Colorado is a great place to go camping, hiking, and jeeping. It’s home thousands of acres of farmland, which are primarily made up of corn, hay, and wheat. The high altitude of Denver and the surrounding area takes a little getting used to, especially if you’re from sea-level (like me!). I went with my dad and one of his work colleagues on a 5-day trip to experience all of this first-hand!
We left around 7 in the morning and caught the plane to Seattle, and from there, to Denver. Since dad purchased my ticket late, I wasn’t able to sit next to him on the plane, but I did get to sit next to a crying baby!
The first thing I realized about Colorado was how spread out everything was. We landed in the Denver International Airport, but I couldn’t even see Denver from the airport. It took about an hour to drive from the airport to our hotel.
After a day of meetings, dad, his colleague, and I drove to the trailhead.
It was about a 2-mile hike to our campsite. All uphill. Soon, it began getting dark. Thunder boomed and lighting flashed. It started to rain. I was beginning to think about bears, and every time I saw a dark tree stump, I took a few steps backward. But, to my relief, we caught a glimpse of a campfire through the trees. We set up our tents and fell asleep almost instantly.
We started up Mt. Belford bright and early in the morning. It was only a 2-mile hike, but it was also straight up, with lots of switchbacks.
The turnoff to Mt. Belford
Not much happened from the turnoff to the top, except a lot of sweating and sucking air. (did I mention this mountain is 14,197 ft. high?)
It was great to finally get to the top. We sat on the rocks and ate our lunch, while enjoying the beauty around us.
The top!
The next day, we hiked out in the morning and drove around visiting various “ghost towns”, which some people even still live in as a summer getaway. Kinda creepy.
Ghost Town!
People live in these...
We then drove to the small town Beuna Vista to have lunch and rent a jeep. We rented a 2-door jeep, so I had to climb in through the window.
Cool jeep!
We drove up a bumpy, rocky road, with steep cliffs off the side. It was kind of freaky, especially when we had to back up one time to make a sharp turn.
A Rocky road
When we finally got to the top, it was an awesome view!
(if the above interactive doesn’t work, here’s a normal picture):
At the top!
We drove back down the mountain, dropped off the jeep, and headed back to Denver. On the way there we passed by some pretty scenery.
We stayed at a hotel in Denver, with a REAL bed and a REAL shower! Wow!
The next day we headed back to the airport, and took off for home.
I really enjoyed my time in Colorado. Have any of you guys been there? What did you do there? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time!
