Colorado – Page 2 – Road Trip Queen

Winter Park, Colorado

Have you been considering a trip to a winter destination this year? Look no further, Winter Park is the place to go! If you follow along on our adventures, you might already know that Colorado is one of our favorite places to visit, regardless of the season. What you might not know is that we’ve been to Colorado more times in the winter than we have in any other season! We are a family that loves to snowboard, but there are so many other things that you can do if skiing or snowboarding isn’t something that you want to try.

Exploring the base of Winter Park (there’s even a playground for kiddos right in front of this place)!

What to Pack

First things first, what should you pack for a winter trip to Colorado? I get asked this question all the time and my first response is everything waterproof, especially if you have kiddos. There is nothing worse than kids that have wet feet and hands that are also cold. So, be sure to pack waterproof gloves, thick socks, and waterproof or snow boots. My second reply is always layers and more layers. I usually wear 2 layers under my ski gear and I even layer my gloves with a thin glove worn under my waterproof gloves. Here is a short list of things that I always bring on our trips:

Waterproof pants and jacket (search ski gear)
Waterproof gloves
Snow boots or waterproof hiking boots
Thick socks
Long johns or long underwear
Sweatpants and sweatshirts
Hats, scarves, neck warmers

I have been successful in ordering all of these items on Amazon. This year, all of my kiddos boarding gear, from head to toe, was ordered off of Amazon!

All the boys gear in this photo came from Amazon.

In regards to skiing or snowboarding, you can rent boots, helmets, and skis or snowboards from the mountain base area and usually there are several rental places in town. I would recommend checking online and reserving your gear early, especially if you will be visiting during a holiday, like Christmas or Spring break.

Getting There

We love to drive… mostly so I can pack more!

Obviously, we are a road tripping family, so we like to drive to Colorado. I have also flown, but I prefer to drive so that I can bring all the things. We have our own snowboards and usually pack several suitcases because winter gear and sweaters take up so much room. I also like to bring a cooler with food so that we can cook in the condo or cabin we are staying in. For us in Texas, the drive is about 12-13 hours. No matter what mountain we are visiting, we always make the drive to Trinidad, CO and stop for the night. There are several hotels to choose from right off highway 25 and that puts us about 9 hours from home. So the drive the following day is only about 4 hours. Plus, we love to eat at the Mexican restaurant, Tequilas, and this has become a little tradition for our family.

We also like this routine because it allows us a little time to do something fun in Colorado Springs before we can check in to our lodging. This is one of our favorite places to stop along the route. We’ve stopped at Garden of the Gods several times and this year we visited the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. CO Springs is about 2 hours or so from Trinidad, so it’s the perfect place to stop for an activity and grab lunch before the next 2 hours of driving.

Jereme and me in front of the cliff dwellings!

Where to Stay

This year we decided to stay in Winter Park. We were so excited to get back to the mountain again. Jereme and I haven’t missed a ski trip since our first year of marriage 17 years ago, until covid hit. It’s been two long years since we’ve snowboarded, so we were all anxious to head back to the mountain and do what we love! Every time we’ve visited Winter Park, we’ve stayed at Frasier Crossing Founders Pointe. From this condo, we can walk right to base of the mountain and onto the lifts. We love this location because it’s quiet, great for families, doesn’t break the budget, has heated indoor parking, and its location to the base is amazing.

View from our condo looking at Zephyr Mountain Lodge, which is another great option!

Snowboarding

Our first time on a lift together as a family!

The whole reason we visit Colorado in the winter is to snowboard! This year we even got our youngest to the top of the mountain with us. Jereme and I taught ourselves how to board when we were in our early 20s. I would recommend taking lessons if you’ve never been before. We did put our boys in ski school when they were four and five, but then we taught them how to snowboard ourselves. For me, snowboarding is easier than skiing because ski boots seriously hurt my legs and knees. I consider us to be in decent shape, but a day on the mountain feels like a full body workout! We like to board for 2-3 days, but definitely need to take a break in between to rest and regroup. If you’ve never been, you can rent gear and sign up for skiing or snowboarding lessons right at the base of the mountain. In Winter Park, they have people stationed all around to offer assistance and point you in the right direction for all of your needs!

