Steamboat Springs - Paradise in the Rockies!

Left to Right: Kristie, Mike, Craig, Cindy, Leslie and Paul

We’ve been asked a number of times what prompted us to do this month-long trip.     There was one impetus for this entire adventure - my cousin Leslie and her husband Paul were heading out on their own adventure and were going to be in Steamboat Springs the week of July 7th.  They are Uber-adventurers, having traveled all over the world to places like Antarctica, and embarking on great hikes like the Camino de Santiago 500 mile hiking pilgrimage in Spain and the Tour de Mount Blanc hike that visits Switzerland, Italy and France.    Les and Paul have been kind enough to repeatedly ask us to join them on their trips.   Unfortunately we’ve had scheduling conflicts in the past, but on this trip we did not and we were excited that we had an opportunity to connect with them for a few days here in Steamboat Springs, during their mid-summer RV trip.     So we planned this trip around our rendezvous in Steamboat Springs.  By luck, my sister Kristie and her husband Mike recently bought an RV, and the timing worked out that they would be able to come to Steamboat Springs as well.   So this was a mini family reunion, and we were super excited for the opportunity!   

We’ve never been to Steamboat Springs.   We knew it was a ski town, but we didn’t know what to expect.  Oh my, what a beautiful location and setting!   This is a luxurious ski resort town, the Mountain Views are breathtaking, the town has every amenity you might want, and the ski resorts are top shelf.    The ski hills are quite beautiful in the summer:

You can see the ski runs on the upper part of the mountain

We checked into our AirBnB and  headed to the KOA Holiday RV park where Kristie, Mike, Les and Paul were staying.   

We first toured Mike and Kristie’s new RV - it is beautiful!    Some pictures below:

Kristie and Mike's new RV!

The interior is beautiful

Even an adorable custom mat!

Les and Paul hosted the first night's dinner
at their RV site.

Then we headed over to Leslie and Paul’s RV, located just a few spots away from Kristie and Mike.   Their motorhome is also really nice!   We haven’t seen Les and Paul since my mom’s memorial service last July, and it was so wonderful to be able to catch up on their adventures and family.   It was like time had stood still - we picked right up where we left off last time we met.   I'm sure you all agree that with special people in your life, even if you haven't seen them in a while, you feel that instant kinship when you're reunited.

Leslie made a dinner of cheese enchiladas, elote, and Spanish rice.    It was delicious, and we chatted late into the night.

We headed back to our AirBnB.   We’ve stayed at some wonderful places on this trip, but this might be our favorite AirBnB of the entire trip!    The AirBnB itself was luxurious, and the views of the ski hills, gondolas, chair lifts and the buzz of the ski area were enthralling.   Some pictures of our AirBnB. below.  We went to bed excited for the next two days in Steamboat Springs!

Inside of our AirBnB

View from our balcony of the ski hill and services

Monday, July 8th:

The next morning we met Paul, Leslie, Mike and Kristie at the trailhead for the Uranium Mine trailhead, located in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest near Steamboat.  The landscape was incredible - dense pines, rocky peaks and the Fish Creek Falls waterfall.  Some pictures below:  

Drink at the Truffle Pig

After the hike we went our separate ways to regroup.  It was our turn to host everyone at the AirBnB that evening.   We regathered around 3:30 pm and toured the ski area, which is first rate.   There's a babbling creek running through the ski area in the summer, and many of the bars and restaurants have outdoor seating.   We had a pre-dinner drink at The Truffle Pig and then headed back to our AirBnB for dinner, which was an olive garden knockoff salad, spinach mostaccioli, italian sausage and garlic bread.   After dinner we continued chatting and then played music video roulette, where we took turns playing our favorite music videos for each other.   It was a great evening, hard to believe we only have one more day together!

On Tuesday, we met in the ski area to take a Gondola Ride up to the top of the ski hill, where there are trails and a food-court styled restaurant.   We took the Steamboat Gondola to the Thunderhead Lodge.  The Vista Nature Trail was very scenic and a great way to start the day.    After our short hike, we had lunch at the Thunderhead Lodge with amazing views of the mountains.   

It's possible to hike up and down the mountain from the Thunderhead Lodge, we thought it might be enjoyable to hike down the mountain, even though we didn't have our hiking gear on or with us.    We started down the trail and it was quite beautiful but also quite rugged and steep.    Trying to do it in inappropriate footwear became a challenge, and we were moving very slowly.    What we thought would be a quick walk down was turning in a pretty gruelling hike, not so much because of cardiovascular issues, but more due to scrambling and sliding.   We were only about halfway down at this point, and at our current pace it would take quite a long time to get down the hill, It was then that Paul found the Christie Peak chairlift - we were saved!   The chairlift ride down was so welcome!   Some more pictures below of our hike down and the chairlift:

Relief in the chairlift!

After arriving back at the base we did some souvenir shopping then went back to the AirBnB.  Cindy napped, I worked on the blog and we did a little laundry as well.   

Wednesday evening was Mike and Kristie's turn to host dinner, so we headed back to the KOA Holiday campground.   Kristie made a delicious dinner of vegetable fried rice, Asian salad and an amazing dessert of tequila pie (Cindy’s new favorite!).     We talked and talked, solving the world’s problems and really enjoying the time to strengthen our relationships and familial bonds.  Some more pictures below:

Just when you think it can’t get any better, we were leaving the campground to head back to our RV when a black bear cub crossed the road right in front of us, with Mama Bear on the side of the road.    We stopped and made sure other drivers stopped - the bears were safe, Cindy was super excited she got to see a black bear on this trip.

Our time in Steamboat had come to an end.   We even got to wear the "Summer to Remember" T-Shirts that Cindy bought for us.  A couple, Mark and Trish Leach, have created a community of (mostly RVers) called "Keep Your Daydream",  with the goal of getting out and experiencing the world.   We enjoy watching them, even though we don't RV, and have definitely embraced their philosophy! 

We loved Steamboat in the summer - we were told it’s much less busy than in the winter, the weather is comfortable, the sun is warm and the air is cool, and the landscapes are breathtaking.   And it was awesome to spend time with family.    On to our last adventure of this vacation, until then…..