After my first road trip in my old car back in June, I knew I wanted to take another before winter.  I had been wanting to see a friend of mine in Cheyenne, Wyoming for a very long time, and we finally managed to set up a visit!  A two-night weekend was what I thought would be better than a rushed drive there and back.  I didn't want to be driving for six hours a day, so I broke it up and only drove a few hours a day.  It didn't take long to get to Cheyenne from Colorado Springs, and before I knew it, we were there!  I took a friend of mine with me in case my car gave me problems, but thankfully and mercifully, it didn't!

I drove north on Hwy 83 to bypass the hectic Interstate 25 through Denver which gives me the creeps!  Once we were north of Colorado Springs, the traffic eased off and I could enjoy the calmer roads.  At Parker I headed east/north on E-470, the toll road that goes near Denver International Airport.  I was happy to pay the toll to avoid chaotic traffic and getting stressed out.  We drove past little towns like Peckham, Gilcrest, La Salle, Greeley (not so small), Eaton and Nunn before crossing the state line into Wyoming.  It was rather strange to see lots of little oil pumps in the fields just west of the highway!
           

Cheyenne is flat and sprawling and pretty easy to navigate.  In no time I found where my friend and I agreed to meet and we went to lunch at the Depot Plaza while my co-pilot went for a walk around the city.  Lunch was a catch-up gabfest which included my pizza and Tamra's sliders and fries.  We spent a few hours eating, laughing and reminiscing, and I am so happy that we finally made it!
       

After our goodbyes, Hugh and I drove through town and took some photos.  It was Saturday afternoon and barely a moving car in sight.  It was a pleasure driving around snapping photos and enjoying the quiet.  I hadn't planned on sightseeing per se so I didn't see the touristy things, just what I could see from the street or if I hopped out of the car and walked a block or two.  After a quick stop at a Goodwill, we headed west to our hotel for the night, the Little America Hotel and Resort on the outskirts of town, and in a prime position to go west on I-80 in the morning. 
   

We went west on Lincolnway to the outskirts of town and on the right we saw the hotel.  The layout was amazing, and after checking in and unpacking, we went for a walk around the little golf course.  There are lots of "apartment" blocks as part of the sprawling hotel complex, each with its own parking lot.  I particularly loved the main building where the reception and gift shops are.  The decor is beautiful and typically western but not overly so.  I loved the few chess sets on tables that begged a sit-down-and-play!  We did!  There is a restaurant and large sitting area and a coffee shop.  I had brought along a coolbag with some food items so that we could make our own supper, and also a bag of snacks and drinks.  Not being able to really afford road trips anymore, I could do it if I didn't have to eat out, and if I could save enough for a hotel here and there.  Naturally, hotel rates drop after summer and so the rates were not too bad.

We left Cheyenne the next morning after coffee and were immediately impressed by the exquisite road conditions!  We got onto the Lincoln Highway (I-80) which looked like a newly paved road, and had probably the most comfortable drive of the entire trip.  There weren't a lot of cars on the interstate but certainly a huge amount of 18-wheelers.  We went from flat land to slightly hilly landscape and we saw a ton of windmills scattered around, like windmill farms.  We made a quick stop at the Lincoln Memorial before heading towards Laramie.
           

We filled up with gas upon reaching Laramie (the first gas station was the cheapest we'd seen but I can't remember the name of it) and then drove through the town to have a quick look and to stretch our legs for a moment.  Laramie is a university/college town so there were lovely houses used for students but I couldn't get a good photo.  We got a bit lost trying to find our way back on track, but with a bit of ingenuity and a wi-fi signal, we found Hwy 230 and off we went towards Walden, CO, where the highway changes to CO 127/125.  We were immediately struck by the bad Colorado roads!  Having just driven on beautiful Wyoming roads, it was a sad sight to see.  This was another peaceful drive as there were very few cars on the road.  There were lots of farms and the Rockies were in the distant, snowcapped too.

We drove through the little town of Walden and started the ascent of the Rabbit Ears Pass on Hwy 14 to Steamboat Springs.  We enjoyed the change of scenery as there were lots of trees close to the road.  The Fall leaves had already fallen from the plentiful aspen trees so we missed the best of the leaves.  Still, this drive is beautiful and the pass wasn't very challenging, thankfully.

While descending Rabbit Ears Pass outside Steamboat Springs, my car's brakes were shuddering, so we stopped and admired the lovely lake below while my brakes cooled down.  There were loads of aspen trees but sadly no yellow colors.  After my car calmed down, and I shifted into a lower gear, we were off again and looking forward to a picnic lunch in Steamboat Springs.  What a pretty place but not my favorite ski resort.  I don't ski but have been to a few ski areas for comparison.  Steamboat is quite a large town and there are lots of lovely shops to browse.  There is also the Yampa River you can walk alongside (or cycle) and we found the Black Sulphur Spring, which for the uninitated, is extremely potent and awfully smelly.  No, it's vile!  We had a little lunch in a small park before taking a long walk through the center of town.  I was very happy to see lots of art murals on various walls, something I always look forward to seeing.  I felt like a milkshake and McDonald's was on our way out, so guess what?  We had one!  This area had some yellow leaves so we weren't totally deprived.
   

