Eating Pie For Breakfast – Our Stellar Colorado Tradition

Our flight from Nashville to Denver landed at 10am on Tuesday, February 2nd.  For our family, no trip to Colorado would be complete without a stop at Beau Jo’s in Idaho Springs. There is nothing like a slice (or four) of their amazing Motherlode Mountain Pie Colorado-style pizza.  What is off the menu at Beau Jo’s is the possibility of sticking to any diet plan. 

• 

• 

• 

---

As such, our crew was laser-focused on the GPS as we headed out in our rented Ford Expedition.  I mention the vehicle choice here as a “cautionary tale” for future points travelers.  Colorado weather in winter is VERY unpredictable as I said in my last post.  We would be very grateful for the big, all-wheel drive SUV when we headed out for our snowmobile tour in a few days. More on that in the next post.

---

SLEIGH BELLS RING, ARE YOU LISTENIN’

After “breakfast” we loaded up for the 45 minute trip to the Hyatt Place in Keystone.  As you likely know by now, we are big Hyatt fans and have stayed in most every tier of hotel in the brand. We have always had great success with the Hyatt Place (and its extended-stay cousin, the Hyatt House). 

---

Hyatt Place, Keystone, Colorado

Both of our rooms in Keystone were very large, nicely appointed and had beautiful views of the runs at the Keystone Resort.  This particular hotel is very convenient for trips into Breckenridge, Silverthorne and Dillon – where several of our excursions were located. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

---

Golden Horseshoe Sleighride – A dream come true for Daddy Starbucks!

After checking in and changing into warmer clothes, we headed into Breckenridge for one of Jeff’s most anticipated events – a sleigh ride and gourmet hot cocoa at the Golden Horseshoe Sleigh Ride Company. 

• 

• 

---

After being welcomed in the big tent, we all warmed up by the wood stove and sipped our giant, made-to-order hot cocoas. Warmed inside and out, we headed out to meet our team of beautiful draft horses – Waylon and Willie.  The 40-minute tour winded through the woods as we set underneath big wool blankets, taking in the mountain sunset to the peaceful muffled ‘clopping’ of the horses as they pulled the big sleigh through the fresh snow pack. 

• 

• 

• 

---

This was something Jeff had always wanted to do. It was a living reminder of his favorite Robert Frost poem “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”, which he happily recited for us.  Our two-horse open sleigh ride, complete with harness bells, was a perfect and quaint beginning to our Colorado adventure. 

• 

• 

Afterward, we took an evening drive through the beautiful town of Breckenridge and made a brief stop by the Breckenridge Ski Resort (perhaps a candidate for our next family ski trip) before heading back to our hotel for an early bedtime.

---

THE CALM BEFORE THE SNOWSTORM 

The next morning, we began hearing early weather forecasts of a significant snow event.  Even the local residents in the hotel, shops and restaurants were abuzz about what was expected to unfold over the next few days.  Braden and I walked the hotel grounds through the flurries, getting some great photographs of the amazing winter landscape. Meanwhile the rest of the crew finished breakfast and got ready for our day.  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

---

Trollstigen Trail – a most famous resident of Breckenridge, Colorado!

We headed back into Breckenridge for one of my most anticipated events: the short trek down the Trollstigen Trail to meet one of the town’s most famous residents, the Breckenridge Troll.  This very short, easy hike has quite the payoff when you get to meet this immense, friendly fellow up close. 

---

Equally spectacular was walking through aspen and birch trees, and climbing on the rocks and bridges along the way, as the flurries gave way to a full, heavy snowfall.  From the Troll’s lair, it was a short drive to the town center of Breckenridge where we decided to park and walk along the main street. There we checked out the many art and retail shops and began looking for a lunch spot. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

---

Empire Burger for the WIN – and some of the very best onion rings EVER!

We settled on an incredible burger bar on the second floor of the La Cima outdoor mall – Empire Burger.  Empire had everything our cold, snow-covered family needed to get warm – hot chili con carne, thick burgers and the world’s BEST onion rings – lightly battered and perfectly fried.  Empire Burger is a must-lunch spot for anyone venturing into downtown Breckenridge – may we humbly suggest the jalapeño ranch and mango chutney dipping sauces for the rings.  SO tasty!! 

---

• 

• 

• 

• 

---

Dillon Ice Castles – the cold never bothered me anyway (kinda sorta)!

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our evening event – Dillon Ice Castles.  Ice Castles is a very “hot” ticket for a very “cool” attraction. It is an enormous, man-made, multi-room castle where guests can walk, crawl, climb and slide inside 25 million pounds of ice. Inside we were surrounded by a glowing, ever-changing display of colored lights embedded into the ice walls. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Ice Castles is truly spectacular and was a highlight of our trip.  It is also located very close to Dillon Lake.  In our prior trip to Colorado, some of our most beautiful photographs came on the shores of this enormous reservoir.  For this trip though, our best lake photos were taken about 50‘ OFF shore.  Check out some of those shots here.  

• 

• 

• 

---

Late night jacuzzi in the falling snow!!

As the night drew to a close, we made a quick dessert stop for another of our vacation favorites – gourmet candied apples at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  Once back at the hotel, all of us (except Landin, who was ready for bed) decided to don our swimsuits and take a dip in the jacuzzi. 

By now, the full winter storm was upon us, with snow falling heavily, big wind gusts and air temps in the teens.  But it was an amazing experience that we simply could not miss – to sit in 90 degree water breathing in ice cold air, looking up the mountain at the dancing lights of the SnowCats hurriedly grooming the slopes for the next day’s runs.  For us, the morning would start early, with a dawn checkout and a dangerous drive through ice and snow up to High Country Tours where a day of snowmobiling and 1000’ tube runs in a genuine Colorado snowstorm awaited us.  

---

YOU can do this too!

Right now, there is an elevated sign up bonus (a whopping 100,000 points when you spend $4,000 in three months) on our all-time favorite travel card (and really the most important one to begin traveling for free). It’s called the Sapphire Preferred, by CHASE. I’d love to chat with you about how we travel to so may destinations using the money that we have to spend anyway on everyday expenses (utilities, gas, groceries, etc…). Click here to learn more:

---

And HERE’s how:

Also, here’s a link to the step-by-step process that we followed to see places that I once thought were completely untouchable for an average family of six, like mine! As well, please follow along on my social media channels, on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  

---

*This post contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission, or a referral bonus, for recommendations – at no cost to you.  We only recommend products that we personally use, trust, and enjoy.