The Town of Winter Park

The base of the mountain has several places to eat, shop, get groceries, and rent gear. So, once you arrive, there really is no reason to leave. But don’t let that stop you from visiting the town of Winter Park, because it’s really neat, too! We love to eat at Hernando’s Pizza Pub and we found a fun hiking trail this year and enjoyed exploring out in the snow away from the crowds on the mountain. Make dining reservations if you can or opt for take-out like we did this year. Please note that some of the restaurants in town do not offer take-out dining during the peak seasons (winter break over Christmas/New Year’s weekend).

I also found this website for a list of fun activities and dining options in town!

Frasier River trail (found on the AllTrails app)

We were even able to squeeze in family photos this year. Be sure to check out Lisa M. Hall Photography if you’re in the area.

Outfit Details:

What if You Don’t Ski or Snowboard?

We really had a wonderful time in the mountains this year. It’s so fun to ring in the New Year doing something that you love with your family. If you are not into skiing or snowboarding, don’t let that deter you from visiting the mountains in the winter! There are other activities that anyone can enjoy. My Dad often joins us on our trip and he doesn’t ski or snowboard, but he still loves to spend time with us in a cozy cabin or condo and watch the snow fall! Most places have hot tubs and there is nothing more relaxing than looking at the snowy mountains from the warmth of one. Winter Park offers snowmobiling, snowshoeing, dog sledding, sleigh rides, and tubing. Just be sure to pick your activity and book early. This website includes all of the winter activities that are offered in Winter Park! We wanted to tube on our visit, but when I went online to make reservations, there were none left for the entire month. If you are not visiting during a holiday, you will likely have an easier time with reservations.

We went dog sledding two years ago and loved every second of it!

Helpful Driving Tips

This was our drive once we got to the mountain pass, it’s not for the faint of heart…

My husband said that I should include this information in our blog, probably because he is the one that does most of the driving on our winter travels. Be sure to look ahead at travel conditions and make arrangements if winter advisories are in place. Besides having a car accident, I cannot think of anything worse than being stranded on the highway for hours due to winter weather. We were lucky that we didn’t encounter much snow on our drive to Winter Park, but there were several snowstorms that occurred while we were there and the Denver area received their first snow of the winter during our stay. Our drive home looked a lot different than our drive in.

It’s also important to make sure that you have windshield wiper fluid, the roads are super nasty with sand and salt treatments and at one time our windshield fluid froze up on the drive and the windshield was covered in dirt and Jereme had a small, fist sized spot to look out of until we were able to pull over and clean the whole windshield off. Be sure to have blankets, water, and food as a precaution for any winter weather delays.

We spent New Year’s Day doing what we love!

As always, I hope this information is helpful for all of your winter travel planning! I am available to help with any questions you may have and have tons of recommendations for amazing locations around Colorado. We’ve visited several mountain towns and have loved them all! Winter Park is becoming one of our favorites, closely behind Crested Butte!

Be sure to follow me on Instagram at road_trip_queen to see more photos and videos! And stay tuned, we have a lot of awesome travel plans for 2022 which include Ruidoso, NM later this month, Redwood National Park in the spring, and Yellowstone & Grand Tetons National Parks this summer!

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Rocky Mountain National Park & Beyond

25 Jul 202126 Jan 2025Posted in ColoradoTagged alberta falls, best hikes for kids in colorado, best hikes in rmnp, best hikes in rocky mountain national park, best hikes to waterfalls in co, boulder, boulder colorado, brainard lake colorado, Colorado, colorado river hike, Colorado Summer Trips, continental divide, dream lake, emerald lake, emerald lake hike, Hikes in rocky mountain national park, hiking forsyth canyon, hiking isabelle glacier in ward colorado, Hiking Rocky Mountain National Park, hiking to emerald lake with kids, isabelle glacier, isabelle glacier in brainard lake recreation area, nymph lake, poudre river rafting trip with kids, rafting the poudre river, Rocky Mountain National Park, rocky mountain national park with kids, sprague lake, trail ridge road, visiting rocky mountain national park, where to see a moose in rocky mountain national park, where to see waterfalls in colorado, whitewater rafting with kids5 Comments

We just returned home from one of the most beautiful places on earth, Colorado! Usually we visit this state in the winter for our annual snowboarding trip over the New Year, but this summer we decided to change up our plans and take our boys for a summer visit. I am so glad that we made this decision!

