march: burgers, beer and backyard camping

March roared in like a lion in terms of workload, so our getaway for the month was a date day followed by an overnight campout…in the backyard. It’s easy to plan a staycation here with so many things to do, see, eat and drink.

We started the day touring a nearby camping spot, Elk Creek Campground, that our good friends purchased and have been renovating. This is a beautiful spot in New Castle, Colorado, that’s about 20 minutes from home and, now that we’ve seen it, is bound to be on our list for the year. It’s located in a beautiful, wooded valley right on Elk Creek. The new owners have cleaned things up and invested in lots of infrastructure upgrades—including full hookups at every site. There are sites in all sizes, including a couple for big rigs, and multiple cabin options. A new laundry area and rec room are in the works now and should be finished by the May 1 opening day.

Feb 07

travel tuesday: romantic glenwood springs staycation

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There’s nothing like an opportunity to dress to the nines to spark a romantic staycation! The Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association‘s Annual Gala was last weekend, and my client Hotel Colorado won Business of the Year. Plenty of reasons to celebrate, so I booked a room for an early Valentine’s Day night out with my Valentine.

Jan 10

travel tuesday: wine + winter = winner

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Barrel Cave at Colterris Winery in Palisade, Colorado

The first getaway of 2023 is a wrap! Just like in 2022, it was to Palisade, Colorado. This up-and-coming wine region is less than an hour from our house and it’s quickly becoming a favorite destination. It’s a straight shot on I70, no passes to worry about. I’m ready to go back now!

Our original plan included multiple stops to sample the local food and drink, but we had to whittle that down when they moved the KC Chiefs game to Saturday. It ended up being very relaxing, which was nice after the busy holiday season at our store.

Jan 06

here’s looking at you, 2023

10 months, 10 states, 14 getaways

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Ten months and a few days into 2022, and we’re blowing past all of my travel goals for the year. My heart was set on at least one getaway each month and to go someplace new. In the first five months, we made seven trips to six different states.

Oct 09

fall in love with bryce canyon

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Fall is a wonderful time to visit Bryce Canyon. This was my first visit, so I can’t judge the other seasons too harshly, but it was perfect autumn weather when we were there in late September. Highs in the low 70s, lows in the 40s. My kind of weather!

We planned this trip way back in July 2021, so we’d been anticipating it for months. We joined our camping friends from Las Vegas, who we try to camp with every year. They had been there before, so we took advantage of their knowledge and love of the place.

Sep 08

all the feels on this road trip

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Sometimes everything goes right on a road trip, and it’s magical. But it’s not always sunshine and rainbows, and our recent Montana vacation set a new standard for luck. Let’s start with the best and work our way down to the worst. You can start at the bottom if you’d like. Then everything will get better as you read on.

Aug 02

travel tuesday: do go chasing waterfalls

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Shoshone Falls has been on my radar since 2017, when we were in the area and didn’t have time to stop. I made sure to include it in our itinerary for our Montana road trip this summer, which I’ll write more about soon.

Jul 19

travel tuesday: keystone wine and jazz

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The Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival is quickly becoming one of our favorite new traditions. There are the Colorado Rocky Mountains, cooler temps, beautiful flowers, hiking trails and lots of yummy food. Oh, and wine and jazz. We took the kids in 2019, it was cancelled in 2020, Scott and I went last year, and this year we brought our daughter and son-in-law along to celebrate their upcoming birthdays. Fun was had by all.

*Family fun at the 2022 Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival. You can tell I’m ready with my food pass lanyard, wine glass necklace, wine shirt and a bottle of water in my pocket!*

Jul 07

travel thursday: take the back roads

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I’ve missed a couple of travel Tuesday posts, but I’m back this week…two days late. Such is the life of a short-staffed retail business owner who also has a public relations business. As usual, the Fourth of July holiday weekend was crazy at our store, which is a blessing and also exhausting.