AN IDYLLIC SKI TOWN

The man and I ventured off early Saturday morning for a Memorial Day weekend getaway in Crested Butte, the most quintessential Colorado mountain town.

On the agenda? Running trails, exploring shops, relaxing, and of course, visiting as many restaurants as possible.

Take a look at the first half of Day 1!

A SCENIC DRIVE

We hopped into the car bright and early for a breathtaking road trip…

…which was preceded by a delicious bagel breakfast sandwich. Nom!

The four-hour drive from Denver to Crested Butte is gorgeous. Once you arrive, you realize the quaint little town is surrounded by huge, strikingly beautiful peaks and rolling green hills.

We arrived around noon, eager to explore.

ELK AVENUE

The most bustling area of this tiny ski town is Elk Avenue, littered with the most charming shops, restaurants, and coffee houses.

First stop: Townie Books.

The man and I both adored this bookshop. It was small but filled with well-selected items.

We both lingered around the history section…

… and the cooking section! Ottolenghi galore.

This is Rumors Coffee and Tea House, which is attached to the Townie Books (as it should be!). We never ordered from here, but I thought it was a cute space.

Also: Crested Butte is the town of awesome coffee houses, just FYI.

We couldn’t resist Casa Bella, a gourmet kitchen shop, where we pointed out all the high-end cookware on our wish lists. [I thought this sign was on-point.]

We glanced through Mountain Earth Organic Grocer—but not for long, as the sight of food caused our tummies to rumble.

TEOCALLI TAMALE

Our hunger led us to Teocalli Tamale, which had been recommended to us by a friend. Since we were planning on a trail run soon after, we split the Gourmet Veggie Burrito.

Mmm! Everything was fresh. Even the tortilla tasted homemade!

THE OLD TOWN INN

After lunch, we checked into our room at the Old Town Inn, which was also recommended by a friend. The amenities were nothing to write home about, but the owners and staff were incredibly kind and bent over backward to give us superb recommendations (both for food and running trails).

They also lay out a fabulous complimentary breakfast, and offer fresh-baked cookies at 3:30 pm every day! They know the keys to our hearts.

 5 MILES ON THE TRAIL

With map in tow (and cookies in our bellies), we headed out through town to Peanut Lake Road & Woods Walk Trail for an afternoon run at 8,800 feet of elevation.

It was a sweaty run with many sights to be seen!

We ran past gorgeous mountains, lakes, aspen trees, and even a little waterfall.

The dichotomy of this humble, charming town against such a towering-mountain backdrop takes a while to fully adjust your eyes to. It was difficult to keep my eyes on the trail. Thankfully I didn’t take a spill!

Phew! And that was all before dinnertime… which is a post in and of itself: We had a progressive meal at three different places!

CRESTED BUTTE: PART 2

CRESTED BUTTE: PART 3

Note: This post is part of the City Tripping Link Up with Wandermum.co.uk!