Leaving Steamboat Springs, we travelled south on Hwy 14 towards Kremmling, where I initially thought we could stay, but after reading some reviews that weren't very complimentary, I decided to look elsewhere.  I settled on Grand Lake, which turned out to be a very pleasant drive in the end.  And I was grateful as we had to backtrack to go south on Hwy 9.  Thankfully the weather was glorious and the roads not really busy, so it was a pleasure driving along this stretch of the trip.  We went through a very narrow gorge with the river alongside and a train track just above the water.  I had done this trip along the Colorado River many times on Amtrak, so it was really interesting to see it from a different perspective.

Before long we were at the Granby junction and we turned left and headed north on Hwy 34 to our second overnight stop, in Grand Lake.  This stretch of road was very pretty and the huge lakes are spectacular.  I had been to Grand Lake briefly (just a drive through back in September 2011!) so I was looking forward to spending the night and seeing more of this delightful place.  We checked into our lovely hotel, the Gateway Inn, on the second floor as requested (we had a nice view but not of the lake sadly), then went for a drive around town before dark.  There were huge trees adorned with twinkling Christmas lights and stores decorated with Halloween paraphernalia, which was quite the juxtaposition.  The streets were devoid of cars which was wonderful.  The lake looked stunning this late in the afternoon, and very calm.  We took our time driving along Grand Avenue looking at the pretty shops and quaint little buildings, also noticing the vast number of houses built into the hillside.

When driving into town after checking in, we spotted a handmade sign that said Free Gumbo.  Anything free and Hugh wants to stop and look, but we didn't, however we did on the way back to the hotel.  This time they had added another sign that said Free Beer.  Neither of us wanted a beer but I thought a taste of gumbo might be fun.  We were outside Kirk's Flyshop where Matt and Molly were hosting an impromptu "welcome to Grand Lake".  A few of their friends were already there and they welcomed us with open arms.  The gumbo was delicious but was above my ouch-point for hot and spicy foods!  Hugh dived in and finished his while I went inside the store and looked around.  What a lovely shop, stocked to the gills (pardon the pun) with fishing gear.  After my mouth cooled down, we went back to the hotel and unpacked and looked around.  We still had some food left over which we enjoyed a bit later for supper.  The beds were comfortable and again, the room wasn't noisy at all even though we were near the highway.  The hotel is pretty and has all you need, including a friendly host. 
   

The next morning we went back into town and went up a side street and along a road that overlooked the town and the lake.  The views were amazing.  We carried on a bit further and saw a sign for Adams Falls.  We started on the little hike and eventually found the falls, which weren't much more than a dribble, but the surroundings were quite pretty.  Our stay in Grand Lake ended with a quick drive to the lake shore for some early morning photos before we departed on the final leg of the trip.
I would highly recommend a stop or a stay in this adorable place.  It's on the south-western border of the Rocky Mountain National Park.  People are friendly and welcoming and there are any number of hotels, restaurants, pubs and coffee shops, and if you like quiet, then this is one place you should consider, especially in the off-seasons.  I think it gets a bit crowded in the summer with all the boating and fishing, but that might be your bag too.
   

Next on the agenda was a bit of backtracking (not my favorite thing) south on Hwy 34 to the Granby junction, and west on Hwy 14 back to Kremmling.  This time I made a point of stopping along the river to take some photos of the Colorado River with the giant rock faces and the train tracks.  Before we knew it we were back in Kremmling and I took a right turn to find a good spot to take some photos of the beautiful cliffs.  We found a nice spot, snapped a few and headed south on Hwy 9 towards Interstate 70 for a short section west and then left into Frisco.
   

Between Kremmling and Silverthorne, along Hwy 9, we came across the Blue River and Green Mountain Reservoir which was seriously low.  There wasn't anywhere to pull over and take photos, so I did what I could, very carefully, and found a small spot to park my car.  Both Hugh and I crossed the road and sidled up along the safe side of the guardrail to get the best photo we could!  This is Hugh's photo.

We made a quick stop at the Safeway in Frisco (the first store we saw) as I needed a pit stop.  We bought some gingerbeer and some fruit tarts as a treat for lunch.  It was a quick drive to Breckenridge where we found free parking in a parking lot, had a makeshift picnic in the car, and then walked down the main street.  We discovered that there were free buses to a ski lift up the mountain, so that's what we did.  The last time I was in Breckenridge, my friend and I took a gondola ride which was fun, but no free rides this time.  Hugh loved seeing his old ski haunt again and marvelled at how much it had changed over the years.  We took some photos and looked around and took the next bus downtown which dropped us off right at our parking lot!
   

It was time to start the last leg of this trip, but not before my car was challenged yet again with another mountain pass.  This time it was Hoosier Pass, crossing the Continental Divide at 11,539 feet (3,517m).  It was beautiful and not too taxing on my car.  The sun was still high in the sky, and the long and quiet drive along Hwy 9 through Alma and Fairplay to the junction of Hwy 24 seemed to take forever.  But it wasn't too long before we were on the home stretch and heading for the end of this lovely two-night, three-day weekend.

ALTITUDES: Cheyenne 6,086 feet (1,855m) - Laramie 7,165 feet (2,183m)
- Walden 8,098 feet (2,486m) - Steamboat Springs 6,867 feet (2,093m)
- Kremmling 7,399 feet (2,255m) - Granby 7,993 feet (2,436m)
- Grand Lake 8,439 (2,572m) - Breckenridge 9,600 feet (2,926m)

Where to next?

Always take a warm jacket when going up in altitude, no matter the time of year!  We took lots of water and juice as the altitude can affect you, and it's a good idea to stay hydrated.

Photos from this trip.   Route   Accommodations   Top of Page