Steamboat
Springs

I won’t even try to talk about how long it has been. Instead I will say there have been an awful lot of changes in my life recently and not any time to talk about them, let alone come to grips with them. I won’t get in to that, because I’ve missed this place and have wanted to come back to it, I just wasn’t sure how. But instead of worrying about an awkwardly long silence and how to come back from it, I’ll move forward as if everything is normal. Let’s talk about Steamboat Springs, shall we?

Just a couple weeks ago, I took a mini road trip through the mountains and over more dirt road than I care to remember. Steep grades and cliffs without guard rails can make for the worst leg cramps a girl has ever known. “Stop tensing up” was a much repeated mantra for the entire 3 hours. But I’ve got some amazingly beautiful pictures from an amazingly beautiful place to share with you, and I got to spend time with my friend. Worth it? I’d say so.

Steamboat Springs is a small town located in the valley just over Rabbit Ears pass in Colorado. The weather that day looked depressing, and it was snowing off and on during the entire drive. But when you turn that last corner through the pass and start heading down into the valley, everything seems greener, brighter, happier.

My friend’s roommate is a bit of a photography geek, and I was all too happy to look through her collection while I waited for my friend to get off of work.

Then it was time for dinner and an evening walk.

It always surprises me how different one town can be from the next. Steamboat is a town I always imagined as tiny and stuck in some kind of retro time warp. In some ways, I was right. But in many ways, I see city life trickling in to this mountain village, drop by drop.

The storefronts are mostly what you would expect of a town like this. The lighting, the antiques set outside, it’s all very cozy and warm. There is a gas station in the center of main street that I walked past countless times. There is a sense of comfort here, and although it feels odd to say it about a gas station, it felt like a friendly beacon at the center of an unfamiliar place.

The little streams surrounding Steamboat are nothing short of peaceful. It felt like no matter where I went, I could always hear the water. This is a town that looks and sounds wonderful from every angle.

There are unique shops and little restaurants everywhere here.

One thing I am so lucky to have is friends that are just as happy as I am to wander aimlessly. Also to lend me their sweater when I’m dumb enough not to bring one with me! I could walk forever in places like this, where every small detail stands out.

Certain places make you feel right at home from the second you enter them. Steamboat Springs definitely does this for me, and it does it very well.

We stayed up until 2 watching old Disney movies and reminiscing. The next morning we were back to reality, when we woke up with the sun to eat breakfast together before she went back to work. After she left, I took a walk down to the stream behind her house. As I watched the fog lifting off the water in the heat of early morning, I couldn’t help but think about how fleeting important moments can be. The more you want to hold on to them, the quicker they go.

So even though I’d planned to walk back to the car and go home, I found myself driving to the resort where my friend works. Wanting even another 10 minutes to enjoy with her before we both went back to our “normal” lives.

Then it was time for the trip back, back up the pass and through the clouds. Even though we were both exhausted, there was a clear sense of feeling refreshed all at the same time.