Summer is Here!
I don’t know about all of you, but I would say summer is off to a pretty good start. We have had an eventful past couple of weekends out here in Colorado. With Memorial Day just a few weekends ago and the weather finally being warm enough to camp, it’s been a good time.
Lookout Mountain at sunset.
My parents came out to Colorado from Kansas for Memorial Day weekend, and we did all the things. On Friday we headed up to Lookout Mountain in Golden for sunset, and I highly recommend. Watching the sunset behind the mountains is so beautiful. The golden hour up there was unreal. You are also able to see all of Golden and Denver as well. It’s crazy how on one side of Lookout Mountain you are staring at majestic peaks and valleys and on the other side it’s so flat it feels like you can see all the way to Kansas.
Above tree line heading toward the summit of Twin Sisters.
On Saturday we headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park. We didn’t have a timed entry to get in, so we had to think of a hike to do that wasn’t in the Bear Lake area. For Bear Lake you have to have a timed entry for any time between 5 am and 6pm. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t really wanting to get up at 3 am to drive the hour and a half to Estes and start hiking before 5 am. For the rest of the park you just have to be in before 9 am, which felt a lot more attainable. We ended up hiking Twin Sisters, and for my first bigger hike of the year, it was a real doozy. I had forgotten how much elevation you actually gain in such a short period of time, but man was it worth it. The views of Long’s Peak and the rest of the park were so beautiful. The weather was perfect, and there weren’t really any clouds in the sky. All around it was a great day. We ended our time in the mountains by grabbing some coffee at Coffee on the Rocks. If you have never been here, I would definitely check it out. They have a little pond that is home to several ducks, and they have food for them that you can purchase. A fun activity for the little ones or the bigger ones (my dad was having lots of fun with them). It is also right along the Big Thompson River and has tons of seating.
At the summit of Twin Sisters looking out at Long’s Peak.
My dad feeding the ducks by the Big Thompson River.
Finally, on Sunday, we headed to Idaho Springs for a gold mine tour. This is something that we have never done as a family, and it was such a fun experience. We went to the Phoenix Gold Mine, which they are trying to get back up and running as a functioning gold mine. We learned all about the history and got to see a huge gold vein that they are going to mine in the future when it is open. After the tour, they showed us how to pan for gold, and we were able to actually go into the little creek on site and pan. Such a cool experience. Trenton and my dad actually found a couple of flakes of gold! They said you are able to keep whatever you find, but we didn’t find enough worth keeping, unfortunately.
The blue line is the gold vein they are going to use to reopen the mine.
Panning for gold in the nearby creek.
After my parents left, Trenton and I were itching to go camping. We decided we would find a place to go the next weekend. Trenton got a recommendation to head to Buffalo Creek, so that is where we ended up. It’s only about an hour drive from Lakewood, and a beautiful one at that. The area is so neat and peaceful. There are several dispersed camping sites (34 I believe), but you have to get there pretty early to snag one. We unfortunately did not make it in time to get one of them, but luckily there are a couple paid campgrounds further down the road. We stayed at the Buffalo Creek Campground, and while it was pretty packed, it was still very peaceful. There are tons of trees around to hang up a hammock and just chill. Also, fires are allowed in the fire pits on site, which is huge plus. There are also so many trails near the campground for hiking, trail running, and biking. Several miles down the road there is a lake with a campground as well. There you can fish, paddle board, kayak, etc. Highly recommend this area for your next little weekend getaway camping trip. A great place to relax and have fun.
Hammocking at our campsite.
Walking on one of the nearby trails.
The beautiful Buffalo Creek.
We hope our weekend trips give you some ideas or inspiration for your next escape from the city life. Any questions or comments are more than welcome in the comments below or our Instagram DMs.
-The Mings