Memorial Day Camping - Durango, CO

Enjoy photos from our trip HERE


We extended the Memorial Day long weekend by taking Friday off and decided to drive the 400 miles to the Durango, CO area to enjoy a weekend of camping, fishing, sightseeing, eating and brewery visiting. Our friends the Haugh's came along with us (Ryan, Annette and Yama) and we reserved an amazing site at the Haviland Lake Campground, just North of Durango.

Departure time was an early 4 a.m. Friday morning. On the way there we headed West on I-70 towards Grand Junction (it was snowing at the top of Vail Pass and they still had a ton of snow ont he ground. Copper Mountain could have still been open for skiing!), then South on 550 through Montrose, Ridgway, Ouray and Silverton. In Ridgeway, we stopped for a dip in the Orvis Hot Springs, natural springs that range in temperature from 98-112 degrees. Next stop was the small historic mining town of Ouray, CO. We walked the streets with the dogs and had a killer lunch at the Ouray Brewery. The Ourayle House, aka Mr. Grumpy Pants Brewery, was unfortunately closed, but their original signs entertained us anyways.


From Ouray, we headed South over Red Mountain Pass via the "Million Dollar Highway" that winds precariously through the rugged San Juan mountain peaks. The sleepy town of Silverton was the next stop and I was keeping my fingers crossed that the brewery was open. The last time I was in town, a couple winters ago with Erich and Tom to ski Silverton Mountain, the brewery was closed. This time, it was closed as well. Some guys were up on scaffolding on the facade of the building painting and said that it should be re-opened after renovations next week. D'oh! Oh well, guess I'll have to hit up this part of CO again. We grabbed coffee at a quaint shop on Main, and then continued South to our campsite.



The area around Haviland Lake Campground is beautiful with views of the Hermosa Cliffs and we got a perfect spot right by the lake and far away from all the other sites. During the weekend, we enjoyed cooking meals, hiking and fishing a bit, reading, playing washer toss and letting the dogs play with each other (that is when Yama would allow it). We traveled into town a couple times and visited four local breweries; Steamworks, Ska, Durango and Carver. We also watched the 40th Iron Horse Bicycle Classic where road bikes race a circuit through downtown while Mtn. Bikers race a course through the nearby hills then end up in town where they ride through the Steamworks Brewery! And on Saturday road bikes raced the train from Durango to Silverton (47 miles, 5700 ft. elevation gain). The winner beat the train by about 30 min!



On Monday, we packed up and traveled South, then West back home. We stopped in Pagosa Springs and had a pint at the Pagosa Brewing Co., then enjoyed a great dinner at Eddyline Brewery in Buena Vista, CO (great pizza and beer!!) We arrived back home, tired and dirty, but overall relaxed from the awesome weekend at about 10 pm. We covered 845 miles from door to door.



Enjoy photos from our trip HERE
or see the slideshow below:

Crested Butte

This weekend we enjoyed one of my gifts to Melissa for Christmas ... a ski weekend in Crested Butte, CO. I've been here a couple times before, but it was Melissa's first visit. A 5.5 hour drive from Denver (well worth it for no traffic and no lines at the lifts, unlike Summit County and Vail). We stayed Friday night through Sunday. On Saturday we skied as it snowed all day, then Sunday we took a 4 mile snowshoe on the road to Gothic (closed in the winter, goes to Aspen in the Summer). We enjoyed the local shops and restaurants in town and even got in a couple more Breweries on the way (Gunnison Brewery and Amica's Brewery). The drive home was a bit longer due to an hour long road closure on 285 as the snow blew across the plains and iced up the road. Four vehicles had flipped in the icy conditions. We made it across slowly and in one piece.


Check out photos in the slide show above or HERE

Steamboat Weekend

This post now seems a bit on the old side, but I wanted to share photos of our weekend in Steamboat Springs. A busy week at work has prevented me from posting earlier.

Last Friday evening, Melissa and I headed up to Steamboat after work. It's about a four hour drive from Denver. We took U.S. 40 over Berthold Pass, through Winter Park, Granby, Kremling and over Rabbit Ears Pass. The Aspens were just starting to turn in Denver, but are in full color up in the mountains.

We got to the Tap House on Main Street in Steamboat just in time for the second inning of Game Two of the ALDS between the Red Sox and the Angels. We had some good food and drink while enjoying a Red Sox win!

We got to the tiny town of Columbine late-night and found our cabin in the dark. We woke up to a lost cow mooing for his friends. The entire area is Open Range, so the cows basically have taken over and go wherever they want. Upon stepping outside, we were blinded by the gold Aspens that surrounded the cabin. Anyone looking for a fun weekend in the mountains north of Steamboat and just South of the Wyoming border, should check out the Columbine Cabins. Our cabin was one room with a wood stove for heat and kerosene lanterns for light. There are group bathrooms in the center area of the cabins and a outhouse for our cabins use. Very rustic and quaint. Most of these cabins are over 100 years old.

Saturday morning we hiked Hans Peak. The trailhead is located just across the road from the cabins. Great little hike. We got caught in some snow and wind at the top, but the views were spectacular. Rained most of the weekend off and on, so our photos were not as good as if the sky had been blue, but the fall colors made up for it. Not quite like New England fall colors, but still beautiful in their own right.

We added to our Colorado brewery checklist with the Mahogany Brewery in Steamboat. We enjoyed a great dinner and a few pints of their hand-crafted beers. Then we were off to the Strawberry Park Hot Springs for an evening soak. A must for any visit to the Steamboat area!

We wanted to try out some fly fishing in the area, it is well know for many amazing fishing spots, but due to the rain and cold we headed out for an excellent breakfast ( Winona's ) Sunday morning and then back to Denver to catch the Sox game. If yo have a chance to visit Steamboat, any time of the year, you should. A historic town with a ton to do.

Check out our photos:
Jason's Photos
Melissa's Photos