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Colorado Vacation Destinations - Not Quite So Crowded, But Still Cool


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Posted (edited)
29 minutes ago, Damor said:

Maybe we need a thread about sending your kid to college in Colorado.

Seems like all of the schools up there (my older son goes to Western in Gunnison) are great about trying to get kids involved in getting outside, with organized trips and cheap equipment rental for camping, winter sports, hiking and climbing, etc.  Some important advice we got for our older one is that it's vital they get out in the winter and do something -- those who hunker down in their dorms and play video games are the most prone to noping out and leaving.  Probably true of students in general these days, but those not used to winter cold need to be actively aware of it.
 

My youngest is going to Ft Lewis in Durango in the fall. He grew up in CO and wanted a smaller school (knocking out DU/CU/CSU) that had a lot of outdoor options.  And he didn't want to be too close to us (Winter Park) that knocked out a few more.  But the outdoor programs these schools offer are amazing.  Free equipment rentals to go camping or backpacking.  Free season pass to Purgatory for freshmen students (they used to also have a free shuttle every weekend but apparently that got cut recently). Free bike and ski tuning equipment to use. He's going a week early for a rafting trip with other students.

And the faculty they can attract because they are in the mountains is impressive.

Kids that don't take advantage are nuts.

Edited by Chewbacca
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Posted
2 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

This is why I saw I'm from Austin, and not Texas. They hate me a little less.

Just don't be like my MIL, who is visiting us right now.  Every fucking store we go in, she feels the need to tell everyone she talks to that she's from Texas.  We can't figure out why she does that.

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Posted
8 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Just don't be like my MIL, who is visiting us right now.  Every fucking store we go in, she feels the need to tell everyone she talks to that she's from Texas.  We can't figure out why she does that.

Funny enough, a conversation I had with a couple from Denver said this very thing. They said a lot of people they meet who are from Texas will without asking tell them they are from Texas. They said it's like talking to vegans. Within the first 2 mins of talking to vegans, vegans will tell you that they are vegans.

Just tell her that everyone she tells that to now hates her, and by association you. 😁

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Posted
1 minute ago, crash_davis said:

Funny enough, a conversation I had with a couple from Denver said this very thing. They said a lot of people they meet who are from Texas will without asking tell them they are from Texas. They said it's like talking to vegans. Within the first 2 mins of talking to vegans, vegans will tell you that they are vegans.

Just tell her that everyone she tells that to now hates her, and by association you. 😁

My wife will get a laugh out of that.  She did tell her mom that telling people she's from Texas is not doing her any favors.

Posted

@Chewbacca that's awesome, my nephew is starting there this fall as well.  Good point about the rafting trip for @mdleast or anyone else wanting to start their kid off right -- my older one's "orientation" was a 3-day float trip on the Green.  Don't miss out on those opportunities to jump-start things.

And yeah, my younger one learned pretty quickly to say he was from "around Austin" (OK, it's within an hour) on his tours.

College talk not going away.

Posted

@Damor how does your kid like Western?  Tried to get my son to visit there but he had already visited Ft Lewis and had decided that was the place for him.

Gunnison is a cool town and they have great fishing right there.

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Posted

He loves it, though it has its trade-offs of outdoor experiences vs usual college stuff.  He'd spent so much time there growing up that it already felt like home.  Doing their 5 year outdoor industry MBA.   I think my younger son would love to go there as well, but "Wasted State" probably isn't the choice over the front range schools for pre-med.

And it's a great excuse to go visit up there.  I'm more of a summer mountains guy than winter sports, and yeah, the fishing and river stuff is fantastic.

In the spirit of the thread, if anyone wants suggestions on some good places to stay in Gunni or Salida, feel free to PM.  I'd rather not put them on blast, since I'd still like to be able to book them...

