Well, with our weather-induced detour and staying south, we were able to move our Rocky Mountain National Park reservations to the 18th, but that still left us with two days we needed to fill before we could arrive. Here we were, on a Saturday morning trying to find a spot for Saturday and Sunday nights. With a lot of hope and after some research and web-surfing, we finally found a spot to stay. We ended up in Fort Collins, out on the west side of town in horse country.
After an easy 50 mile drive down from Cheyenne, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, we got all set up and headed into town. We walked around the Old Town area of Fort Collins and the Old Town Square. Some wonderful old red brick buildings and more restaurants and shops than one could imagine.
Besides being a college town, Fort Collins is also the craft brew capital of Colorado with one craft brewery per every 7,600 residents. Jennifer found one that also served food, Coopersmith Pub and Brewery.
To top it all off, there was also a music festival going on right outside the brewery, Fortoberfest. So we grabbed a seat outside, tried some of the local beverages, had a great meal and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon/early evening in Fort Collins. The people watching was eclectic, we are in Colorado!
A little post eating walk led us to Nuance Chocolates for some great fresh-made dark chocolate. The favorite was the Sea Salt Truffle! Finally, what better way to cap off the day then when we checked ESPN and enjoyed the highlights of a Cyclone victory.
Sunday was our lazy day. We did some planning for our trip to Estes Park and drove into town to walk around Colorado State University and to grab some lunch. What a beautiful, clean campus, and was much bigger than we had anticipated. Another walk around town led us to Beau Joe’s. It was Bloody Sunday, so you can guess what Jennifer had for a brunch drink. We ate light, and walked more. We even managed to take in a short “trail” near our RV park with Maggie.
All-in-all a great unplanned diversion to a wonderful town. Next stop, the Rockies!