Beautiful Colorado

Last week we said goodbye to Utah, which we enjoyed immensely, and headed back to Colorado. For the most part, this concludes the desert portion of our travels.

Colorado is wonderful, and boasts fairly diverse attractions.
From Moab, Utah we headed to the newest National Park, “Black Canyon of the Gunnison”. This park contains a massive canyon created by the Gunnison River, with amazing vistas and very accessible overlooks. The magnificent cliffs and roaring river 2000 feet below reminded me of a dark and gloomy sorcerer, the kind seen in “Lord of the Rings”. There is a very steep semi-trail going all the way down to the river, and we contemplated risking the climb down and up. However, a ten minute lecture by the park Rangers, assuring us that even without kids this is an extremely dangerous endeavor, convinced us to take the more conservative (though less exciting...) trails. Maybe next time...
Another interesting aspect of our stay was the very rustic campground. Due to limited water supply in the park, not only showers were out of the question, campers were also asked to avoid dish washing, tooth brushing etc. I personally enjoyed camping nevertheless; though as a family I’d say that 2 nights in such a setting were our upper limit, if not beyond it.

On the way to the Gunnison we stopped in the “Colorado National Monument”, without really knowing what it was. We were surprised to find a relatively big park, with very impressive canyons and rock formations. It was somewhat reminiscent of Arches National Park, from which we had just come. We didn’t budget the time for the 23 mile drive through the park, but were told that it’s magnificent. I definitely recommend visiting the place, but if you decide to do so, and visit Arches on the same trip, I’d recommend flipping the order, as it pales in comparison to Arches.

Our next destination was “Rocky Mountain National Park”, from where I’m writing. Mostly in order to limit the driving per day – we’re not good with long drives, and we try to avoid them whenever possible – on the way from the Gunnison we decided to stop in a town called Glenwood Springs. Generally speaking, touristy towns with pricy hotels and sparkly outfitters and gift shops are not our cup of tea, but this one was a very pleasant surprise and we enjoyed our 2 nights there very much.
For one thing, we stayed in a lovely hostel, which reminded us a lot of our New Zealand travels. In general there aren’t very many hostels in the US, surely comparing to Europe and New Zealand. This simply isn’t a very common accommodation option around here. And finding one that is lovely and cozy is especially hard. We love staying in hostels, both as cooking is feasible (and easier than in campgrounds), and because of the much more abundant and close interactions with other guests and the staff. But this probably deserves a separate posting.
Glenwood Springs is famous for its hot pools (which we skipped) and has a small adventure park (which we should have skipped in retrospect), but we’ll remember it mostly for a fantastic day of biking. Simply put, we’re very amateur bikers. Most of the rental options, not to mention adventurous mountain biking, are obviously not for us. Thus, our biking options are fairly limited, and the setting around Glenwood Springs seemed as if it was designed especially for us. The rental shop shuttled us to the beginning of a very well-maintained bike trail that winds through the gorgeous Glenwood Canyon. Even the weather seemed as though it was set up precisely to our liking, with a clear day that wasn’t too hot.
The ride was mostly a mild downhill, allowing Noga to ride her own bike, and the views were simply breathtaking. The narrow canyon accommodates a highway (Interstate-70), the Colorado River (at some places still and reflective, at others swift and vigorous), a railway and a bike trail. The construction was as nature-considerate as possible, making for tunnels and complex bridges (second most expensive highway in the US), and the canyon was preserved in its magnificence and beauty. Few places could allow us, as a family such an inspiring bike riding. Maayan and Hadas, in the trailer behind me, were happy and enjoyed both the views and dipping their feet in the frigid Colorado River midway. Anat and I were reminded of how much fun biking is, and Noga was ecstatic, with that huge ear-to-ear smile you get only when you do something for the very first time. Indeed, we all were impressed to see her riding more than 22 km, enjoying every minute.

This was the kind of day that makes traveling as a family unforgettable!

Giora