Maroon Bells, Aspen,Colorado
September 2021 Road trip with Minal
Day 6 and 7
A cheat day was overdue. Woke up around 7 am . Made some hot tea and later helped myself to cereal with almond milk. Minal needed to stock up a few things in the home. Frisco is a town near Breckenridge, off I-70. It has bigger shops like Walmart. Went there for her shopping . On the way stopped for lunch at a cute Mexican restaurant called Yo Momma’s Cantina. It was a pleasant afternoon on the patio. The cod tacos were delicious. Skipped the Margarita this time.
After the shopping at Walmart in Frisco the guys dropped us in Breckenridge town. Minal and me strolled around, shopped for T shirts , Christmas ornaments and jewelry for the girls. Then took the city bus home.
There were just 2 other guys on the bus. They got off at our stop, took down their bikes from the stand in front of the bus and merrily biked down the slopes from that point, elevation 10,000+ feet. A lot of people do these downslope bike rides. I’ve done it on previous trips. It is a lot of fun.
Evening was laid back. Watched a movie on Netflix: The Highway Men starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson. Based on the true story of Bonnie and Clyde. I liked the movie. Enjoyed home cooked pav bhaaji for dinner.
Next day plan was to visit Aspen. Tried booking for the shuttle to Maroon Bells online without success. Decided we would just show up and get the tickets there.
Woke up at 3:30 am thanks to someone calling from India at that hour 🙄. Then couldn’t go back to sleep. Made myself tea. Fixed sandwiches to take along for lunch. Left home by 7:30 am. Stopped in Leadville for gas and Subway breakfast. Then proceeded to drive over the gorgeous Independence Pass , stopping occasionally for pictures.
Once at Aspen Highlands parked the car and bought tickets for the shuttle to Maroon Bells. There wasn’t much of a crowd and weather was lovely as well. Did a 2 miles scenic hike at Maroon Bells. The Aspen forest and river cast a spell on me. Although I wished there was more water in the river. The drought was obvious and heart breaking.
On the return route on the trail loop we found a shaded area amidst the aspens , perfect for our picnic with homemade sandwiches. Fueled up with these we walked the remainder trail to the shuttle to Aspen Highlands. Once back in the car we got onto I-70 after a quick stop at a convenience store to pick up cold drinks as everyone was thirsty. Pleasantly surprised to see smoothies from Bolthouse Farms which is a local family owned business in Bakersfield. I picked their mango smoothie ( a mix of mango, apple, orange).
Next stopped in Vail for some indulgent shopping 😉 and ice cream before heading home to Breckenridge. In the evening watched the riveting US Open Women’s Semifinals and celebrated 19 year old Leylah Fernandez’s win. I found her to be so cute. That was a good culmination of a beautiful day.
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