Travel Diary: Colorado
i guess you can say this is one of those instances where you don’t judge a book by its cover. if you know me personally - you know snow, cold temperatures and a log cabin are the last things i seek when booking a trip. however, from the very start of our trip to getting on the plane home, this trip was one for the books! i wish i could pinpoint why this trip was such a blast, so instead ill just share my favorite parts …
normally i’m such a planner and like to know the plans for a trip before packing up and going. i guess having covid-19 for the first time right before this trip really helped me forget and not stress every detail. one of my friends who booked the trip had it all handled and i was just along for the ride! after securing our rental truck ( which i highly recommend getting ) once we landed, we were off to what we thought would be our house for the week. after three failed checking-in attempts, we were finally handed the keys to our rental and it was the biggest upgrade ever. sure, we booked a decent home when originally planning this trip but after our failed attempts at checking-in we were given this new home for the same price! major steal. a beautiful two story lodge in the center of the ski resort. later we found out our original house booked was no where near the ski resort. almost forgot to mention, we stayed at keystone ski resort.
to be honest, the only thing negative i can say about the trip was the cost of alcohol. however we were so desperate night one for a glass of vino by the fireplace we bought wine from the liquor store on the resort…should have known better. also we didn’t have a personal hot tub at our house but there was a public one. only negative was it was a hike from the house, so we never got a chance to use it. the food options at the resort also weren’t anything special, but i will say … those tater-tots … we’ll be back for those!
funny story … as i mentioned, snowy loctations aren’t my top pick of where to travel to next. so once we booked this trip we all separately booked our skiing/snowboarding reservations. well, let’s just say i shouldn't be allowed to book things without supervision. the morning of our first day on the slopes i come to find out i booked a black diamond member. for those who don’t understand what this means … pro. my first timer ski self was told i’d be on the hardest mountain alone! thankfully a worker mentioned i had the option to go where i wanted. so like anyone with a brain, i went to the amateur mountain with some of my first timer friends. now that was a sight to see!
unfortunately on the last day while staying at the resort a major storm was about to hit colorado and our flight home got canceled. so we assumed there should be zero issue staying another night, because who’s checking in while half the state is practically shut down right? wrong. the resort told us either pay some crazy amount for one extra night or we had just hours to check out. luckily for everyone, my covid brain went out the window and my planner skills kicked into high gear. with two hours to spare i had our new air bnb booked in the heart of denver and it was closer to the airport unlike this resort. so in the end, this little hiccup actually helped us and let us see more of this beautiful state!
to wrap this up, i truthfully think the company you keep is all you need to have a successful trip! good friends, good food and always a good playlist and you’re bound to have a good time! we can’t wait to go back.
Things to Pack:
Long thick socks
A Good Winter Coat & Boots
Something to cover your ears for those strong winds
A thick moisturizer
Belive it or not … Sunscreen or a Moisturizer with a SPF built in for those long days on the mountain
We Recommend:
Booking a Rental Car (the airport was approx. 2 hours away from the resort)
Find a local grocery store
Pack mini alcohol nips for those fun days on the slopes
Buy Oxygen Bottles (prepare for the high altitude levels the minute you land)
Find a home with a washer / dryer (major bonus for any trip)
If you own your own gear bring it! You’ll save so much money rather than using rentals.
