A Glenwood Springs Weekend…

This past weekend, we visited Glenwood Springs for the first time. It is a small town in western Colorado, possessing a rich mining history, with lore of famous outlaws and gunslingers. We had planned a cross-country ski trip here over this recent winter, but ended up going somewhere else that had more snow. This spring, however, presented the perfect opportunity for some sight seeing as well as a bike trip on the Rio Grande Trail, which I (Stella) was very excited about.

On Saturday, we visited two museums. Our first stop was the Doc Holliday Museum, located on the lower level of Bullock’s Western Store in the heart of town. We spent quite a bit of time looking at the artifacts on display, many of which had been acquired by private collectors who then donated them to the museum. Our second stop was the Glenwood Springs Frontier Museum, located inside of a house that had been donated to the historical society. This museum features photos of notable people from the area’s history as well as relics from the western culture of long past. 

After visiting the museums, we made the half-mile trek “up” to Linwood Cemetery. A gravesite for Doc Holliday had been constructed in the Linwood Cemetery in his honor, although the exact location of his resting place is truly unknown. However, it is hypothesized that Doc Holliday’s actual remains are likely in Potter’s Field given that he was poor at the time of his death. The history of the Linwood Cemetery and Potter’s Field is a bit unsettling to us. And the disparity in wealth is clearly evident, by those who had massive gravestones versus others, who’s memory were simply marked with a numbered stake in the ground or just a small rock. Quite sad.

On Sunday, our plan had been to bike 30 miles on the Rio Grande Trail. It is a 42-mile paved path extending from Glenwood Springs to Aspen. The trail runs along the Roaring Fork River, although you only see the river on occasion, as the trail also runs along portions of the city roads and highway. On another note, it had been a bit difficult determining where to park. The parking area closest to the trailhead was a bit sketchy looking, so we decided to park the Tahoe in the parking lot at Veltus Park and ride on the sidewalk to get to the trailhead.

The trail is very well maintained and is fairly level, with areas of only gradual/slight incline. There are long stretches with just sagebrush on each side of the trail, which we suspect would be prime location for rattlesnakes in the summer… keep your dogs close and on the trail. We spotted one trail-maintained restroom that was around the 7-mile marker, which we happened upon just a few minutes after Larry relieved himself in the bushes. Who knew? 🙂

When we had started out, there was a slight breeze with the sun peeking through the clouds; it was perfect. Once we had reached Carbondale, however, the temperature had dropped ten degrees and the wind had picked up something fierce! Larry looked at his phone and saw the potential for rain, so we decided to turn around and head back to Glenwood Springs. The ride back had been torturous for my little legs, trying to combat the wind blasting toward me. I pushed those pedals with all of my might, yet it seemed as though I was barely moving. 

We biked just shy of 25 miles in two hours and forty five minutes, which was a great trial run for Larry’s new bike. It would have been less time had the wind not been so blustery. I was disappointed that we did not make it to the 30-mile point, but I can be at ease knowing that we have bike trips coming up in the near future. Next weekend, we are off to Gunnison for hiking, biking and kayaking. And then in two weeks, we are in Moab where our legs and new bikes will really be put to the test! Both of which will be new adventures for us.