Breckenridge Trip

Tara and I woke up this morning to make the early drive to Breckenridge. Our intentions were to go up into the mountains, see the famous troll, ride the gondola, and walk the town a bit.

We saw some beautiful mountain views on our way up to Breckenridge, along with some drives through tunnels. After arriving in town, we made our way to the parking lot at the Stephen C. West Ice Arena. We made our way to the very short (1/4 mile) Trollstigen Trail, where we made our way to see the famous Isak Heartstone, the famous 15-foot-tall wooden troll sculpture. The sculpture was originally created for the 2018 Breckenridge International Festival of Arts, and thanks to its overwhelming popularity the town relocated him to his current home near Illinois Creek in 2019.

After completing the walk to the troll and back, Tara & I drove to the parking lot for the BreckConnect Gondola. The cool thing about this gondola is that it is free to ride, taking you up the to Peak 8 of Breckenridge Mountain. We took the gondola up to Peak 8, where Epic Discovery is located. Epic Discovery has several rides and attractions, like the Gold Runner Coaster, which is a mountain coaster that speeds through the trees on raised tracks, and the Alpine SuperSlide. This one is on traditional alpine tracks where you control your speed down the mountain. They also have chairlift rides, as the The Colorado SuperChair will take you up to Alpine Camp at over 11,000 feet. They also have other activities that are great for families and younger ones. While we didn't participate in any of these activities today, we would definitely be interested in coming back to try them out!

We took the gondola back down the mountain, and walked into town from there. We strolled up the street, checking out a few of the shops along the way. We didn't make it through town, however, as the skies started to darken we decided to head back towards the parking lot. We stopped at a couple of shots - one for some pretty good cookies, and another for a mountain t-shirt for Tara.

We made it back to the truck before any foul weather hit, though we did run into a few sprinkles as we made the drive to our next destination, Hoosier Pass on the continental divide.

Drive to Breckenridge / Breckenridge
		Some of our views from our drive to Breckenridge...


		We headed through the Veterans Memorial Tunnels on our way...
		...though these were very short tunnels!
		Some more mountain views from our drive...


		We also drove through the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel...
		...which was definitely the longer of the two tunnels we drove through today!




		We drove past this construction decorated "I'm the Boss" statue as we drove through Frisco.

		A couple of views of the mountains from the parking lot of the Stephen C. West Ice Arena...

		The Trollstigen Trail is located on the Illinois Creek Trailhead.
		Some of the trees on the Trollstigen Trail.
		Tara enjoying our walk.
		We made it to the famous Isak Heartstone troll!


		A look back down the Trollstigen Trail.
		A look at the BreckConnect Gondola from the parking lot.

		A few mountain shots from the the BreckConnect lot...


		Our view from the gondola as we ascend the mountain.
		Peak 8 - the top of the gondola ride...

		The Gold Runner Coaster didn't appear to be operating today...
		...nor did the Alpine SuperSlide.
		The clouds above the mountains.
		A view from the gondola.
		The ski runs were clearly visible on the mountains...

		Another look at the mountains from the gondola parking lot.
		Time for downtown Breckenridge!
		A view of the mountains through town.
		Bark'NRidge, a great name for a dog-centric store!
		Another shot of the mountains from downtown.
		The "Toro" sculpture on display in town.
		An interesting tidbit about the Sons of Norway and their relationship with Breckenridge.
		The "Sack Race" sculpture in town.
		Another view of the mountains.
		A garden that we wandered through while in town.
		The darkening skies over the mountains.
		"A Friend to Lean On", a life-size bronze sculpture featuring two burros laden with mining gear, including a traditional gold pan, to pay tribute to the vital companionship and hard labor pack burros provided to early prospectors in the area.
		A floral llama in town.
		A few more dark clouds approaching town...

Our next destination today was Hoosier Pass, an 11,542-foot pass is located between the towns of Alma and Breckenridge. Hoosier Pass is the dividing line between the Tenmile and Mosquito mountain ranges, on the border between Park and Summit Counties, straddling the Continental Divide, an unbroken, north-to-south ridgeline across the country that dictates whether the water flows into the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans.

While we were at the pass we hiked a small part of the Hoosier Pass Loop, a 2.7-2.8-mile moderately challenging hike right on the Continental Divide. We only made it a brief way on our hike before it started to sprinkle, forcing us to turn around. I enjoyed my time on the hike, and would love to complete it sometime!

It was time to head to our next stop, the South Park Coney Island in Bailey!

Drive to Hoosier Pass / Hoosier Pass
		Some mountain photos during our drive from Breckenridge...

		A plaque about Hoosier Pass.
		The National Park sign for Hoosier Pass, noting the Continental Divide and noting which ocean the rainwater flows into.
		The back of the sign was covered in stickers from all over the place.
		Tara & Rodney taking a couple photos in front of the Hoosier pass sign...


		A look at the road from Breckenridge.
		Some sights from our hike on the Hoosier Pass Loop...










		The weather started rolling in, causing us to end our hike early.

After another beautiful drive, we made it to our destination, the historic 42-foot-long Coney Island hot dog stand. Although it hasn't always been here, it now sits along the water next to Roark Creek and the South Platte River in Bailey, Colorado, roughly an hour southwest of Denver.

Although I didn't know it, this landmark building inspired the "DikinBaus Hot Dogs" episode of the South Park TV show, hence the current name of the restaurany, the South Park Coney Island. In the South Park episode, Cartman moves into and renovates the iconic structure, hence the added show-themed signage on-site now.

The building was originally built in 1966 on Colfax Ave. in Denver, and was named The Boardwalk at Coney Island. The first owner, Marcus Shannon had intended to start a chain of eateries around the concept, and obtained a patent for the design, but the eatery closed in 1969.

In 1970, under new ownership, the stand was moved to the Rocky Mountain town of Aspen Park. The popularity of the stand was such that its last day open in Aspen Park, "the waiting line extended literally for miles". On March 18, 2006, to make way for a bank, the stand was moved again, 17 miles down US 285 to its present location in Bailey, close to Pike National Forest.

After we ate our hot dogs by the South Platte River, we headed back home.

Drive to Bailey / Bailey
		A look at the town of Alma.
		Some more mountain photos...


		The clouds over the plains were pretty interesting today.
		The famous South Park Coney Island.
		Some views of the South Platte River...