Our hotel was a lodge minutes from the gondola that goes up to the ski-slopes. It’s off season, but we made it in time to watch the aspens change colors. Our first day everything was green, but every day thereafter the mountains exploded with yellows and ambers. I took tons of pictures. With Crow’s help I decided on the prettiest ones to post.

The lodge was more like miniature condos than a hotel. Our room had a full kitchen, so we bought groceries to make dinners for the week. Which was lots of fun. I introduced Dad to smoothies – I take my tips from every smoothie bar I’ve ever been to – I have an obsession with fruit smoothies and discovering fun new ingredients to mix together. But since our blender died a few years ago, I haven’t had the opportunity to make smoothies in a long time – it was a real treat. Cooking is fun, and so much cheaper than going out all the time.

On Sunday, we caught a gondola ride. The lodge up by where the ski-slopes begin was beautiful, and the flowers around the grounds were gorgeous. Unfortunately if you have back problems, it makes some of the activities a bit difficult, and much of it is for young kids or teens. There’s plenty of hiking up there, but with both Dad’s and my chronic pain, there wasn’t that much to do. It was still beautiful, and a change to see the slopes without snow on them. I’ve never been much of a skier. Skiing and snowboarding always seemed like an over-glorified way to break bones, so I never got into it. But I can still enjoy the scenery. ^^

Over the next week we drove around the area and checked out the changing aspens. We made arrangements to rent a boat and go horseback riding, but when calling for directions to the ranch, we got the wrong ranch. The guy on the phone was so forceful and chatty he convinced us to switch our plans. Instead we rented a boat to cruise Lake Dillon. When we got down to the docks, the sky opened up and pored. We waited it out for an hour, and the weather cleared a bit. Determined to go out, we took it as a sign and headed out on the lake. Through sheer luck we managed to avoid the worst of the rain. There were tons of photo opportunities. Afterward we made reservations to go horseback riding, but they were booked for the next day, so we had to wait.

Turns out the next day rained constantly. It was dark, dreary, wet and murky. We were fortunate that we didn’t have to ride horses in the rain. The actual day of riding was great: perfect weather, picturesque setting in a valley, and almost two hours of free range riding through the changing aspens. There was only one other girl on the ride with us, so it was pretty relaxed. I love horses. I took lessons as a kid. I used to ride a couple of times a year. As a result I absolutely loathe nose-to-tail trail rides. Nothing is more boring. Dad’s the same way, so we were both thrilled with the ride.

The last day in Breckenridge we made preparations to drive through Utah on our way back to California. The next journal will relate my return trip.