Aspen & Basalt - Colorado

I Have The Power!

More about the lightning strike later...  From Glenwood Springs, we traveled by RV down route 82.  This was really our first entrance into Colorado off the main freeway.  Although it was the middle of summer, the summits surrounding us were all snow capped.  Our first pit-stop was in the town of Basalt:

Basalt, Colorado

Basalt felt like a young fresh village just off the main highway.  It appeared that housing tracks were being built so I imagine a decade from now this place may be more of a known retreat.  The little downtown area had some interesting overpriced shops and restaurants.  However, we didn't last long here.  Our main goal was to buy Ayden a pair of hiking shoes for anticipated trip to Mt. Elbert a few days from here.  The one store we went to was interesting, but we concluded that Aspen would be a better bet.

Traveling down 82, we passed Snowmass Village.  This town is well known in the area for skiing.  You cannot see it off the main road, nor did we turn down the cutoff to investigate.  Perhaps someone will contact the HikeStalker to bring me back?

Our Hike around Aspen!

Aspen is amazing!  This is just so perfect!  Towns like this are unreal, so picturesque -- Clean, quaint, great vibe, and perfect weather, for a moment!  To the contrary of small brown desert-shrub towns in California, or flat open field towns in the Midwest, these Colorado villages are just awesome!  I say that now, knowing that in Winter, yes pretty perhaps, but the challenge of life would be of pressure.  Since I do not ski and I grew up in the Cleveland winter snow, I prefer Colorado summers over most anywhere else than I have been!

Ayden is no match for the raptor!

And here comes the rain!!!

We found Ayden's shoes, even bought myself a nice off road pair of my favorite, Saucony.  Just like the Colorado afternoon clockwork, the rain fell hard.  Up here in Aspen, it hailed small ice cubes.  From the shoe store, we ran across the street and found a dry bar and enjoyed a beer (root beer for Ayden), pizza and a few games of shuffleboard.  All in all, my presence of being in this amazing town still resonates upon me.

Driving around in a large Class A RV was a bit challenging, but I was able to parallel park in a random spot not far from the downtown.  Certainly, as a huge hiking enthusiast, I missed the best adventure in this area of all, Maroon Bells.  On my own as a HikeStalker, I do plan for a visit to this amazing wilderness, to step off the concrete and into the lush of life.

These lightning strikes were taken randomly along our RV Trip.  Without an actual destination to post them in, I share them here and now as part of my Colorado Expedition.