With that being said, since we changed up our original plans a little last minute, I felt completely overwhelmed planning this vacation and I hope that this post helps you with your plans. I had absolutely no reason to be overwhelmed, Rocky Mountain National Park is so easy to maneuver and everything is gorgeous.

I started by checking out the Rocky Mountain National Park website. Always check out the NPS websites, they include valuable information and webcams, etc. This summer you have to have a timed-entry ticket to enter the Park and there are two separate areas of the Park. Kind of confusing right, especially for first-timers! So, hopefully I can break this down for you in an easier way. Timed-entry tickets are available on the first of the month for the following month, so I got our tickets on June 1^st for July. They are $2 for each day that you want to enter, plus you have to pay the park entrance fee once at the gate & I believe this is $35 for the week. If you have a 4^th grader, they can get the 4^th grade pass for FREE and your entire vehicle can enter the park! Click here for your 4th grade Every Kid Outdoor Pass. The Park only releases a certain amount of tickets each day and hold a couple hundred that go live at 5:00 pm for the following day. So, for example, if I wanted tickets for July 15^th I could go online (on the Park’s website) on July 14^th at 5:00 pm and TRY to get tickets for the following day. But these tickets go fast, so you need to be online and logged in to your account for a quick purchase.

There are a couple of different entrances to get into the Park, we always used the Beaver Meadows entrance coming in from Estes Park. You will need timed-entry tickets for this entrance (and all entrances) unless you arrive before 9:00 am or after 3:00 pm. When you enter here, you can drive along Trail Ridge Road from one end of the park to another, roughly 45 miles I believe. The views are stunning and there are several different areas to pull over and park to check out views or hike trails. You can get a Park map at the entrance and everything is nicely marked off with signs. I highly recommend driving this road at least once on your visit! We found so many neat places to stop for photos and some really great trails with short hikes! Make sure you have a full tank of gas if you plan to drive this road!

Once inside the Park there is another entrance area that requires timed-entry tickets unless you arrive before 5:00 am or after 6:00 pm and this is the Bear Lake Corridor. In my opinion, this is the most popular and beautiful area of the park, so be sure to get tickets for this area! Several of our “bigger hikes” were from this corridor. Once inside this area, there are places to park and hop on a bus to go to the Bear Lake parking/trails, but we were able to easily find parking at the Bear Lake parking lot. I was only able to grab tickets for 2 days in the Park, both times in the afternoon, and we still had the BEST visit!

Before I list out our itinerary for the week, here are some helpful tips/things you should make sure to bring with you!

Timed-entry tickets (printed or on your phone – make sure to screenshot because service is limited)
Dress in layers, it gets cold when rain moves in and out
Raincoats – thunderstorms pop up almost every afternoon, be prepared!
Water and snacks
Sunscreen / hat
Camera (my photos are from my iPhone)
First aid kit with Band-Aids
Binoculars
Hiking boots / shoes
AllTrails App
Bring a backpack, you must pack out whatever you bring with you, so have something that holds trash

Our Itinerary for the Week

Now, for all of the details and the fun stuff! Since I booked this trip last minute, we were not able to stay very close to the Park like I had wished. I REALLY wanted to stay at the Stanley Hotel (where the Shining was filmed) in Estes Park, but there were no rooms available for our dates. So, we opted to stay in Boulder, CO and we really enjoyed that area. It took about an hour to drive from Boulder to RMNP, so that is the only downside if you don’t like being in the car a lot.

Day 1: We decided to explore the Boulder area on our first full day in Colorado. I used the AllTrails app to find a few hikes close to us and the boys wanted to visit Forsyth Canyon since it was a hike to a waterfall! The app literally gave us directions to the exact parking lot for the trailhead, so I can’t recommend this app enough! This hike was rated as an easy, 3.2 mile out and back hike, and the scenery was excellent! We did in fact hike all the way to the top of a waterfall and opted to walk back after that instead of hiking around and down boulders to the falls, only because we had our border collie with us and she was tired.

