Seatbelts, Everyone!

Y’all. I know I don’t have to say this. And I know I shouldn’t even feel this way. But I am so, so sorry I’ve gotten so behind on this blog! One of the big reasons I love social media-ing to the level that I do is that it allows me to share my trips with others who may be able to use the information. I know it’s not a huge deal, but it takes a lot of work putting together travel plans sometimes and my hope is that my blog can help with that! Even if it’s just one person who gets an idea or has an easier time planning because of what I write, the time I spend writing this is well worth it!

Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system-time to get back on track! I have a lot of catch up ahead of me, but a lot of you had asked about our bus adventure....so without further ado, here it is.

You only turn six once. So might as well make that birthday as epic as possible. Or at least as epic as you can manage during a global pandemic with restricted travel 😂. If B had his way, we’d have celebrated in Europe, but clearly that wasn’t in the cards this year so we stayed in Colorado and explored locally.

Our drive time was long, which is why we stopped to stretch our legs at Georgetown Lake. The lake is located conveniently off I-70 and has bathrooms onsite and a gas station nearby. I didn’t want to stop anywhere for long, but this area makes for the perfect stop to take a quick snack break, when needed. With us, its always needed 😂.

Hike 1

I like to give B options when we go hiking and let him choose this time between wildflowers or waterfalls. He wisely chose waterfalls (not that there was a wrong answer here 😂), so onto Rifle Falls we went!

Rifle Falls State Park is a relatively small park and there is an $9 entry fee if you don’t have a state parks pass. The park also has COVID-19 protocols in place right now with very limited parking, so it may be wise to have a backup plan in place, just in case.

This is a VERY family friendly park as the falls are stroller accessible and there is (reservable) camping within the parks boundaries. Dogs are allowed although, we did not bring the ladies along on this trip.

The falls are quite literally a hop, skip and a jump from the parking lot- but we came to hike! So hike we did. The Coyote and Squirrel Loop Trail is 1.7 miles with tons to enjoy along the way. We went counterclockwise which immediately gives you access to a cave for a unique aspect of the falls.

After climbing a bit more, you get to view the falls from the top. There are some outlook areas and if you don’t have a fear of heights- highly suggest hanging out...over? You know what I mean 🙂.

We then passed a small pond area and head down towards more caves.

Despite a snake scare on our way up, we had a really great time- but after our drive and time spent in the sun, we were beyond ready to cool down with some hot springs time!

The Hot Springs

After a day romping around Rifle, we were SO ready to get our swim on! One of our favorite places to visit when we’re in the area is the Glenwood Hot Springs. Per their website, this is apparently the largest hot springs pool in the world!

It features several pools of different temperatures and even has an awesome kids area with three slides and a splash pad. So you can probably guess where we spent a vast majority of our time 😋.

Reservations are not required, but the pool is BUSY so expect to wait in line if you’re coming on a weekend. It’s also worth noting that lockers are not currently available due to our good friend COVID, so make sure to secure your valuables prior to arriving.

We visited before the Grizzly Creek Fire began. According to their website, the pool is open, but please make sure to research the impact of the fires prior to visiting if you’re heading that way soon!

We ended up leaving Glenwood much later than I’d anticipated due a stop for some nomz at the Pullman in downtown Glenwood. We were starving so I’m really glad we stopped! But, I’m not going to lie, I was a little disappointed because I really, really wanted to get the full experience of our AirBnB stay. But, there’s always next time and it just gives us a good excuse to come back 😋.

The Stay

So, admission, I spend a really embarrassing amount of time on the hunt for unique stays these days. I’m the kind of girl that has absolutely no problem sleeping in my car or a tent, so if I’m paying to stay somewhere I want it to be an actual experience at an affordable price.

I’ve been asked how I find the places I stay at and I wish I had a better answer for you guys- but I hunt randomly online and on AirBnB, Outdoorsy, HipCamp, and Instagram. Sometimes I’m lucky and it doesn’t take too long to find what I’m looking for, but typically finding a unique and affordable place takes a fair amount of work on my part.

