Wandering with the Wildflowers

Our visit to Seven Falls and Weekend Trip to Crested Butte and Breckenridge

Seven Falls

We ended the month of June by visiting Seven Falls in Colorado Springs. Tyler had been with his family before but it was my first time. The weather outlook for the entire state was rainy so we opted to do something close by. We have learned that the summer storms in Colorado can move in quickly - we always pack raincoats with us just in case.

Seven Falls is a collection of, you guessed it, seven waterfalls in the mountains. There are staircases that take you to the top of the falls where you can hike and see amazing views of the beautiful red rocks. Tyler carried Lucy up the 224 steps and was asked by a few women along the way to carry them up as well ;)

The skies were cloudy when we reached the top of the trail but we were lucky enough to enjoy the sun peaking through as we made our way back down. Seven Falls is definitely a fun attraction when in Colorado Springs!

Crested Butte

Back in May when we were creating our Colorado bucket-list, I knew that I didn't want to leave Colorado without visiting Crested Butte. I had heard that it was the "Wildflower Capitol of Colorado" and the pictures reminded me of scenes out of the Sound of Music. We found out that the peak wildflower season was in July, so we planned our trip to western Colorado for the first weekend in July. We headed out Friday after work and stayed the night in Gunnison, Colorado. Lucy had her first hotel stay which she enjoyed! The drive from Canyon City to Salida was stunning. The drive winds through the mountains and follows the Arkansas river - each turn was more beautiful than the next! We hope to return to Canyon City and ride the Royal Gorge Route Railroad that begins there and follows the river to Parkdale, Colorado.

The next morning we made the quick drive from Gunnison to Crested Butte and began hiking Snodgrass Mountain at a bright and early 7:30AM to beat the crowds. We enjoyed an absolutely beautiful and quiet morning on the trails. The wildflowers were amazing - so many varieties and all different colors. The flora on the mountains and in the valleys was so lush and green. It was my idea of heaven.

After Snodgrass Mountain we went to the Crested Butte Upper and Lower Loops to continue hiking. We were finishing a trail when we got stuck in a rainstorm - we were proud of ourselves for having our raincoats and water-proof hiking boots ready-to-go! We felt like this was our initiation into becoming real hikers - Lucy, however, was not as thrilled at the initiation process (maybe Tyler will be more agreeable the next time I try to buy her a raincoat!).

After 12 miles total of hiking and weathering a rainstorm, we drove to Mount Crested Butte's ski resort and enjoyed a much earned coffee and ice cream break. That evening we drove 3 hours to Silverthorne, Colorado and stayed the evening there. We woke up early Sunday morning and got in a short hike at Dillion Reservoir (we quickly realized how sore we were from Saturday), went to a scenic overlook at Dillion Reservoir, and then drove to Breckenridge to explore.

Tyler has skied at Breckenridge before but this was my first time seeing the well known ski town. We enjoyed lunch at a local park and then rode the gondola up to the ski resort base - in true Lucy fashion, she sat on our laps during the ride so she could get a better view.

After the Gondola ride, we walked around downtown and enjoyed a coffee. We headed back home right before an afternoon storm rolled in.

This weekend trip was one of our absolute favorites! We loved seeing the different topography of Colorado and we hope to make it back west very soon. If you are planning a trip to Colorado in the summer, seeing the wildflowers is an absolute bucket-list item!

Thank you for following along!

Love,

The Wandering Wrights

#Colorado #TravelSLP #traveltherapy #travelcouple