We woke up and got down to the continental breakfast just before they started shutting it down. When that hotel says breakfast ends at 9:00, they MEAN 9:00!
After we ate, we packed up our stuff and checked out. Then, we headed to Steamboat Springs, which is about a 3 hour drive from Denver. It's so cool to be driving (well, riding -- Lacey's been doing all the driving) in such a scenic place. Such very beautiful mountains and hills. I took many pictures along the way. I've got to say that I was very glad that Lacey was driving; some of the areas were very steep. Besides, she knows the area, which always helps. And, she really is an excellent driver.
We stopped for lunch at one of her favorite hamburger places which was a cross between fast food and sit down, because you order at the counter, but then, they bring it to you. Everything is freshly made, so it takes a little longer than regular fast food, which was kind of refreshing. And, they put a ton of lettuce on the burgers, which we convinced ourselves made it a little less bad for us. Their fries were like Rally's/Checkers -- the kind I've been craving for a while but can't seem to get any longer in Michigan.
Once we got to Steamboat, we walked around the ski resort where Lacey used to teach skiing. It's under renovation now before the season starts, but I had a nice time seeing the area, and she was kind of lost in reminiscing about how things used to look and what they're doing now. It was kind of odd being in a nearly deserted area, although we did occasionally see people walking by or riding their bikes. We sat on the empty chair lifts and Lacey pointed out the different ski runs and so forth. It's incredible to me that people actually ski down from such huge, high mountains. Funny how what's exhilarating to some people (like Lacey) is terrifying to others (like me).
We decided that, since we were near the hotel (which Lacey thinks is rustically tacky because it tries to look Western but also looks kind of newly remodeled to look old), we should check in so we wouldn't have to deal with that later. And, being in a mountain town, we have a spectacular view of the mountains, which makes us both very happy.
After we checked in, we went downtown and drove around a little bit. Then, we parked and walked around. Apparently, most of the stores have remained here, but they've moved locations, which seemed a bit disconcerting for Lacey because the stores didn't stay where she'd left them. She also showed me where she'd played hockey and an older ski area where Olympians practice their runs and jumps and so forth. She was hoping that the Alpine slide would be open, but this is the one season that most things seemed to be closed, so we just looked at it. While it looked like a lot of fun, it also seemed like it might be a little heart-stopping for me, so I have mixed feelings about it being closed. On the other hand, it sure would've been another one of those really good experiences for taking me out of my bubble!
We came back to the hotel and made a plan to have an early dinner, but I wasn't really hungry yet. So, we walked downtown for a while longer and browsed in some of the shops. We went to a bookstore (that had moved locations) and spent a long time reading some of the humorous books. Lacey found the good ones: one of a bunch of signs whose messages were not what was intended, and another called "Pat the Husband", which was like "Pat the Bunny" for grown-ups.
We then decided that we should eat, so we went to a Mexican restaurant that was pretty good, although they insisted on putting Jalapeno peppers in everything, which neither of us liked. Fortunately, we were able to pick them out. Then, we headed up to the mountain and Lacey gave me a nighttime tour of the high school she'd attended. It kind of reminded me a bit of Upland Hills, but on a more-developed scale. I was amazed that so many of the buildings were open, and it was fun seeing where Lacey spent her high school years.
We continued up the mountain to the hot springs. It was pitch dark and FILLED with loud college kids. Lacey was a very good wilderness guide, walking ahead of me with the flashlight & making sure I didn't trip along the way. We found the bathrooms to change into our bathing suits and made our way down to the springs. The ground was FREEZING cold when we took off our shoes & we got into the pools of water as fast as we could. It was kind of odd trying to walk around when we couldn't see, but we did find a place to perch -- until we were overrun with more kids and decided to find another place to hang out. Some of the areas were warm, but others were downright hot, to the point where we decided that our best option would be to sit on the stairs so we could get out of the water as needed. While we couldn't actually see anything around us, the night sky was amazing. So many stars blanketed the sky. It's hard to believe it's the same sky that's in the city, as it looked so different and huge.
We stayed there for quite a while, when, all of a sudden, the man that checked us in came and scolded the college kids for the antics he'd warned them against (being too loud & drunk, apparently) and insisted that all the "young folks" get out of the springs. We decided that we were not the young folks (although Lacey's young and I act young) so we stayed put. But after the man made them get out, some of them came back in to "our" side and he started talking to them in a completely different, rational tone. Very odd to see that. It was pretty obvious that he didn't realize that all they'd done was walk up one set of stairs and down the other. After another 10 minutes or so, it seemed like a lot of the kids that had gotten out had merely laid in wait for a while, then got back into the springs because we noticed how quickly the noise levels picked back up again.
Lacey looked at her watch, and we realized it was a lot later than we'd thought it was, so we decided it was time to get out. Good thing, too, because one of the random college kids asked us for the time and then said something about the springs closing at 11:00, and it was already 10:45. We really wanted to be out of there before the kids started driving down the mountain, but, except for one lone car behind us, we really didn't see any other cars. We figure that the kids must've rented the cabins that we tried to get -- or that they just left quickly, because the parking lot that had been nearly completely full when we got there only had a few cars left.
After stopping at the local Kum & Go (kind of the local 7-11) to get some snacks and chatting with the cashier who said he had a relative named Aunt Joanne who lives in Michigan (he didn't know where, but apparently thought "Aunt Joanne" was enough for me to identify her!), we came back to the hotel & collapsed happily into bed.
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Ok give the Kum and Go guy a little credit. He told you that Aunt Joanne lives on a lake in Michigan. That should be enough, right? I get that kind of response all the time when I mention being from Montana. People just don't seem to gather that while there may be only a few of us living in the state, we're all REALLY far apart from each other!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wild adventure Steamboat ended up being. I love your descriptions of it all. Though you'll have to come back to "The Boat" in the winter time. It's not nearly so deserted then! :)
Even though it felt to me like we didn't do much that day, after reading this I realize that we managed to squish in quite a bit. We covered all the major sites, while still leaving time for me to get lost and wander aimlessly.
I'm a bit sad that you didn't get to see the hot springs in the daytime. I'm sure you were able to get an idea of it from what we could make out in the dark, but it really is beautiful when you can see it. All the stone pools are really nice, and it's a great layout. Of course it's funny for me to be saying that because I remember being very sad when they re-did it. I don't actually remember how it used to look, but I know when I first saw the stone pools I was very sad at how commercial-looking they'd made it. It used to just look like you were showing up to a little hot springs that just happened to be there....not a big place someone had built. Of course it didn't look all that commercial as we were trying to find our way in the pitch blackness!
When you come back in the winter time to go skiing, maybe we'll go back in the daylight and experience walking barefoot through the snow. That's always lots of fun. :)