travel diaries | colorado part two

When I asked Mark if he wanted to do anything specific while we were in and around Vail, his answer was "Maroon Bells". One of his friends had told him about Maroon Bells and that is all that he requested. I initially didn't want to go because it is past Aspen, which was two hours from where we were staying and I really wanted to enjoy the area we were in...but I thought about it and decided to appease him (#imagoodwife) so that was the plan for Thursday. 

Mark started the morning with a free fly-fishing lesson on the lawn and in the creek right outside our room. He loved it! I loved sleeping late and enjoying the hotel room to myself. :)

When he was done with that, we started the drive toward Aspen and Maroon Bells. We devoted the whole day to the drive and decided to just enjoy the journey as well as the destination. We stopped by our favorite bridge again:

We accidentally stumbled upon the Continental Divide and we both excitedly braved the cold and windy pass to take in the scenery. 

It was a beautiful drive through Independence Pass, which was going to close in just a few days on October 1 for the winter. I saw a big group of big horn sheep right off the road as we drove through, and the yellow leaves of the Aspens are a favorite on these drives!

We pulled into posh Aspen and enjoyed the perfect fall weather and a great view on the patio in town. 

Our table was on the right side of this building:

After lunch and a little wandering around town, we headed down to catch the Maroon Bells bus. We succeeded on our second attempt to get on the bus (hopped on the wrong bus first! whoops!) and headed about 20 minutes up into the park. 

It was gorgeous!!! The bells are the two peaks in the center of the photo. We spent a little over an hour exploring the area before we had to catch the last bus back to our car. 

It was beautiful the way we saw it, but we would also love to see it when the sun wasn't right in our eyes. If we ever go back, we'll have to allow more time! 

It was a great excursion to Aspen and Maroon Bells and I'm so glad we did it! There's one more day to cover, coming up next!