The last 3 months have been spent somewhere in Colorado, exploring this gorgeous state. We had a week in Steamboat Springs with Kate and Dean. Steamboat is a ski resort in the Winter and is famous for its hot springs. The Yampa River runs through the town and I took the opportunity to go 'tubing' down it one hot afternoon. Class 5 rapids, they were not, but I did have a frightening run in with a low hanging twig. Luckily, I wasn't holding a margarita, or I might have spilt it. Tess had a great time getting to know Kate and Dean. Jason and Dean hired very fast looking bikes and took off up the mountain. Jason came home a little earlier than Dean but it had nothing to do with ability or fitness. Something may have been wrong with Jason's bike.Our next trip was to visit famous Aspen. We were hoping for some celeb spotting, but Charlie Sheen was in court that day. Aspen is a truly pretty town. We walked along the river and visited the John Denver memorial. Then we took the sky rail up to the top of Aspen Mount to see views of the 14ers, Colorado's highest peaks. Tess looked glorious in her tutu, surrounded by hikers. And Jason thrilled us with his hula hoop technique. We stayed in Glenwood Springs, another town famous for it's hot springs. However, it was a little too hot to consider trying them. We drove through the most magnificent canyon beside the Rio Grande river to get there. We also visited beautiful Breckenridge en route, and plan to return in the Autumn. The thing I most enjoy about Colorado is that every town is completely different to the last, all of them unique, and the drive is almost more stunning than the destination. We have had 2 more local trips since Jason returned to work. A couple of weeks ago we stayed with friends in their cabin up near an old wild west gold mining town called Cripple Creek. We fished for trout and had a 49c breakfast to beat all 49c breakfasts in Cripple Creek's casino. Breakfast starts at 2am! We have discovered that many people have a little (or big) cabin as their weekend getaway and I met a couple in a cafe who offered us their cabin this weekend in Pine, just an hour away. It was very pretty and extremely rudimentary. We had a hike up a trail and witnessed the turning colours of the Aspen trees. I hope you enjoy our photos. The mountains are just magnificent with huge sprays of gold among the conifers. It's finally cooling down, I think Autumn may be our favourite season here. On a family note, Tess is walking with growing confidence and is speaking more each day. She's a joy! Next blog we'll share stories of our trip to LA.
