Wednesday on our first full day in Aspen, we took the gondola up to the top of the mountain. It's a long trip up. Like twenty minutes. But man the views... They're stellar. And again, we were on top of a mountain! We took a guided nature tour (that I think was designed for 8 year olds) and then hiked around the top on our own. Since it's part of the wilderness area you can basically hike (or mountain bike or atv) wherever! There was even a trail that you could take to Crested Butte, but that might have taken a looong while. Also, hiking on mountains is hard when you're used to living close to sea level. We were huffing and puffing all over the place. Our lungs just aren't used to that altitude!
Having my Maria von Trapp moment. The hills were alive, y'all. Also, ya dig my soccer mom outfit? I was just trying to fit in with all the Aspenites.
Seriously. That is just ridiculous. Way to go Rockies. You are fabulous.
After walking all over the mountains, we headed down to the town to explore a little. I don't know if you've ever been to Aspen, but the place is FANCY. Like super affluent. For fun we looked at real estate listings and you're lucky to find anything under a million. And that's the very low end. We'll be real here for a second, it's a bunch of obscenely rich ass yuppies. Downtown is basically a mall. There's a Prada, a Chanel, a Louis Vuitton, and they're building a Dolce and Gabbana. Among a gazillion other shops, restaurants, and fancy places I'll never step foot into. But it is very pretty and if I was a millionaire, I'd live there.
And holy cow is Aspen bike/pedestrian friendly. The whole city, and really the surrounding area, is connected by trails. You can bike from one mountain town to another. Tons and tons of hike/bike trails. And TONS of cyclists. There is an insane cycling community in Aspen and I guess Colorado. We saw people biking up the interstate! I mean, we've got lots of cyclists in Austin, but nothing compared to these guys. And they are killing it up these mountain roads. I could barely breathe up there (and although we planned on it, running was out of the question), so mad props to those folks! I mean, with an area so beautiful, why not get outside as much as possible!
Next up, more hiking! And more mountains! Surprise!
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