Fall Break in Colorado

 

This was the first time any of the four of us ever visited the beautiful state of Colorado!  We flew Southwest direct from Nashville into Denver and rented a car from Enterprise and drove the hour and 20 min. into Frisco.  Once we headed out of Denver, we started seeing the beautiful mountains and enjoyed a scenic drive. We stayed in the Mountain Meadows condos and they have a beautiful view of the Dillon Lake Reserve.  It is also very centrally located to the cute downtown area as well as 3 grocery stores and much more!

Arrival Day:  We were all kind of tired from the day of travel and didn't really feel like getting "ready" to go out for dinner.  So we called in dinner to a local place on Main Street down town Frisco and just decided to veg out in the condo and rest!  Silverheels was the name of the place and I got the lemon pepper trout and asparagus and it was delicious!  We also had the chicken lettuce wraps as an appetizer and they were a hit as well.

DAY 2:  We headed out for breakfast at Butterhorn, and luckily beat the Sunday brunch crowd!  They had a gluten free menu and I had the breakfast taco bowl with poached eggs!  Everyone loved their food and it was so filling that we had leftovers!  After our belly's were nice and full we headed off to the Rainbow Lake trailhead.  

That afternoon we explored the downtown Frisco area and then walked around the Dillon Lake Resivor behind our condo!  The water was down this time of year so we were able to walk places that looked like it was typically under water.  Then for dinner that night just Lyrin and I decided to go out and bring dad and Landree their's back to the condo.  We found a place that had an amazing gluten free menu!  Pure Kitchen was so delicious we actually ate there twice!  We were so excited to have mozzarella cheese sticks that actually tasted good!  

DAY 3:  We did go to the local Walmart for some bottled water and hiking snacks, but for the most part we decided to eat out for breakfast and dinner everyday!  There was just too much good food here for us to not taste it all! Breakfast this particular day was at Bread + Salt in downtown Frisco.  They did not have a gluten free menu but we substituted some menu items and my poached egg were hands down the best I've ever had! This was Landree's favorite breakfast of the whole trip!

After that we drove to Dillon (Silverthorne) and hiked the Lily Pad Lake trail. This hike was a little bit harder and quite a bit longer than the first one.  The elevation made it harder to breath as our heart rtes got up, so we just took our time and rested as we needed to.  

After our hike we went back to rest and then Dad and Landree decided to go try out Pure Kitchen in person and bring Lyrin and I our dinner back.  Lyrin and I stayed in the condo and played scrabble.  

DAY 4:  This particular morning we decided to drive to Breckinridge and have breakfast there.  Cool River Coffee House was back off the Main Street and a little hard to find, not to mention very small inside, but it was delicious and again had a gluten free menu!  After we got our bellies full we took the scenic drive up the Boreas Pass all the way to the Continental Divide.  The yellow Aspens were so beautiful and the snow capped mountains too!  

Once we made it back to Frisco we went downtown for dinner on Main Street at Uptown on Main.  This was Forrest's favorite place and the drive in burger and chicken sandwich were top notch in his book!  

DAY 5:  Today we went back to breakfast at Butterhorn and then we rented e-bikes to ride the 18.4 miles around the Dillon Lake Resivor. What started out as a nice ride across the dam and into Dillon, enjoying the view of the lake the whole time, soon took a very different turn once we got to Keystone.  The bike trail was not marked very well and somehow we ended up climbing Swan Mountain and then once we stopped at the Summit overlook, the decent!  

We had NO clue that to get down the mountain we had to share a lane with cars.  It was a very nerve racking moment for me as a mom as I watched cars whip around my kids on their bikes.  I prayed the whole way down that we would make it safely!  So once we made it back to Frisco and the bike shop, our ride ended up totaling 26 miles. Can we say our sitts bones were a little sore!  After that the girls were exhausted and my nerves were shot!  We dropped them of at the condo to rest and Dad and I went to Silverthorne to local wine bar for flight of wine with a pairing of cheeses.  Saved By The Wine was such a cute place to sit back and relax.  It even started to sleet while we were there!  On our way back to the condo we stopped by the grocery and decide to cook dinner in.  We had steaks, sweet potatoes and green beans.  It was nice to just stay in and not have to get ready to go out to dinner!  

