travel tuesday: romantic glenwood springs staycation

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Glenwood Springs staycation

There’s nothing like an opportunity to dress to the nines to spark a romantic staycation! The Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association‘s Annual Gala was last weekend, and my client Hotel Colorado won Business of the Year. Plenty of reasons to celebrate, so I booked a room for an early Valentine’s Day night out with my Valentine.

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travel tuesday: wine + winter = winner

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Barrel Cave at Colterris Winery in Palisade, Colorado

The first getaway of 2023 is a wrap! Just like in 2022, it was to Palisade, Colorado. This up-and-coming wine region is less than an hour from our house and it’s quickly becoming a favorite destination. It’s a straight shot on I70, no passes to worry about. I’m ready to go back now!

Our original plan included multiple stops to sample the local food and drink, but we had to whittle that down when they moved the KC Chiefs game to Saturday. It ended up being very relaxing, which was nice after the busy holiday season at our store.

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travel tuesday: do go chasing waterfalls

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Shoshone Falls has been on my radar since 2017, when we were in the area and didn’t have time to stop. I made sure to include it in our itinerary for our Montana road trip this summer, which I’ll write more about soon.

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travel tuesday: keystone wine and jazz

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The Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival is quickly becoming one of our favorite new traditions. There are the Colorado Rocky Mountains, cooler temps, beautiful flowers, hiking trails and lots of yummy food. Oh, and wine and jazz. We took the kids in 2019, it was cancelled in 2020, Scott and I went last year, and this year we brought our daughter and son-in-law along to celebrate their upcoming birthdays. Fun was had by all.

Family fun at the 2022 Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival. You can tell I’m ready with my food pass lanyard, wine glass necklace, wine shirt and a bottle of water in my pocket!
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travel thursday: take the back roads

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I’ve missed a couple of travel Tuesday posts, but I’m back this week…two days late. Such is the life of a short-staffed retail business owner who also has a public relations business. As usual, the Fourth of July holiday weekend was crazy at our store, which is a blessing and also exhausting.

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travel tuesday: our favorite colorado state park

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It’s okay to play favorites when it comes to travel destinations. We love exploring new areas, which we hope to do soon, but also enjoy going back to a place with more than 20 years of good memories. So heading to Ridgway State Park for a weekend getaway was a much-needed respite from our crazy work schedules.

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travel tuesday: hanging out at rifle mountain park

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Did you know that Rifle Mountain Park offers some of the best limestone climbing in the world? You do now! It’s a quick drive from our house, so we took the Jeep there when we had some free time over the weekend.

On the way to the park, you’ll pass Rifle Gap State Park, which boasts a 350-acre reservoir that’s popular for fishing, paddle boarding and boating. Plus, the Gap is where artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Valley Curtain was briefly hung in 1972. Past that, it’s a beautiful drive up to Rifle Falls State Park, which features beautiful caves and a breathtaking, cascading triple waterfall. Next up, the Rifle Falls Fish Hatchery that’s linked to the park via hiking trails.

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travel tuesday: sippin’ wine in palisade

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If you’re starting to think we like Palisade, you are correct. This was our second mini-staycation there this year. We attended the Sip into Spring Wine Fest for the first time, and it was fabulous. The location, the wine, the weather, the food, the hotel…all fabulous!

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travel tuesday: 5 months, 6 states, 7 getaways

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map of 2022 tales from the empty nest travels

We are crushing my goal of at least one getaway each month in 2022! So far, we have visited six states on seven getaways. Here’s a quick recap.

RELATED: Vacation planning for 2022

January: We kicked the year off with a mini-staycation in Palisade and Grand Junction that included visits to a brewery and winery and some incredible food. Soon after, a Colorado road trip took us to Denver for the RV Show and on to Colorado Springs for a relaxing weekend with our best friends.

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travel tuesday: drink local beer!

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Boulevard Brewing Co.

We stopped by Boulevard Brewing Co. while we were in Kansas City, Missouri, visiting family last week. Though we’ve been drinking Boulevard Beer for years, and even carry it in our store, we’d never actually been there. Start in the Tours and Recreation Center, but be sure to schedule a tour beforehand if that’s on your agenda. It’s located on Southwest Boulevard, hence the name.

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