Now the weather is turning autumnal here in the UK I thought it was time to recap on our big US adventure where we hardly saw a day below 30 degrees – quite an appealing thought right now (she says clinging on to her hot cuppa).
Funny how quickly I’ve forgotten about the discomfort heat can bring, the whining of the kids, the car turning into a motorised oven, the swollen feet, the inability to think straight or make decisions and the sheer effort it takes to move your body from A to B, let alone 2 additional smaller bodies who have a will of their own. Well we managed with the help of ice cream, swimming pools and that marvellous invention that’s called air conditioning otherwise I would have camped out at Whole Foods.
We started off with a trip to Aspen which gave some comfort temperature wise but not surprisingly the combination of altitude and jet lag was a killer. The scenery was breathtaking and the drive across independence pass even gave us glimpses of snow patches.
But for me Aspen’s highlight was the Aspen Art Museum designed by Japanese architects Shigeru Ban and opened just over a year ago. I loved the innovative woven wooden panel facade connecting outside and inside through it’s loosely woven structure. And I could have stayed at the top floor cafe for hours watching people and light streaming through the artful ceiling structure but a number of tantrums and a spilt hot chocolate brought me back down to earth and off we went to the playground to let off steam.
We spent nearly three weeks just outside Denver and when we weren’t hanging with grandma and grandpa The Cowboy tried to give us a good overview of where he grew up with visits to Boulder, Golden, Lookout Mountain and Buffalo Bill’s museum which we all loved. Union Station in downtown Denver ticked the boxes for everyone with fountains to play in, a fabulous ice cream parlour, some aesthetically pleasing redevelopment of the station (guess who was into that!) and that much needed aircon which cooled heads and temperaments.
Long trips away need time to digest and I can honestly say that my European mind was blown away with the sheer size and unexplored natural beauty of Colorado. The stark contrast between the vast flat plains and the mountainous expanse of the foothills and the Rockies rising out of the ground was stunning and superlatives don’t seem to do it justice.
Maybe awesome comes closest.
MORE INFORMATION | Aspen Art Museum
PHOTOGRAPHY | Annie Kruse
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