Glenwood Springs

We got off the train in Glenwood Springs partly because I had stopped their briefly on a trip may years ago (maybe with my Grandma on the way to Death Valley?) and I had remembered the awesome swimming pools. It was also partly because I figured that eight hours of train travel was enough for one day with two little kids. And I had a third reason: the National Speleologic Society convention in 2011 is going to be held in Glenwood Springs and I wanted to scope out the area.

I had booked a room in a motel only about five blocks away. Glenwood Springs turns out to have lots of motels with a total of about 1,700 rooms. Yikes! We walked up from the station (which will hopefully have the handicap ramp completed soon--carrying the stroller up all the steps was not fun) onto the pedestrian bridge across the train tracks, Colorado River, and Interstate.

We had an awesome view of the pool. And after we all took a three hour nap in the motel, that's where we headed.

They have two main pools, a therapy pool at 104 degrees and the big pool at 94 degrees. It was definitely a place to relax. Desert Boy tried out arm floaties and liked them. By the end he was able to kick himself around without hanging on to me. He also really liked to play on the steps and even found a friend to play with for awhile.

It was convenient going later in the evening because there's a discount after 6 pm and I had forgotten the sunblock.

Little Miss Emma (aka Desert Girl, but she just hasn't had enough desert adventures for me to be ready to call her that) was all decked out in her swimming costume. She sat on the edge of the pool for awhile in her stroller, but eventually she told me she wanted to get in. She loves the water just as much as Desert Boy.

We strolled around and played in the water for a couple hours and then decided we were pruney enough to head back to the motel.

The next morning our destination was Two Rivers Park, a beautiful spot near the river. They have a neat playground, and Desert Boy gave me a little attitude when it was time to leave.

He got happier when I pointed out the freight train crossing the Roaring Fork River, which in the above photo is joining the Colorado. We took the pedestrian bridge and followed the trail along the river. With both rivers slightly flooded, it was neat to get to be so close to them. The trail system is excellent in Glenwood Springs.

From the pedestrian bridge we got a closeup view of the freight train--and of the many barn swallows that make their nests under the bridge.

Many of them flew when we got close.

The trail along the river follows an old railway right of way so is very gradual. In places there are some old tracks, and Desert Boy had fun walking along them. We also had fun watching the paragliders come over the mountain. They land in the dog run next to the trail.

We were getting hungry so we walked a couple blocks east and were on main street and found a grocery store. Desert Boy declared he was ready for a picnic as soon as we got out of the store, so that's what we did. Hey, whatever works, right?

We had walked over two miles by this point and still had at least a mile to go. Desert Boy was getting a little cranky, but fortunately a bus pulled up. Glenwood Springs has a free bus system, and since we still had some free time, we rode it out to the mall so we could see a little more of town. Glenwood Springs is a very linear town, with the river, Interstate, and train tracks creating a bit of a barrier between the two sides of town.

Finally it was time to pack up and walk to the train station to catch our train. Inside the train station is a small railroad museum, and Desert Boy was fascinated with the model trains.

Our train was delayed, so we went out and got some ice cream. Waiting is always better if you have some ice cream.