First Road Trip to the Mountains of Colorado

I'm an eastcoast kid from Tennessee, so when I wanted to see the mountains I just drove a couple hours away to the Smokies. Seldom did  people drive nearly 20 hours to the Rockies unless they were hardcore snowboarders. After moving to the Ozarks I realized I was a heck of a lot closer to Colorado and took an opportunity this winter to make a trip there for the first time.

I left in the early afternoon and drove through the Flint Hills on highway 70 in Kansas, which gave us surprisingly pleasant views... then it got dreadfully boring after that. I pulled over to Colby, Kansas to get a little rest, woke up to negative 5 degrees and realized the power steering fluid exploded all over the engine at some point in the night. That was Day 1.

After dealing with that madness we made it to the cabin in Estes Park, 1000's of feet higher than any place I've ever been to. My nose literally bled from that point until 2 weeks after I returned home. The picturesque views was still totally worth the cold and elevation adjustments. We drove through Rocky Mountain National Park and pulled over about 100 times to see the views and snap a few photographs. I attempted to brave the frigged temperatures on a few hiking trails in the park as well.

Below are some of the best photos I took on the trip. More can be seen on our Instagram.

© All photos are protected under copyright law.
"Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign from Kansas to Colorado.

Coffee and Bison Burger at the famous Sam's No. 3 Diner in downtown Denver.

View of Jeep about to enter Estes Park, Colorado.

View from the cabin's deck overlooking the Rocky Mountains.

View of the cabin fireplace area from the loft.

Great views from the cabin.

Sign entering Rocky Mountain National Park.

The Rocky Mountains within the National Park.

Trails in the Rocky Mountain National Park.

The Rocky Mountains within the National Park.


By: Dave Darr