West of Manitou Springs on Rte 24 you could visit the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

the zoo in Co Springs is a good one, even for adults, with great views from there and the nearby Will Rogers shrine. Red Rock Canyon is a stunning.

I would by-pass Manitou Springs for any of these

In Golden with kids I would substitute Co Railway Museum and/or Buffalo Bill museum for a brewery tour.

Woody Creek Vodka is in Basalt and highly regarded. I'm sure you can buy vodka elsewhere, but the distillery would enrich the visit and possibly the vidka. I suppose I'll have to see how Saturday from Grand Lake to Glenwood Springs travels.

Tabernash2, You are the voice of Aspen. I like it.

Gretchen, gondola. Superb idea. I contacted more gondolas than I care to admit at the beginning of my planning and all but Telluride were closed. I'll have to revisit Aspen gondola.

Vttraveler, the Buffalo Bill museum sounds new and different.

Is there an area of Aspen to pick up Maroon Bell bus?

When we drive Vail to Winter Park, going that back way, it takes about 2.5 hrs.

The back way is pretty. Beware of road construction. They'll probably be done by then. And watch for deer on the road.

So I'm guessing about the same time, for Grand Lake to Vail: 2.5 hrs.

From Vail to Glenwood Springs, I'm guessing 2 hrs.

So a total of 4.5 hours driving, in good weather conditions, plus stops. That's a conservative guess.

I hadn't heard of the vodka in Basalt. Let us know if you get there.

I don't know about the gondolas or chair lifts running in October in Aspen. Check Snowmass, too.

Vail to Glenwood springs is about an hour or a touch less.

Fmpden is probably right.

Yes, on the hour--and don't forget to stop at the exhibit for the highway just before Glenwood Springs.

I always estimate more drive time than others. We like to take our time when driving through gorgeous country.

From many, many trips it is exactly 100 miles from Snowmass Village to center of Vail. From Aspen add another ten miles. So it is roughly 50 miles from Vail to Gwood Springs. With the exception of the last 20 miles in the canyon the speed limit is 70. The canyon is 50, 55. So that does slow down a bit.

Aspen gondolas closed. Guess we'll rely on glenwood park high-up-travel-thingy.

Gretchen, great - putting highway exhibit back . Thanks!

Tab, thanks for high route confidence to gs.

Fmp, I wonder if Google maps knows about speed limits.

I am sure Goggle does. May not know about temporary speed limits. As I stated earlier I would assume all gondolas are closed. It is the middle of getting ready for the ski season. Snow guns are out and running if cold enough, high pressure water and air lines are everywhere. Nobody wants a tourist wondering through those areas. The exception might be the two gondolas that services the two mountain restaurants at Keystone. But I would assume that the restaurants are not open so the gondolas would not be running. Oct is the transition month from summer to winter for the resorts.

I just finished the CNN series High Profits, which is a documentary on the dispensaries mainly in Breck. The end of the series focused on a young couple who had a medical dispensary on Main St in Breck for six years and last year the city council forced them to move to Airport Rd, where the rest of the dispensaries are. I'm disappointed in the city of Breck and the $25,000 campaign that went toward banning this business from Main St. So I ask, what do residence think about legalization and the new businesses that pop up? Do most cities clump these type of businesses into one area of town? Thanks

I just wonder why you care? It could well be that the town is protecting its image as a wholesome family friendly venue for its Main Street.
I believe it is still a federal offense.

I suspect Gretchen is correct about the reason. In Fort Collins the few dispensaries are scattered about town. None are directly on the main downtown area where most tourists would go. Boulder has some right on the Pearl Street Mall area, but others scattered about as well.

It must depend on city council rulings where the shops can go in each town.

If this issue wasn't in the news then I wouldn't even be aware that anything had changed over the last couple of years. It's kind of fun to see edible pot recipes in The Denver Post, however.

Never thought I'd live to see this. Now that it's legal in a state where I live the irony is I don't enjoy the stuff more. I'll stick to craft beers.

Have a great trip. I was up on a peak in RMNP last week and saw the first blush of color in some aspen trees along Fall River Road. Fall has fully arrived in the alpine tundra, with lots of the vegetation turning vivid red.

Gretchen on Sep 9, 15 at 7:11am
I just wonder why you care?

That's rather rude. Googs can care about whatever he/she wants. It's a perfectly valid question.

I agree with Gretchen and think it's silly Googs is disappointed in a local issue. Breckenridge is probably smart avoiding the disaster the 16th Street Mall in Denver is becoming.

Thank you Tabernash2!!

Documentaries can become quite compelling. The Breck shop is still open under the same name, but no canibus sold. No-one won. Anyhoooo, I recommend the series.

In Lakewood near where DD used to live was a street with several head shops--prior to legalization.
I avoid the 16th St. mall like the plague anyway, but that would be right up its alley, IMO.
DS is an associate AG--it is a dilemma for law enforcement--federal and state--, no matter how you feel about it all. Lots of "ins and outs"--you can give a buddy X amount before it becomes a law breaker, buy, sell, etc.

And I certainly legitimately can be curious why she cares--or thinks it is a travesty. Problem solved--just don't sell pot if you want to be in the middle of the crowds AND it obviously wasn't their main product?

This beginning to drift a little far from the original question even if it is a slight new questions.

Whether you like or not, this question has been voted on a number of times and always approved by the voters. So this isn't a one time fluke. It is now a part of the state constitution. Because the amendment had a lot of opt in and out options, some of the smaller, more conservative local governments have been trying to establish local regulations to severely limited access or deny access. A couple of attempts have made to repeal the amendment but that lasted about 30 seconds. So you have to assume the majority of the population either approves or it is not important to them.

Maybe Breckenridge would like to push it off to airport road but I am sure that Breckenridge will not turn down a dime of the tax revenue it generates for the city.

We like the 16th St Mall and are there frequently. In fact, will be there tomorrow afternoon and evening. Our favorite wine maker is just a block off the mall. It has been a huge success when compared to all of the mall conversions that failed across the US over the past 30. years. It has problems associate with most urban areas. But no topless walking around yet, but who knows what you can hope for in the future.

Who is your favorite winemaker near the mall? We'd be interested in stopping in.

Sorry to sidetrack, Googs. People all over the country are interested in this question, and how Colorado is handling it. I'd be interested, too, even if I didn't live here. Other states are learning from Colorado.

Now, back to our regular programming.

An interesting article in today's Denver Post - because of the state tax structure, too much tax revenue has come from the sale of pot so some of this revenue has to be returned to the users. A couple of options but most likely a sales tax holiday for a few days next year.