Posted
Just now, Damor said:

He loves it, though it has its trade-offs of outdoor experiences vs usual college stuff.  He'd spent so much time there growing up that it already felt like home.  Doing their 5 year outdoor industry MBA.   I think my younger son would love to go there as well, but "Wasted State" probably isn't the choice over the front range schools for pre-med.

And it's a great excuse to go visit up there.  I'm more of a summer mountains guy than winter sports, and yeah, the fishing and river stuff is fantastic.

In the spirit of the thread, if anyone wants suggestions on some good places to stay in Gunni or Salida, feel free to PM.  I'd rather not put them on blast, since I'd still like to be able to book them...

I spent probably 6 months there right out of college, auditing a company that owned a ton of RV 'resorts' all over the western US.  It's too bad the Steaming Bean is gone.  Is Garlic Mike's still around?  That used to be the best restaurant in town.  Lots of dinners at Mario's and drinks on Thursdays at Timbers.

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Posted (edited)

I'm embarrassed to say we've never eaten at Garlic Mikes although we usually stay right near there.  Nothing against it and I understand it's still great, but we are usually grubby and while it's not fine dining, we're usually in the mood for something other than sit-down Italian.

We make the rounds at:
High Alpine:  gotten super expensive but great pizza and outstanding brews, the Kolsch is probably the best I've had outside of Koln.
The Dive:  Next to and owned by the Marios folks.  Super cool open air seating in the summer, the duck poutine is whaaarrrrgarrbl.
Power Stop:  greasy ass burgers and breakfast burritos in a kick ass gas station
Backcountry Cafe:  great breakfast, San Juan Benedict with chorizo and green chile FTW
W Cafe: another great breakfast spot
Sherpa Cafe:  Also in Salida and CB, Nepalese immigrants who make great stuff
Secret Stash:  Legendary pizza in CB
"Himalayan Food": Hidden at the back of the Eldo in CB, amazing stuff, also immigrants who barely speak English.

Dammit, why am I sitting here in the heat and humidity?  So many poor life choices...

 

Edited by Damor
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Posted
1 hour ago, Chewbacca said:

Just don't be like my MIL, who is visiting us right now.  Every fucking store we go in, she feels the need to tell everyone she talks to that she's from Texas.  We can't figure out why she does that.

I tell people I’m from Southeast of Colorado 

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Posted

My kid also looked at Fort Lewis. He had an invite to walk onto the cross country team but he went a different direction.  I loved it there and tried my best to get him there but he wanted the bigger school/watch your team play on Saturdays experience.  Fort Lewis made me want to go Rodney Dangerfield and enroll. 

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Posted
2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Just don't be like my MIL, who is visiting us right now.  Every fucking store we go in, she feels the need to tell everyone she talks to that she's from Texas.  We can't figure out why she does that.

my texan grandmother always said, "never ask anyone where they're from, if they're from texas they'll tell you, and if they're not you don't want to embarass them." 

every time i go to colorado i take every single piece of texas clothing i own, because fuck you i'm from texas.

Posted
1 minute ago, stc said:

my texan grandmother always said, "never ask anyone where they're from, if they're from texas they'll tell you, and if they're not you don't want to embarass them." 

every time i go to colorado i take every single piece of texas clothing i own, because fuck you i'm from texas.

As long as you don't act like an entitled prick, I've got no issue with you.  If you're the type to start telling locals how they should kiss your ass because without your money we wouldn't be able to live here, maybe visit Utah next time.

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Posted

i've never had any problems with the locals. i think it's less about not liking texans and more about not liking dumbasses...and there are lots of dumbasses from texas. 

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Posted

Talked to a guy in Salida a few years back who said he regretted talking shit about Texans once the Californians came in.  Said at least when we bought stuff up we'd at least come up and make use of it.

That said, just don't be a dick wherever you go, respect/appreciate the locals, and leave things as good or better than you found them.  

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Posted
32 minutes ago, stc said:

i've never had any problems with the locals. i think it's less about not liking texans and more about not liking dumbasses...and there are lots of dumbasses from texas. 

