Although I consider myself an avid traveller, I have never been out west. With the majority of my extended family living in the East, my travelling within the United States has strung to Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and New York. It has always been more difficult to travel out west. Fortunately, my older brother Jeremy moved to Steamboat Spring, Colorado roughly 7 years ago to attend college, and has been living out there ever since.
This past winter break, I was fortunate enough to visit Jeremy with my sister. After a connecting flight from Allentown to Atlanta we flew into Hayden Airport, the small 4-gate airport of Steamboat Springs. In our descent, the Colorado Mountains were coming into view. We took a shuttle from the airport to the Steamboat Ski Resort where my brother works as an Adaptive Ski and Snowboard Instructor with STARS. With some time off from work, we walked around the resort and ate at a café at the bottom of the mountain. Later on, we walked through the main street and checked out the local shops and bars. We tried on some cowboy hats, played some ski-ball, and drank delicious ciders.
We got up early the next morning and watched the sunrise over the Sleeping Giant while eating out breakfast. The next 6 hours was filled with skiing! This was absolutely the biggest mountain I have ever skied on, with several levels of slopes and many chair lifts, including a gondola lift! On the way up the mountain, I couldn’t help but look behind to see the beautiful view of our surroundings, including the resort itself and the surrounding mountains. My brother kept saying to me “Just wait, this isn’t even the best view!” I couldn’t believe it. How could it get any better?
But it did. When our legs were fatigued, we took a chair lift up to a restaurant café near the top of the mountain. After we ordered our food and drinks, we sprawled out on the lounge chairs outside and took in the outstanding view while enjoying our meal. On our last run of the day, we took our time going down the mountain to take in the last view of Steamboat Springs. Later on, Jeremy took us to see some hot springs and waterfalls.
Overall, my first trip to Colorado was amazing. I don’t think you’ll find any fresher air. The weather was perfect and the mountains were breath-taking. It was everything you imagine Colorado to be. I will be sure to visit again in the future.