missed!

Views from our site We made it The next morning we went into Great Sand Dunes National Park. Once declared a park since 2000 it’s easy to see why these ginormous sand dunes provide a majestic environment among the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We drove along the Medano Pass Primitive Road until we reached the first creek crossing. We went to Medano Creek where the ripples in the water seem to surge as it passes in front of the towering 750 feet of sand.

Views from the Jeep Road Mule deer enjoying the scenery People for scale in front of these majestic dunes Medano Creek The Sand Dune Area is known for its intergalactic and alien activity. We unfortunately did not encounter in UFOs but settled for the bizarre habits of the trailer giving us all the excitement we could ever ask for.

Happy Trails!

#colorado #hiking #camping #greatsanddunes #mountbierstadt #indianpeakswilderness