We also ventured into town and walked around Boulder Creek, which runs through town. The water was cold and flowing fast, but the kids had fun playing in and around the river. You can also get tubes to ride down the river, Jereme and I did this about 17 years ago! We knew the ride was a little crazy, so we didn’t let the boys do it this time!

Day 2: Our second day was our first trip to Rocky Mountain National Park! I had timed-entry tickets to the Bear Lake Corridor for 4:00 pm. We slept in and then headed to Estes Park. It took us an hour to drive, so we got there around 1:00 pm. I had a couple of hikes saved on the app again around Estes Park that were not in RMNP, so we decided to walk around Lake Estes before lunch. The views were stunning! Once our walk was over, we headed into town and had burgers and did some shopping. During this time, around 2:30 pm or so, a thunderstorm moved in, so we ran to the car and drove around the town. We saw so many elk out and about, it was really exciting and luckily the rain moved out fast!

We headed to the Park right before 4:00 pm, and didn’t wait in line for more than 5 minutes to enter. We drove right to the Bear Lake parking lot, used the restrooms at the trailhead, and began the hike to Emerald Lake, which is rated as a moderate 3.2 mile out and back hike. It was AMAZING!!!! This one is probably my favorite hike ever. We followed the signs along the trail and passed by two other lakes, Nymph Lake and Dream Lake, before getting to Emerald Lake. Our boys, ages 10 and 7, did great on this one. Check out these views!

Day 3: I was not able to get tickets into RMNP for this day, see I told you they go fast! So, I found a hike near Boulder in a small town named Ward. Even though it was only about 25 miles from our hotel, the drive took about an hour through the mountains. We went to Brainard Lake Recreation Area to hike Isabelle Glacier. This area also requires timed-entry tickets and it costs $12 for those reservations. We had reservations for 2:00 pm for the Long Lake area, which is where the Isabelle Glacier trail begins. If you want to do this hike, make sure your tickets are for the Long Lake area, you will get a ticket if you park in the wrong parking lot (per the park ranger at the entrance). This hike is rated as a moderate 5.5 mile hike on the AllTrails app, but the sign at the trailhead only had it as 2 miles from the start of the trailhead. We absolutely loved this hike and it was quiet the adventure. When we got about 1.8 miles into the hike, a thunderstorm popped up and we put on our raincoats and hunkered down and waited out the storm. We had gone way too far to just turn around and head back! I am sure the views would have been so much better on a clear, sunny day, but we still thought the entire hike was breathtaking and really enjoyed this one!

This was along the trail to Isabelle Glacier

The end of the trail to Isabelle Glacier

Day 4: This day was my boys’ most favorite day! We rafted the Poudre River (near Ft. Collins) with A Wanderlust Adventure. We chose the Taste of Whitewater for beginner/immediate levels and we spent about 2 hours on the water. It was definitely and adrenalin rush and something that I am so, so happy we experienced! I mean, just check out the excitement from our photos! The price is $70 per person and they offer a full photo package for $55, which included about 50 photos and a video!

Day 5: This was our last day at Rocky Mountain National Park and we had tickets to enter Bear Lake at 2:00 pm. We decided to get up early and head to RMNP by 8:00 am so that we could enter without timed-entry tickets. We drove all of Trail Ridge Road on this day before we were able to enter the Bear Lake Corridor. The views were amazing, we pulled over at several different places, visited the Continental Divide, and did two short hikes between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm. We packed a picnic lunch and ate on one of our hikes, too.

This hike was right off the parking lot from the Continental Divide!

This is the Colorado River Trail Hike off of Trail Ridge Road

You will see animals everywhere in the Park!

At 2:00 we headed to Bear Lake and hiked to Alberta Falls. It was beautiful, a little crowded, but beautiful nonetheless. We loved just sitting and watching the waterfall before heading back. AllTrails has this hike rated as an easy 1.6 out and back hike. It was pretty easy, but the end of the hike is all uphill right before getting back to the parking lot and we saw a lot of people stopped for a rest in this area.

