West Elk Scenic Byway | Tales From the Empty Nest

One of the best things about living where we do (near Glenwood Springs, Colorado), and one of the reasons we’ve chosen to live here twice, is its proximity to so many wonderful places. Within three hours we can be in Denver, Breckenridge, Rocky Mountain National Park, Moab, Ouray and Ridgway, Steamboat Springs, Grand Junction…you get the idea. That makes it easy to get away for a week or just a weekend without traveling too far.

Sometimes, though, we can’t get away for a whole weekend (one of the downsides of owning a retail store) but still need to leave the house and yard work. It will always be here when we get back. I keep hoping that won’t be the case, but time and again it’s still here.

Our cozy cabin in Lake City, Colorado.

I love small towns, and Lake City, Colorado, is one of my favorites. We spent many happy Fourth of July holidays there camping, riding dirt bikes, watching the parade and the fireworks with the kids. Although the full-time population is just 400, it’s a very popular place during the summer. Campsites became harder to find and our visits dwindled. I hadn’t been back in six years, so we decided it was the perfect destination for our first overnight motorcycle trip.

Waterfall near Redstone, Colorado.

Packing light is not one of my skills, but I was able to squeeze one night’s worth of my stuff into the travel bag that sits on the back of my bike. Actually, there was a little room to spare, and another small bag that fits on the top that I didn’t need, so longer trips are definitely an option. Continue reading