The vast majority of visitors are great.  That small % of douchebags is really bad.

Posted

Boulder blows Ft. Collins out of the water in terms of college experience. Move to Fort Collins later on if you want to be there so bad. 

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Posted
1 hour ago, MrX said:

Boulder blows Ft. Collins out of the water in terms of college experience. Move to Fort Collins later on if you want to be there so bad. 

Ft. Collins is cool, but it's just too far away from everything for my taste.  Getting to skiing from there is an ordeal.

Posted
2 hours ago, Damor said:

Talked to a guy in Salida a few years back who said he regretted talking shit about Texans once the Californians came in.  Said at least when we bought stuff up we'd at least come up and make use of it.

The hate for Californians is so dumb. 

 

2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

As long as you don't act like an entitled prick, I've got no issue with you.  If you're the type to start telling locals how they should kiss your ass because without your money we wouldn't be able to live here, maybe visit Montana next time.

fixed it for our favorite deacon who likes to watch rats fuck

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Posted
On 7/4/2025 at 4:04 PM, Nigel Tufnel said:

Would love to hear thoughts and suggestions.  

Going up end of July early August for a week.  Thinking Crested Butte, Beaver Creek, RMNP (Estes Park/Grand Lake) or a combination of two of these.  Family of 4, son 19, about to go back for fall camp (football) and daughter, 18, about to go to UT.  

We will do light/moderate hiking, son and I will fish.  Otherwise, we want a great place to hang when not doing those things.  Read through the thread and it has been helpful and much appreciated.

See you in CB! I'll be there visiting my wife's sister with the family for a few days the end of July. I've only ever been in the summer to see her family, and now we've got a 3 year-old and 9 month-old, so our hikes are somewhat limited, but it's a gorgeous place.

And to hop on the thread derail, my wife is from Colorado Springs. She doesn't have the fondest memories growing up there, but her older brother and his longtime gf are due with their first child at the end of the year. I am not attempting to dissuade her from moving back to CO sometime in the next few years. I could be outside for hours every day, especially out there.

Doesn't hurt that in addition to her sister's place in CB, their family has 100 acres and a cabin they're fixing up just a bit north of Waunita Hot Springs. I get to check out that property for the first time on this trip too. Coming back to Round Rock afterward is going to sting.

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Posted
47 minutes ago, hookem2010 said:

And to hop on the thread derail, my wife is from Colorado Springs

I’d be happy to move over by the Broadmoor and the houses are way bigger than what the same money buys in Austin.  What didn’t she like about it?

 

Posted

Well, this thread is now completely off the rails.

@hookem2010, my grandparents had what we'd now call an "off grid" cabin at about 10,800ft outside of Pitkin where I spent my summers growing up.  Hold to that place if y'all can, wish we still had ours.

If you get a chance to head a little north, the Quartz Creek valley is beautiful.  If you don't get objections to driving over Cumberland Pass to Tin Cup, the aforementioned Frenchy's has a stocked pond where your 3yo would probably enjoy feeding the fish, and Mirror Lake is gorgeous.  Or you can do a quick informal tour of the hatchery in Pitkin, good for a kid of that age.

Don't do the Alpine Tunnel unless you like a terrifying drive which leads to nothing worth seeing.

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Posted (edited)

Dammit, I'm sorry guys. I just got excited being up in the mountains this week and showing it to my kid for the first time. Bit of passing the torch as my father did that for me when I was 12. He took me on a trip to Denver where he was consulting. Took me to Boulder and then up into the Rocky Mountains. Probably why I love mountains to this day. 

Edited by mdmost
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Posted
10 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

I’d be happy to move over by the Broadmoor and the houses are way bigger than what the same money buys in Austin.  What didn’t she like about it?

 

I think a lot of the crowd she grew up with turned into kind of deadbeats, and she felt she was going to be stuck if she stayed. She was also one of the few non-whites at her school, which was not easy as a kid. Going back as an adult, she definitely appreciates it more.

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