Well its possible I've found my calling. I think I am supposed to be living in Colorado and painting and taking photos and creating wood works of the absolutely breathtaking landscape.
This weekend we spent a few days in Steamboat Springs, a few hours outside of Denver. I was completely inspired. Our few short days there make me eager to return for a longer stay.
We spent a lot of time in the car, driving around, and admiring the amazing view. As a result, most all of my photos were taken at 70 miles an hour and hanging out of a car window.
This is the town of Steamboat Springs. It is darling. Little wine shops, and chocolate shops, and more outfitter stores than you could possibly imagine. Everyone sells top notch skiing gear, fishing gear, hunting gear, and just plain cool cowboy stuff.
We stayed in a condo at the
Steamboat Grand and enjoyed this view of the slopes from our balcony (above).
Although it is currently "mud season", we woke our first morning to beautiful fresh snow that had fallen overnight. I felt like a kid at Christmas screaming, "It snowed! It snowed!"
On our way to the Hot Springs, we inadvertently took a slight detour. This leg of the trip had the most amazing views of all. Unfortunately, I was driving and couldn't take any photos with the exception of the one above.
The road to the Hot Springs consisted of a 20 minute drive up a mountain on a dirt road.
Entrance to the Hot Springs
The
Strawberry Park Hot Springs is truly an unforgettable experience. There are a number of natural mineral springs at varying temperatures from cold to hot. While we were soaking, a guide came by to gauge the temp and the thermometer read 107. The surroundings are absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed feeling the powdery gravel under my toes. It was incredible to see the steam rising from the pools and to watch the sky turn dark as the stars came out.
We had to wake up early Sunday to make the drive back to Denver and catch our flights. Watching the sun come up over the varying terrain was one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen. The remaining photos are from our drive Sunday morning ... taken out the window of a speeding car.
"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds."
- Edward Abbey