From here, we decided to drive over to Sprague Lake (you will see the signs) because I really wanted to see a moose and my research kept pointing me in this direction. Sprague Lake is a super easy loop around a small lake and only about 0.8 miles total. We arrived around 5:00 pm and within about 25 minutes we got to see a mama moose with her baby walk through the water and find a place to stop and munch on grass! It was truly amazing and we probably watched these moose for almost an hour before they left the area! Please remember that with moose and bear, you should keep your distance! The park ranger told us that’s about 3 bus links away. We stayed with the park ranger and I just zoomed in on my photos. My day was totally made and we were all so excited to see these animals in their natural habitat!

Day 6: This was supposed to be our drive home, but we just loved our summer visit so much that we decided to extend our trip and head to Crested Butte for a few days! It’s about a 4.5 hour scenic drive from Boulder! It was also truly amazing and I will blog about it soon! In the meantime, check out my favorite photos from CB below.

Please feel free to message me with any questions if you are planning a trip to RMNP or Boulder! I am always happy to help and offer my advice and tips. We definitely did not see it all and I look forward to another visit, but I hope this information helps other first-timers or hikers with kids! Stay safe out there and Happy Travels!

Granby, Colorado – Colorado’s Hidden Winter Gem!

2 Feb 202026 Jan 2025Posted in ColoradoTagged Colorado with kids, Granby Colorado, Granby colorado is a hidden gem, Granby Colorado ski trip, Granby Colorado winter trip, Skiing in Granby, Winter trip to Colorado3 Comments

Hey y’all! We switched up our Colorado winter destination this year and I can’t wait to tell you all about the little hidden gem we found called Granby! We usually road trip to Crested Butte every winter break, but we wanted a change this year. The boys were not real thrilled with us, but ended up loving Granby!

We stayed at Base One Camp in Granby, Colorado, which is ski in/out. We had a spacious condo that we booked through vrbo.com. I particularly loved that we had an enclosed garage to park in, especially since it snowed most of the days there. Base One Camp is conveniently located right at the base of the mountain and just a few steps to the ski lift and next door to ski and snowboard rentals and ski school. There’s also a cafeteria with different food options and a restaurant that we really enjoyed.

Image result for base one camp granby winter — picture from vrbo website

The drive to Granby took us about 13 hours. We stopped and stayed the night Trinidad, CO and only had about a 4 hour drive to Granby from there. Along the way, we made a quick detour to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It’s one of my kids’ favorite places, they love climbing on the rocks. Be sure to check it out if you’re in the area!

Finally we made it to Granby and were ready to start our winter adventure! There was so much snow and the views were incredible. We were all excited and ready for snowboarding the next day! The mountain was small enough that we let the big boys ride the lifts to the bunny slopes by themselves while we taught Jake and Sadie how to ski. The big boys were able to go up to the top of the mountain with adults and there wasn’t a trail they couldn’t go down! It quickly became their favorite mountain, but I figure this will be the case no matter where we go! The crowds still got pretty big, but we knew it would happen since we were going over a holiday. The only thing I missed about Crested Butte was the downtown area. Granby is small, so there’s not a ton to do besides skiing and boarding. If you want a really nice family vacation and time to ski and board, then I highly suggest Granby! If you are looking for more nightlife, then I would head to a bigger mountain like Crested Butte or Winter Park!

Skiing and Snowboarding – We are snowboarders in my family, except for Jake. Since he’s just starting ski school, him and Sadie skied on the trip. We actually put them in ski school for the day. Honestly, I think they both learned more on the bunny slopes with us and a harness, but ski school was a great babysitter for the day and allowed the adults to go up to the top to ski and board with the big boys! I even got the chance to board with my hubby alone for the first time in about 5 years!

We also decided to road trip across Colorado up to Monarch Mountain to go dog sledding with Monarch Dog Sled Rides. My littlest son is obsessed with wolves & huskies, so we knew he’d love this animal adventure! We really got lucky with the weather and driving conditions and had no issues traveling the three hours or so from Granby to Monarch Mountain! And I think it’s safe to say that we ALL loved dog sledding. We started with an introduction and background story about every dog on the tour. Then we learned about the history of dog sledding and the kids were so engaged. From there we learned how to harness a dog and anyone has the opportunity to try it out themselves. Then it was time to start the ride! I have never seen dogs so excited to work! You can totally tell that these dogs are treated very well and are truly born to pull sleds! The kids and I bundled up together in the sled and Jereme got to stand at the back with our guide and drive the sled. The sights were incredible, the guides were so knowledgeable and we enjoyed chatting with them during our tour. The few stops we made were fun, we especially loved getting to play with the dogs and watch them roll around in the snow to cool down. I would highly, highly, highly recommend this company and this adventure for anyone wanting to add some fun to their ski or snowboarding trip to Colorado!

