Colorado 2019 - Aspen and environs

Marilyn, Maria, and Brendan as we stopped in Glenwood
Canyon at a rest area to view the Colorado River.
We spent our final day with Brendan and Maria White, our good friends who live in Gypsum, down valley from Vail.  We drove there to pick them.  Graciously and thankfully, Brendan offered to drive for the day which meant that I would be able to enjoy the scenery rather than focus on driving on unfamiliar roads.  Almost as soon as we left, I saw the wisdom in this since we drove through Glenwood Canyon on I-70.  It is spectacular.  As Brendan said, if there were not an interstate running through it, Glenwood Canyon would have long ago beeen designated as a National Park.

Brendan grew up in Buffalo and attended Miami University (Ohio) on a track scholarship.  Shortly after that, he moved to
Brendan gazing with affection at the Maroon Bells
Colorado and began working at Vail on the ski mountain and doing a lot of skiing, mountaineering and running as in marathons and extreme running events.  Eventually he took a job at a jewelry establishment and became a master jeweler specializing in Pave diamond setting.  His jewelery reflects a lifetime love of art, nature and music.  It features gemstones and diamonds set in Sterling Silver and 14K Gold. His goal is to create unique high quality jewelry that is affordable.  As Brendan says,“I am in the smile business – making the world a happier place, one piece of jewelry at a time!”  You can check out his work here:  http://brendanwhitejeweler.com/

Mt. Sopris from Highway 82 in a moving car with my phone
It took about an hour and a half to reach our first stop, The Maroon Bells.  As we drove generally southeast on Highway 82, we were treat to a view of Mt. Sopris.  Although it is not one of Colorado's 58 14,000 feet plus peaks, it rises dramatically from the surrounding land to give it the look of a much higher moutain.  In fact, it rises 6400 feet in 2.7 miles, which is quite rare in the United States.
The original photo had some power lines running through it and a cloudless sky so I had some work to do get this image but I like it a lot.

Maroon Creek with The Maroon Bells in the background.  The piles of debris are from avanlanches.
Once we turned off Highway 82, we began the nine mile trip up Maroon Peak Road following Maroon Creek to the welcome center.  Along the way we saw the path that four or five major avalanches had carved through the aspen.  They lay like strewn matchsticks down one side of the valley and often over the road and up a considerable distance up the other side.  As soon as we parked we got a view of the Maroon Bells, the most photographed site in Colorado.  While we were there after the hight of the aspen color and in mid day light, the sight was still impressive.

Bill, Marilyn, Brendan and Maria
We spent about an hour hiking along the lake formed by Maroon Creek and were rewarded with a variety of views of the mountains.  Fortunately the sky was filled with some puffy clouds which always makes for more interesting photos.  We were fortunate that we could drive all the way to the lake.  During the summer, we would have parked eight miles down the valley and had to take shuttle buses.  There were a lots of people of all ages and nationalities.  As usual everyone was offering to take photos of each other. 

As always marilyn found some folks to visit with.  She saw a World War II vet--her father was a World War II vet--and she visited with them.

You can see more photos of our time at The Maroon Bells by clicking here.

Also Marilyn found a woman interested in her BeadforLife beads and gave her the 80 story elevator speech.

We drove into Aspen and had lunch at the Red Onion.  "Built in 1892 at the height of the silver boom by Tom Latta...it was christened the “New Brick Saloon” at the festive opening night ceremonies. However, local old-timers had their own favorite names for this colorful saloon. They nicknamed it the ‘Red Onion’. This meant something out of the ordinary or unusual; something the likes of which could not be found elsewhere on earth."  As do many of the buildings including residences, the Red Onion retains the look and feel of the Victorian Era. 

And this points up the difference between Vail and Aspen.  Aspen existed as a mining town long before skiing and ski resorts came to Colorado after World War II.
Vail, on the other hand, did not exist before skiing came and in fact was created basically as a site for ski resorts.  There is nothing old or historic about Vail.  Two vry different towns.  And the clientele differs as well:  more CEOish in Vail and more show business celebrityish in Aspen.  I wish I had more photos of Aspen but MY CAMERA DIED right after I took this photo of a dog and its owners in the ourdoor eating area of the Red Onion.

Retreat center and structures in lower right

On the way back, we stopped at St. Benedict Monastery outside Snowmass.  This is a Trappist monastery where Thomas Keating OCSO lived after he served as Abbot at Spencer Abbey in Massachusetts.  He is best known for his work popularizing centering prayer for lay Christians.  He has been an important influence in my own spiritual life and practice.  As I had learned to expect from other Trappist monasteries, we didn't see any of the monks, the visitors center and bookstore were unattended and operated on the honor system.  While we could peer into the chapel space through windows in a visitors chapel, it was very plain.  The site if remote and utterly quiet, consistent with the style of life of the monks.  There is a retreat center about a mile and  a half from the abbey building.

Click here to see a few more photos of St. Benedict's Monastery.


Presbnyterian Church in Georgetown
After our great day with Brendan and Maria, we left them in Gypsum with clear intentions to visit them again and explore more of their beloved mountains and beyond.  The next morning we drove into Denver to catch our flight home.  On the way, I decided to stop by Georgetown CO and spend about an hour exploring this former silver mining camp along Clear Creek.  It was established in 1859 during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush.  The gold played out pretty quickly but a silver strike in nearby Silver plume proved to be lager and more durable.  silving mining there continue well into the 20th Century.  Georgetown prospered, however, as the location of the homes of mine owners and managers while the workers tended to live in Silver Plume in substantially more modest homes.  In fact, most of Georgetown is an Historic Preservation District, both residential ares and the business streets.

Click here to see a few more photos of Georgetown.

We're home and have no travel planned until next February.  Of course, there may be some family trips to Ohio (soccer), Kansas City, and California before then.

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