Day 47- Aspen

I got up, packed the bike and headed for the transit center. It was 2 blocks away. So far, so good.

The bus was on time, my bike fit on the rack and we got back to Carbondale on time. So far, so good.

Riding up to Aspen was nice. Mostly nice I should say. There is a bike trail that runs all the way to Aspen, allowing me to completely miss traffic in the very busy Hwy up the valley. The only catch was there has been a fire near the town of Basalt which I would have to ride through. The smoke was irritating but only for about 15 minutes. Then I was past it.

I covered the 30 miles up valley pretty easily. There were challenges though. Lots of sketchy riders coming the other way on rental bikes. No helmets and not very good bike handling skills either. There were no injuries to report thank goodness.

Aspen is full of VERY rich and famous people. Or as my brother says- rich and shameless. And also lots of tourists. An interesting mix of people.

I found out that a place I have always wanted to visit but was not sure where it was is right here. The Maroon Bells. I had to go!

Maybe you recognize them. They are in lots of photographs that you see. And for good reason.

So after a lunch and seeing the Maroon Bells, I headed up valley to hopefully camp. This was the last dicey part of yesterday’s plan. To be able to find a camping spot. I got to the first of 3 potential camps and found an empty spot. Dibs! So the day worked out great. I am not sure if I was smart, lucky, or something else entirely, but I’ll take it. It is also worth noting that since I was only 8 miles from Aspen…… that my campsite was in an aspen grove!