Thanks so much for reading about our winter adventures. As always, I am happy to help with any questions you may have from what to pack, to where to go, and what to do!

Happy Travels, Jasha

Garden of the Gods

5 Jul 201926 Jan 2025Posted in ColoradoTagged Colorado, colorado springs, Garden of the Gods, hike, things to do in colorado springs, visiting garden of the godsLeave a comment

Hey y’all! It’s Jasha here again. I thought I would blog about our day trip to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, CO. We’ve had quite the adventure! So, for those of you that don’t know, we left for an 8 day vacation on June 23rd and headed to South Dakota for the week. Our trip unexpectedly turned into a 12 day trip! On our way back to TX, our Yukon lost all engine power due to a problem with the computer system. We ended up stuck in Cody, WY for 3 days without a car. Finally, it was fixed… or so we thought. When we made it 8 hours down the road, on the outskirts of Colorado Springs, the computer system had another problem and we lost all engine power again. We were literally right at an exit and were able to coast over to a fabulous hotel, called My Place Hotel. The staff was amazing and got us a great rate. The rooms were awesome, with full kitchens and an option to have breakfast delivered to your room in the morning for you to cook. It also had a grocery selection which was helpful for us since our vehicle wasn’t running. Check it out if you’re ever out in CO Springs! Anyway, my dad is amazing and came to the rescue with a truck and trailer to help haul us home. He lives in the same town as us, so it took him 11 hours to drive up to Colorado. So, we decided to take the boys to do something fun for the day while we waited for him. I had been to the Garden of the Gods when I was a kid with my family and then Jereme and I went up there with his family about 15 years ago. So, it had been a really long time since I was last there. And let me just say, my boys LOVED it! I have never heard them ask to have their picture taken so many times. So, if you have little boys, or girls, that love the outdoors and enjoy climbing over cool rock formations, then this is the place to go! Oh, and it’s FREE to visit!

We Ubered over to the Garden of the Gods visitor center to start out our day trip. It has restrooms, a few exhibits, a cafe/coffee shop, a souvenir shop, movie theater (that details the formation of this land form), a 2nd story viewing balcony, and a lower level desk that offers different tours – like by jeep or trolley. I believe they also offer free shuttles that drive you across the street where the rock formations are. We chose to walk, we had been stuck in the last hotel for 3 days and then again in the car the whole day before, so it was nice exercise for all of us! We packed a backpack full of drinks and a few snacks for the hike. I think next time we might pack a picnic lunch to take with us. (I’ll get to the food part later!)

Jereme and the boys on the walk to the Garden of the Gods Park

The views are amazing, even before you walk through the park. There are different paths and trails along the way that are very easy to walk along. There are a few stairs to climb, but nothing too hard. It was really hot when we were there so we took a lot of breaks in the shade. We enjoyed watching the rock climbers during our breaks.

One muddy part, the boys problem-solved an easier way across!

There was a log down to use to cross the water! It was hard to stay balanced!

Below are just a few of our favorite pictures in the park.

Jake was so mad that I wouldn’t let him climb as high as his brother!

Loved all of our adventures this past week!

We explored the park for about 3 hours and then we got hot and tired. We decided to venture back to the visitor center for some food and to peruse the exhibits. We had a wonderful late lunch at the cafe. The boys had yummy cheese pizza and I had a tuna sandwich. Jereme had a turkey avocado sandwich. It was a little pricey, I think we spent about $40 on food , but overall we enjoyed what we ordered! Then we walked around the exhibits and ended our visit at the souvenir shop where little Jake spent ALL of his birthday money! Haha! Below are a few pictures from the visitor center.

