A Colorado Adventure – Part 1

The painters are gone, and now we are trying to put our house back together once again.  The new paint looks fabulous.  The painters did a fantastic job.  We have about 2/3 of the house put back together, along with all the cleaning and de-cluttering that I should have done before getting the house painted.  I just hate having so much on my plate all the time, and so little time to get everything done.  Oh well.  I somehow always manage to get everything done, but often I am literally flying by the seat of my pants, but somehow, everything manages to get done that needs to be done.  That being said, we did take a big break yesterday and went white water rafting down the Colorado River, up in Glenwood Springs, which is about 3-3 1/2 hours Southwest from us.  This was something we had planned long before we scheduled the house painters, and a break like this was definitely needed.

This was a big day, full of fun and adventures, so this will be a series of posts.  Trust me, it will all be well worth it.  I know you’re really going to like it, so grab some popcorn and something cool and refreshing to drink, sit back and enjoy.  🙂

We purchased our white water rafting experience a few months ago, and set our reservations to go for Sat., 7/6.  As I mentioned above, Glenwood Springs is about 3-3 1/2 hours Southwest of us, so it was a full day.  We had a beautiful drive up through the mountains, that believe it or not, still have quite a bit of snow.  In fact, Arapahoe Basin still had skiing up until a few days ago, and finally ended their season on July 4th.  Arapahoe Basin or “A” Basin as it is fondly called, is a very famous, beloved ski area here in Colorado.  The drive up was almost as enjoyable as the rafting experience itself, though two completely different kinds of enjoyment.

We could not resist and just had to stop for a short snowball fight along the way.  Yes, a snowball fight in July, as we are en route to go white water rafting.  Only in Colorado, folks, only in Colorado.

After throwing a few snowballs at each other, we kept driving up through the mountains to get to Glenwood Springs.  We saw so much beautiful scenery.  The drive was just breathtakingly gorgeous.  We stopped in Dillon, and had a picnic lunch at Dillon Lake.  We did not bring lunch with us since our kitchen was still under wrap, so we stopped at Jersey Boys Pizza & Deli to pick up a picnic lunch.

Jersey Boys Deli is a cute and quirky, delicious find nestled up in the mountain town of Dillon.  It has been voted both the best pizza and the best sandwich shop in Summit County, from 2005-2010, as well as the best lunch, best Restaurant, Italian or otherwise, in Dillon in 2008.  WOW!!!!  CONGRATS to Jersey Boys!  With this many wins, you know it’s going to be very good.  Once you step through the doors, you feel as though you have gone back to the East Coast.   The New York skyline lights up the back wall, and pictures of The Sopranos and Frank Sinatra greet you as you walk into the dining area.

Jersey Boys offers a wide range of foods, ranging from hot meals to pizza to sandwiches.  There was a whole pizza that had just come out of the oven when we arrived, and OH MY GOSH!  I have NEVER seen such a big pizza.  Next time you are going through Dillon, stop by and give the Jersey Boys a try.  You’ll be glad you did.  They are located at 149 Tenderfoot Street, Dillon, CO 80435, or you can check out their website at jerseyboyspizza@aol.com to order ahead.  Jersey Boys, “It’s all about the food”.

One of our newscasts has a saying “What is the most Colorado thing you saw today”.  This is most definitely “the most Colorado thing we saw today”.  A sailboat sailing on the lake with the snow capped mountains as a backdrop and beautiful, brightly colored pansies below.  I just love it.

There is beauty to be found everywhere, but there is something really special about the beauty you find in your own backyard.

We also met a cute and adorable new furry friend along the way to our big rafting adventure.  He was an award winning alpaca moving to his new home.

This was our delicious picnic with our gorgeous view of Dillon Lake.  Words and pictures just don’t do it justice.   Larry had a grilled cheesesteak sandwich and I had a tuna sandwich; a perfect picnic on a perfect day.