Colorful Colorado

I made it!

And so I finally made it to the last state on the road trip Colorado! I crossed the boarder after an evening drive from Sante Fe, so I got to see the sun set on the Rockies for my first sight of this impressive mountain range. And no, that picture on the Coors can doesn't quite do it justice.

The Rockies

It kinda felt like I was driving into Mordor

The car and all the toys made it to Colorado!

I had heard that Salida was another cool ski town on the way to Breckenridge so I swung by to check it out. When I arrived, there was neon signs and fast food chains all over the place. It was only then that I realized I really didn't know anything about Breckenridge. Had I made a huge mistake moving to a place for the winter that I knew nothing about?

I was soon to find out that Breckenridge was not Salida, it's a seriously cool down. And so, 4,265 miles and 15 states later I arrived at my home for the winter, Breckenridge Colorado.

Breckenridge! This winter I will mostly be found on the slopes in the background.

I was hoping to stay with some friends of mine Dustin and Anna who had moved out here from Boston. They were out of town for the week but still let me crash at their apartment, right in the middle of the town - thanks guys!

I got to spend a few days in the town getting my stuff ready for the trip to Central America and just hanging out in and exploring the area. The town (and from what I hear, the entire state) is an outdoor enthusiasts dream. Everywhere you look there are hiking trails, mountain biking trails, and everyone I met was into some kind of outdoor activity.

Breckenridge is full of locally owned cafe's and places to eat and even at the start of October, probably one of the quietest times of the year, the nightlife was still decent. I'm looking forward to enjoying the apres-ski here in a few months time.

Just five minutes (at most) bike ride from the middle of the town were some great forest trails, and all the mountains surrounding the town were covered with downhill and cross country mountain biking trails.

One of the many mountain biking trails in the area.

And obviously being surrounded by those mountains there's some amazing hiking to be done as well

Admiring the view

One of the great things of arriving in Breckenridge when I did was that the fall colors were out. I admit it, I may have done a bit of leaf peeping.

I was really impressed with Breckenridge, and can't wait to spend the winter here. It's going to look pretty different in a few weeks once the snow arrives and I'm hoping that like last year, they get another epic year of snowfall. Bring on the powder!

After a fun few days in 'Breck', I jumped on a bus for a quick stopover in Denver before setting off on the next leg of the journey - three months backpacking around Central America...