Some trip observations. 4th of July at Lake Mcconaughy: Lake Mcconaughy is one of the largest man made lakes in a 5 hour radius that allows jet ski’s which apparently my dad has to be able to do. Mainly my parents go to either Pueblo reservoir or Lake M and I choose the Lake M trips to go on because Pueblo is deathly hot and a total desert with sharp rocks and cacti, not to mention the reservoir is small and so crowded that the water reeks of gasoline and you can even see it as it swirls around on the water’s surface. Lake M is nice. It is a big reservoir and surrounding it is huge cottonwood trees and soft green grass. Also in previous years there were a few miles of sandy beaches however this year the water was so high there was not only no sand but water covered several miles of trees. Pretty creepy to go swimming or jet skiing because you had to maneuver through clusters of trees and I just imagined getting the jet skiing suck in a branch or having a branch touch my foot or leg and totally freaking me out, thinking it’s a creepy crawly. Anyway the trees and the crazy thunderstorms added a little creepiness and adventure.
Next- Estes Park, which normally is awesome, totally dropped the ball this past weekend and as I have found out is a bit bloated during the summer. Staying at the motel 8 cost like 120 bucks, yeah that’s ridiculous. We wanted to stay at a cabin, which only costs about 60 bucks more, and they are all booked and I’m not joking every single one for every weekend until September! I see Estes Park as our (our as in Colorado’s) little quaint getaway. I didn’t think it was like a Vail or Aspen with a boat-load of tourists. Anyway the whole thing was extremely annoying and I think Coloradians should get first dibs on places like Estes Park. Anyway Estes Park was being mean and apparently over booked with tourists so I didn’t want to go there anyway, in which we went to Breckenridge.
Last- Breckenridge has awesome prices in the summer. We stayed at the Skier’s Edge 5.3 miles outside of Breckenridge. We got a room with a queen size bed, couch and kitchen with cabin decoration for less than 100 dollars a night. So pretty much an awesome suite for less than the motel 8 in Estes Park. In addition to our room there was a pool, hot tub, pool table, deck with two grills and two large fireplaces. The place was like deserted and had kind of a retro feel. Daniel and I both thought it felt like The Shining- a big deserted hotel 5 miles away from town, I huddled very close to Daniel at nighttime. Adding to the terror no one was around when we checked in or out and we rarely saw anyone on the grounds, however, at night, like from 11 pm on, you could hear people stomping around and like running up and down the stairs- weird.
Breckenridge, the town, was fun. We discovered the gondola is free in the summer, there is a giant Peak 8 slide you can pay 15 bucks to go on, Breckenridge trails are for bikers, not hikers, ummm… mostly it is fun to walk all around town and lounge by the river. All the Breckenridge homes, cottages, bed and breakfasts are to adorable and painted awesome colors, however my favorite was the one that looked like a little farm house (brought me home to MN and shut up Daniel I call MN my home if I want to!).
Also all the Breck/ ski / snowboard clothes are on sale in the summer, so brought some hoodies and wore them around in the awesome 60-70 degree weather. I decided 60’s is a favorite temperature and I contemplated moving to Breck solely for it’s never gets higher than 80’s and 90’s weather. In comparison to Estes Park, Breckenridge was better in deals, same in shops and food, not nearly as good in hiking trails, but extra entertainment with summer-ski-trail-transformed activities.
Pictures:
1. Lake M
2. Estes Park
3., 4., 5., 6., 7. Breckenridge