Let’s just say that I was beyond thrilled to stumble upon Sage View Ranch in Paonia while on my AirBnB grind this round. The ranch has not one, but two buses for rent at an extremely affordable price. It also has housing, tent camping, and spaces for car camping available if that’s more your jam. For more information about the ranch, head on over to https://sageviewranch.com 🌈!

When we arrived it was well past 10 and the directions to get to the bus were wonderful. The parking spot had a light which made locating it easy and the spot was directly next to the bus.

When B woke up and saw the bus, he was absolutely thrilled. And, ok, I might have been as excited as he was 😂. The bus’s original door still works and he had a blast playing bus driver while I unloaded the car.

The bus itself was super roomy and decorated in a way that made the stay feel like you were in your own little hippie dippie bus world. It was super hot outside when we went, but the bus does have a wood stove and appeared to be partially insulated- I can only imagine the level of cozy this would be during the fall and winter!

There were outlets in the bus along with a desk, pullout bed, and lamps. Seriously, when I say homey AF, I mean homey AF, y’all. We were both pretty exhausted after the days events and fell asleep soon after a little stargazing time.

In the morning we found out why the bus we stayed in is called The Bus with a View! The back door opens up and you are greeted with an amazing view of the mountains. Had we arrived earlier, we 💯 would have taken advantage of the fire pit near the bus (complete with a bus seat!). Again, one of the 500 reasons I need to do less in a day 😂.

We did get to take a bit of the ranch in before leaving and it was too cute. Even the bathroom was on point and we were greeted by a cute little cat on our way out. I wish we had gotten to spend the full weekend here, there was even a winery next door! But, Aspen was a-calling our names, so off we went!

Hike 2

After a comfy night spent in bus heaven, it was time to head to the iconic Maroon Bells in Aspen!

If you live in Colorado and haven’t been to Maroon Bells- take this as your sign to go! Shoot, even if you don’t live here this place should be on your travel bucket list.

The area itself does have a permit system in place, so make sure to reserve a spot in their parking lot or on the shuttle well before you go. The parking spots were all booked up when we went, so we took the shuttle, which costs $12 a seat and is reservable at https://aspenchamber.org/plan-trip/trip-highlights/maroon-bells/reservations.

Keep in mind that in addition to the shuttle expense you’ll also have to pay for parking at the Aspen Highlands Ski Area Lot unless you have someone drop you off at the shuttle.

Please note: this shuttle is SERIOUS business, y’all. They have a 10 minute cutoff window, and if your reservation is for 1 and you arrive at 12:55, you are NOT getting on that bus (we saw it happen 😬). Thankfully, we arrived on time for once and loaded up for our trek, easy peasy.

The bus does have spaced seating due to COVID and requires masks on the shuttle. We felt perfectly comfortable, and even had some heckin’ good girls and boys on our ride 🐶.

When you’re timing your trip to Maroon Bells, make sure to consider that the shuttle ride takes about 20 minutes to get to the trailhead. The last shuttle leaves at 5:00 PM and if you aren’t on that shuttle you have a long, long walk ahead. Like I said, this shuttle was serious business!

We hiked to Crater Lake which we do every year because yes we are 💯 that family now 😂. The hike is 3.8 miles and is described as moderate, which I would say is absolutely fair. Tons of other families and kids on the hike, but with the new system I could tell it was substantially less crowded than last year. The trek starts with insane views of the bells and you should likely take into account the time your going to be snapping photos there, too.

I will admit, my timing on this was awful as I did not account for the bus ride time. We spent about 30 minutes at Crater Lake and I really would’ve loved to spend at least an hour there, so definitely plan accordingly! I don’t like to gamble with time when hiking with a kiddo, so we left with plenty of time to get back to the trailhead by 4:30. We got back in plenty of time and we’re shuttled on back to our car.

We had a long drive home ahead of us and stopped at the continental divide on Independence Pass on our way. Total tourist spot, but well worth the stop.

And there you have it! B’s little birthday adventure weekend 💚. If you have any questions about this trip, feel free to reach out! And if you end up booking any of the stays or trips I recommend, it is also beyond helpful if you’re able to let the renter know where you found the information 🙂. I’m very much looking forward to sharing more of our trips and hikes here shortly, so stay tuned. And until next time, happy hiking 🏔✌🏼❤️.