Once again, the teacher in me loved this! We definitely want to go back and visit Colorado Springs next summer. Near the Garden of the Gods is also The Cave of the Winds and Pike’s Peak. I’m sure there’s so much more in the area to explore, so stay tuned for our next visit!

Crested Butte, CO

18 Feb 201926 Jan 2025Posted in ColoradoLeave a comment

Hey y’all, Jasha here! Man, I had a hard time deciding what trip I should start with… So, I’m going to share our first trip of 2019 and will try to do “flashback” stories of some of our other trips during our down time between travels.

My goal with this blog is to share our amazing adventures and provide tips along the way. With that being said, I am sharing it all – the good, the great, the bad, the ugly and everything in between! And well, for my family, this trip started out REALLY ugly…

For the past ten years or so, my family has taken a snowboarding trip every holiday season. Crested Butte, Colorado has become one of our favorites over the years. It’s known as “the last great Colorado ski town,” and for good reason. We decided we would ring in the New Year in CB, so we booked our condo for December 31-January 6th. On December 29th my boys and I ended up getting a horrible stomach virus, the second one for us in December!! I was supposed to be packing our family up and getting snacks and groceries for the drive, but instead we were all sleeping on the bathroom floor. It was awful. This is real life people! Sometimes we get sick when we have plans. We prayed, my husband (who was at work the day the boys and I were sick) did all of our grocery shopping, and we went to bed hopeful we could leave the next morning. Of course, Jereme (that’s my husband) ends up catching the virus and is so sick that next morning. We were supposed to leave by 8:00 am, but that wasn’t happening.

Luckily, it was a short-lived virus, so the boys and I really felt fine on our departure day. I packed us up, Jereme slept until around noon, and he pulled it together so we could leave. We had plans to stop in Trinidad, CO for the night, just to break up the drive. We live in North Texas, so it’s about a 13 hour drive to Crested Butte for us. Right before we left, we learned that a major winter storm was coming in with lots of snow expected and travel delays. I couldn’t believe it. We had been going to the mountain every year and never had this bad of luck before. I ended up driving us the entire 9 hour drive to Trinidad while Jereme slept in the back. We made it to our hotel for the night and luckily for us all, the virus had ran it’s course!

So, we got up early the next day, it was New Year’s Eve. And that’s when the winter storm hit! The 4.5 hour drive to our condo ended up taking about 6 hours, but we made it. My nerves were shot ha! We had never seen snow like this so far from the mountain. I think our top speed for several hours was about 25 mph.

We got to Crested Butte in time for the torch light parade and firework show to ring in 2019! Most ski resorts and mountain towns have special events like this during the holiday season. They begin between 5-5:30, it’s already super dark at that time!

We ended up having a really great trip, even though it didn’t start out that way. We spent time with our friends, we did some things on our own as a family, we rested, we relaxed, we snowboarded until everything hurt, we played in the snow, and ultimately made tons of memories!

Here are some tips from personal experience:

If you plan to go skiing/snowboarding over Winter Break, try going on/after New Year’s Eve. It seems pretty crowded between Christmas and NYE, but everyone starts going home after New Year’s Day.
Book your hotel or condo early. We usually book in August. We prefer to stay in a condo so that we can cook and have more room with our two crazy boys and all of the gear we have.
Get waterproof everything, but especially gloves! I cannot stress this enough! Your day WILL be ruined if you have kids and their hands get wet and cold.
Amazon has great deals on ski gear and apparel. You really don’t have to spend too much to be warm or cute!
Prepare your kids early about building snowmen. I thought we would be able to make the best ones ever in Colorado, however, the snow is soft and dry and doesn’t really roll into balls. Ours looks more like a snow blob (picture below), but we still had fun creating it.
Take at least a day off from skiing/boarding to explore the town. CB is so colorful, the locals are so nice, and the food is great!
Germs are gross. Quarantine your family a few days before any trip ha!
Be aware of winter weather and make sure you have food, water & blankets in your car in case of an emergency.
Put your kids in ski school and enjoy a day with your husband or friends. The kids will have a blast and actually learn how to ski. You can have a nice lunch, adult drinks, or even some time at the spa!
Finally, take lots of pictures and make some lasting memories!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this trip! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.