CLIMBING MOUNTAINS SIDE BY SIDE
GET OUT TO Historic, scenic interior Colorado.
GEAR UP FOR Exploring ghost towns, surviving a terrifying highway, leaf-peeping, off-roading, narrow-gauge railroading.
PERFECT FOR Adventurous couples testing their togetherness, solo adrenaline junkies manifesting their mettle, anyone seeking intimate knowledge of “the other” Colorado.
As a native Coloradoan with gypsy leanings, I’ve always wanted business cards that read Professional Coloradoan for the simple reason that wandering this state is the one thing at which I excel. But love begs expansion, adventures always await, and one should remain a humble learner. Case in point: Had I ever made time for a narrow-gauge railroad trip? No. Had I ever gone off-roading? No. Had I driven one of the most dangerous roads in America? No. And most absurdly, had I ever seen a mermaid-fish skeleton? No, I had not.
I set off on this new-activities-only adventure at the most perfect time, knowing, as we all do, that timing dictates the glory of any trip. Aspens roared with color and the tourists did not—those bound by school schedules, at least, were sweetly silent. September was a good time to explore the most interior reaches of my state, where I discovered the steep limits of vertigo, renewed clarity about what I most love about Colorado, and that Ripley’s
