We planned our trip so that we would have a few days at Matthew's to get acclimated to Colorado's higher elevations before heading out on our own sightseeing jaunt . We enjoyed using the local light rail system to get ourselves from the airport to Golden, where we picked up our rental car to then drove on to Matthew's. Fall comes early to Colorado, so we were present for the changing colors of the aspen trees.

"Go West, young man" [also applies to old people] ! It was the better part of a day's Westward drive to get from Matthew's to Grand Mesa, where where we staying at the Powerhorn Resort as our base. Of course, we made a number of scenic stops along the way, as well as an unplanned Octoberfest lunch stop at a brewery in Glenwood Springs.

From Powerhorn we took a "day trip" into Utah to see Arches National Park. It had been many years since we had last visited. After a stop at the Visitor Center, we drove to a scenic picnic location near Balanced Rock. After lunch, we spent the afternoon exploring several areas and hiking to see Landscape Arch. We wished we could have stayed longer. Leaving the park, we raced the sunset to get to Fisher Towers along scenic route #128. We arrived just as the sun was setting, and witnessed a fantastic sunset.

Unfortunately, after the sunset, we were still 120 miles from our bed. The journey included miles of dark windy road [not very scenic at night], one killed rabbit, and one almost hit deer, before arriving back at Powderhorn.

Our next "day trip" involved travelling over the top of Grand Mesa on our way to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Our travel planning did not alert us to the fact that we would be driving through peach country, but once we realized it, we loaded up and enjoyed some of the best tasting peaches we've had in a long time.

We arrived at Gunnison for a late picnic lunch and then an afternoon of driving to various vantage points to view the Canyon. Given the long drive back, we opted for an early Mexican dinner in nearby Montrose after leaving the park.

On the day we departed Powderhorn, we did some mild 'off roading' First it was 12 miles of dusty gravel road to the Lands End Observatory, then 18 miles of twists, turns, and gravel on Lands End Road to get us back to US route 50 and civilization. We headed back east, targeting the town of Avon as our evening resting place. Along the way, we stoped for lunch at a picnic spot near the Colorado River. If we had $1 for every time we crossed the Colorado River on this trip, we'd be rich. Before calling it a day in Avon, we took a slight diversion to Rifle Falls State Park. It was quite scenic and gave us an opportunity to stretch our legs after hours of driving.

After a night in Avon, we took a walk around the town and then continued a few miles further east to the town of Vail. We walked around the town, then took a trail along Gore Creek to the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the gardens. We walked back to Vail for lunch, a little window shopping, and then headed back to Matthew's.

Back at Matthew's, we were happy to just basically 'do nothing' for a day and enjoy Matthew's home cooking. We did some local sightseeing, which included among other things a walk thru nearby historic Central City, a ride on the Georgetown Loop railroad, a Sunday afternoon 'art walk' in Denver, real off roading in Matthew's Jeep, and a trip to Summit Lake, near the top of Mt. Evans. We know that there will still be plenty to explore on our next visit.