Our road trip to Colorful Colorado

If you follow me on Instagram, then you may have seen where my husband Trent and I just got back from a 40 hour roundtrip road trip to Colorado.

Our best friends Shannon and Josh live outside of Denver and we typically visit at least once a year. The first time Trent and I visited together was actually for their wedding.

Since then, we have had some awesome weekends snowmobiling in Winter Park, exploring national parks, and visiting Red Rock Amphitheater.

Now that Trent is self-employed and I work from home, we were able to extend our stay more than just the weekend and visit for a full week and a half. Which still didn’t feel like enough time.

Getting to Colorado

Typically we would have flown and got a rental car. But because we were going to be there for so long, a rental car and flights were going to cost $2,000! I estimated that we could drive for a fraction of the cost. After all, we just bought a house and need to save as much money for furniture as possible.

We spent $300 in hotels along the way and less than $200 on gas!

I drive a Hyundai elantra and I love that car. It gets such GOOD gas mileage. Did I mention it was a 2,800 mile trip?!

I do want to give a special shoutout to The Cyrus Hotel in Topeka, Kansas. We stayed there on the way back home and it was one of the nicest boutique style hotels I have stayed at in awhile. The bed was seriously so comfortable that I may even say it was on the same level as the bed from my stay at the palace in Versailles, France.

What we did while we were there

Typically when we visit, it is constantly GO, GO, GO!!! Nonstop fun and adventure. And while this trip wasn’t much different, we did have some time to rest and relax.

Telluride & Ouray

We started the trip off with a bang and visited Telluride & Ouray. And OMG if this place isn’t on your bucket list it needs to be. Run, don’t walk to my other blog post and get your FREE guide now! I spill all my secrets on where to go, what to eat, where to stay, all the details (and then some) are there.

We drank champagne on a snowy mountain top, hiked through old mines, it was just an overall breathtaking experience. There’s a reason why they call it Switzerland of America.

On our way back to their home, we even stopped at Black Canyon National Park which looked just like the Grand Canyon of Colorado.

At our friends house

As I mentioned above, our friends live not too far out from Denver in a suburban area. Trent and I spent the day working on our computers from our friends house just like we would any other day. We tried not to spend too much money eating out during the day but did get some coffee and sushi one day for lunch.

But when our friends got home in the evening, we partied! haha

We went to a pumpkin festival at night, carved pumpkins while watching Harry Potter, and even got a hot stone massage at The Woodhouse Day Spa.

One day, we did take off from work and grabbed breakfast in Boulder before heading to Estes Park to access the Rocky Mountain National Park.

It was supposed to rain that day but instead it ended up snowing. And it snowed A LOT. At one point, we actually had to turn around because we couldn’t see the trail any longer. But man, it created for one magical day.

After our hike, we went on a haunted tour of the famous Stanley Hotel AKA the hotel The Shining movie is based off.

Breck for the weekend

Is there anything more Colorado-ian than going to Breckenridge or “Breck” as the locals call it for the weekend?!

We ate a lot of delicious food and had great drinks. My favorite was the Breckenridge Distillery. Their happy hour is one of the best AND they have a free shuttle that will come pick you up at your hotel.

Actually, you can get around almost all of Breck with the free city shuttle. We never had to wait more than 5 mins for a ride!

Another great place we enjoyed was the La Francaise, an authentic French bakery. When you go, make sure you get there early because the line gets long. Order the pastry filled beignet, almond croissant, and French style cappuccino.

The best part, though, was sitting in the hot tub at our hotel and looking up at the snowy mountains as the stars came out and the light of the moon reflected off the peaks. It was epic.

Planning a trip to Colorado?

Besides my free Telluride & Ouray guide, I also offer an instant download, digital Colorado travel guide that will help you experience this beautiful state! Trust me, Colorado is a place that you will find yourself wanting to explore over and over again. This itinerary will take you through all of the highlights; Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Red Rocks, downtown Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park. It is all there and the Telluride/Ouray guide is the perfect add-on to extend the trip.

No hassle of trying to research where to stay, what hiking trails to go on, all the info is there for you at your fingertips ready to be booked.

If you are looking for a more customized trip, check out my services and we can go from there! I would love to help you plan a trip full of magic.

Best wishes,

Hayley B.