Iron Sky Tour 2012, II

18.05.: Denver to Buena Vista

Accommodation: Best Western Plus Vista Inn.
Food: Mother's Bistro; Eddyline Restaurant & Brewery; The Asian Palate

We took off early in the morning towards Great Sand Dunes National Park and stopped for a quick look at The Red Rocks Amphitheater. Wow! I would so love to see a live concert there! By the time we had walked to the top a local Muay Thai Gym was just getting ready for a training session - if I lived there I'd do that all the time. So many steps - ouch!


 I challenged them all to single combat and beat them up. We then continued sout-west on Hwy 285, a very nice drive. By the time we had joined Hwy 24, we were both hungry, so we did a short detour and stopped at Buena Vista. Well, suffice to say, we liked the setting so much that we decided to stay for two days and hike around in the Collegiate Peaks. Nice. High. Snow. Unfortunately, there was a major bike race on Saturday, so most accommodation was already booked out, but luckily the Best Western had exactly one room left - all we needed.

I can really recommend "Mother's Bistro" - good coffee, good food, and a very nice map on the wall:
I cannot really recommend the Eddyline Restaurant/Brewery though - not exactly bad food, but not that great either. They certainly know how to generate a lot of hype, do good marketing, but the kitchen can't walk the walk. But still okayish for a quick lunch, I guess.

We also drove up to Cottonwood Pass - but it was too cold to hike up there, still too early in the year. But amazing views and very thin air. :-) Right on the Continental Divide the road suddenly turns from paved to dirt since the county on the Western side never bothered to pave their part ... . Still, nothing like NZ roads - these dirt roads are all in excellent condition, nothing near as challenging as the Coromandel 309 for example *g*.





Collegiate Peaks at sunset from Buena Vista Lookout:

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