Today was the day we were going to look at old mining towns and ghost towns. We probably left around 9 AM though we were attempting to leave earlier. Our first stop was Leadville, which is still a pretty active town. Leadville had a lot of old buildings and some tours you could take, but none of the kids wanted to participate in exploring old buildings. I probably could have enjoyed a few hours in this town just going to the exhibits and looking at the buildings.
Our next stop was the ghost town of St. Elmo. Prior to heading hear though we promised Rachel we would stop at a reservoir so she could look for fish. We were successful in locating fish in the reservoir, but she was not happy when we left.
This town is considered one of the best preserved ghost town’s of Colorado. One of the old buildings was converted into a general store where you could also buy antiques, so Jonas enjoyed looking at this shop. Our other child was in a mood most of the day so she of course did not want to look around the shop. There were a few old buildings here and it made you wonder what life we like back then. I liked the area the town was located in. It was in a valley but surrounded by mountains.
Next up we headed towards the town of Independence. Unfortunately, there were no roadside markers like we were expecting and we missed the turn out for it. By the time we realized this we did not want to turn back. The drive to Independence is beautiful as you drive up a huge mountain pass. We saw some bighorn sheep on the drive so that also made it exciting.
After missing Independence we headed towards Glenwood Springs. This meant we needed to pass through the well known town of Aspen. I had been here as a child. As we were driving through I discovered that I prefer Vail much more to Aspen. I had considered staying in Aspen on this trip but I am glad I opted for Vail. Vail seems surrounded by nature. Aspen seemed too commercialized and we were also stuck in traffic. I love how Vail is in a valley and both sides are mountains, where as Aspen felt more open.
When we got to Glenwood Springs around 5 PM David announced that the outside temperature was 95 degrees. I was shocked as everywhere else we had been the temperature had been in the 70’s. Glenwood Springs is known for their hot springs pool. Rachel and I went into the two pools there and I’ve declared it a one-and-done. It was warm mineral water, but it did not feel like a quiet resort pool like I was hoping for.
David bought Jonas some ice cream while Rachel and I were at the pool. Thus, when David picked us up this upset Rachel tremendously. She had a fit and proceeded to have this fit through the majority of our drive through one of the most beautiful interstate roads in the country. You are driving on a major interstate and on both sides of the road you have canyons.
We got to our condo a little around 7:30 PM and once back I proceeded to make a dinner of Mac-and-cheese. Then we pretty much went to bed early.
Family Vacation Adventures 