Denver Anniversary Getaway: Day 3

 February 15:  A Day At The Gaylord Resort

After the long day yesterday, today's plan was to spend the day leisurely enjoying the Gaylord Resort and all it's amenities and winterfest activities.  We began the day by getting out morning coffee (or in my case peppermint mocha) and sat outside by the open fire pit and admired the mountains.

As we went back inside the resort I took some photos of the amazing lower lobby....

 

AMAZING....the back-side of water :)

A quick change of clothes and we hopped into the adults-only hot tub (not that there were any children out and about).  You can't see it in the photos but there was steam rising off the water - low 40's at the time we were in the water.

Our "farewell dinner" was at the Vista Montagne, an Italian restaurant and the Chicken Parmesan was great!  Sat on the "porch" overlooking the caboose on the train tracks. 

The final activity after we'd changed into warmer clothes was to take in the "Winterfest" and especially the Light Display.  We had considered doing some of the activities but in the opted to just enjoy for one final time the chill in the air and the beautiful sights.

As we left Winterfest we stopped for a final photo-op on a ski-lift amidst the Christmas trees.  What a great getaway it's been!

Denver Anniversary Getaway: Day 2 (Part 2)

 February 14:  Excursion, continued

We left the sledding area and continued along through the park, stopping from time to time for photo ops of the sensational mountains and the surrounding areas.....

Probably the "coolest" stop of the day - although they were all sensational - was when we arrived at Glacier Lake which was nearly 100% frozen over.  Will directed us to a path around the lake, and then he came bounding across over the ice and encouraged us to join him.  Once we were in the middle of the frozen lake he took photos of us from a 180 degree perspective to get all the backgrounds.  The best of which was the "hanging glacier" in the mountains.  Unfortunately because of global warming, scientists recently discovered that the glacier was now only a giant snow field.  Still, amazing to gaze at!

We continued on and again stopped from time to time to admire the majestic mountains; finally came upon some deer just before we left the park to head for Estes Park.

 

We reached the quaint, small town of Estes Park and the first item on the agenda was to grab some lunch.  I asked Will, "If this were the ONE and ONLY time we were to visit here, what's the ONE best restaurant for lunch?"  He named a few but said if he had to pick it would be Claire's and the dish he'd highly recommend was wild game meatloaf.  All seven of us sat around a big table and had lunch, Kim and I splitting the meatloaf meal.  DEEEEEE-licious!

The final stop was the Stanley Hotel.  Here was where Steven King stayed in the midst of a white-out blizzard and came up with the idea for the movie "The Shining."  The hotel complex was built in 1881 and it's said to be THE most haunted hotel in North America!

We concluded our day with a great dinner at the Gaylord Resorts' Old Hickory Steakhouse.  We were up at 6 am in order to catch our Uber and as we closed the door after dinner it was about 9 pm.  Caught up on the latest episode of "Celebrity Big Brother" and quickly fell asleep!

Denver Anniversary Getaway: Day 2 (Part 1)

 February 14:  Happy Valentines Day!

To celebrate both our anniversary & Valentines Day Kim and I booked an all day excursion to Rocky Mountain State Park & Estes Park.  We took an Uber from the hotel to downtown Denver where we were to meet our guide and fellow guests for the day's adventure.

There were only six of us going and let me say that the day with our amazing guide Will and the three other couples (Julie & Dustin and Sarah & Andy) could not have been more fun.  The seven of us got along like we'd known each other for years and had the most fabulous time.  It took about 45 minutes to go from Denver, through Boulder - home of the University of Colorado - to reach Rocky Mountain National Park.

Our first stop was the Aulluvial Falls.  Treked through the snow, very cool and saw the nearly completely frozen waterfalls.  Then further along the hike some spectacular scenery of the Rocky Mountains.

Piled back into the van and drove along the snow-covered roads to reach the Many Parks Overlook.

The next stop was a sledding hill.  Our guide Will had brought along sleds and we zipped down the slope in what was the coldest weather of the day.

Continue on to Part 2 of today's adventure.....

Denver Anniversary Getaway: Day 1

 February 13:  Arrival in Denver

This afternoon Kim and I left Fort Lauderdale International Airport on a direct flight to Denver and arrived there around 7 pm.  We were on this trip for several reasons......first, to celebrate our recent 35th Wedding Anniversary!  Second, we wanted to travel to someplace, anyplace since our retirement travel plans have been so disrupted with the pandemic situation; and third, we wanted to "escape" the So Fla warmth for some legitimate cold, snow, and mountain vistas.

Once we'd checked into our Mountain View room when we opened the door to room 10303 we were greeted by anniversary balloons, three gigantic cookies, and the sweetest note from several members of the staff of the Gaylord Rockies Resort.

While we couldn't see it that evening, the next morning we truly were appreciative of our room view!  Off to a great start!