DAY 6: On this day we headed back to Breckinridge and ate breakfast at a local place called Breckfast!  Then we drove south to Blue Lake, parked at the lower lake and hiked to the water fall.  

This hike was pretty short but a beautiful view none the less. Afterwards we drove over swan mountain into Keystone going the opposite way we had ridden on bikes the day before.  That evening we had booked a reservation in Leadville to do a sunset ATV tour.  I was a little worried as we drove over that we wouldn't even get to see a sunset because it started to rain and was very cloudy.  Boy was I wrong!  That actually made for the best sunset!  And lucky for us, we were the only ones on the tour that night so the guide took us to a few other spots not normally included!  

                                                                             On the way home we called in pizza and salad to a local place in Frisco off Main St. Greco's had Cauliflower Crust and Gluten Free crust pizza and we were so hungry we all got our own individual pizzas!  

DAY 7: On this day we drove to Vail and found ourselves very out of place!  We had to park in a parking garage and then try and find our way around the little village to a place for breakfast.  By the time we did find Big Bear Bistro and order, it was pretty much lunch time. NO gluten free menu but there was something I could make work.  The little village was very upscale but we met some nice people from all over while walking around thanks to Harlynn (Lyrin's mini Aussie that we took on the trip with us).  She was the hit of the morning and lead to lots of conversations with many people!  It was fun!  Colorado is a very dog friendly state!  Lots of dogs everywhere we went!  On our drive back to the condo we stopped to do one more hike along the Gore Creek.  

                                                                                                       

I don't have the direct link for where we stayed but I can get the address and perhaps the link from the condo owners, they are personal friends of ours!  We loved the area we stayed as it was very centrally located to everything and the view out the back door was amazing!  

                                                                                                 

Here are a few links from items I ordered off Amazon specifically for our trip!  Hiking in Colorado this time of year means layers!  The mornings start off cold and as the day goes one it gets warm.  Then the evenings at its getting dark end up cold again!  

Small backpack with bladder bag to hold up to 3 bottles of water:

https://amzn.to/41xVjBq

My hiking shoes:

https://amzn.to/3EFPhoF

First Aid Kit:

https://amzn.to/41vJjQP

Harlynn's airplane pet carrier:

https://amzn.to/3KKVnrB

Harlynn's carrier for hiking:

https://amzn.to/3SwnvRh

To see more pictures from our trip, see my Colorado highlight bubble on my instagram account @alicia_trotter

 

Helen GA

Helen Georgia: a girls trip long weekend!

Oh my goodness, let me just say that if you have never been, this is a MUST do!  We were there the beginning of March, so they weren't in the busy season yet!  We were told the busy season is March 31-Dec 31.  If you are taking the whole family, it might be worth it to wait until the summer and do some of the activities in the river like tubing and such!  

We stayed at the Riverbend Cabins and hotel in cabin 3, and it was perfect for the 2 of us!  It had a small kitchen, living room, a bathroom downstairs, and a kingsized bed in a loft upstairs with another bathroom up there.  Our back porch over looked the river and it was so peaceful to sit out there in the mornings sipping our coffee.  

Day 1: we arrived and unpacked, then we walked to the local grocery store which was only a few blocks away.  Betty's Country Store is open every day of the week and is just the cutest little store.  They literally have everything you need!  They also have a little bar outside where some of the locals hang out and we had a peach wine slushy which was very refreshing!  Then we decided to relax and cook dinner in the cabin.  Brandy brought us a Hungry Root meal and so we had some homemade tacos and then watched a movie on Netflix and decided to turn in early to get ready for hiking the next day!

Day 2: we woke up, had some coffee and quiet time on the back porch watching the river flowing in our back yard.  It was so nice!  So peaceful! We cooked breakfast in the cabin and then packed up some snacks for the trails and hit the road.  We decided on Raven Cliff Trail and it was only about a 6 mile drive from our cabin. The hike itself was round trip 5 miles.  It as a beautiful day so we took our time on the hike up. Skipped some rocks, paused to enjoy the view, had a picnic lunch, and took a few cute pics!  

After we got back to the cabin, we decided to explore the town of Helen.  We went in Hansel & Gretel candy kitchen and had some free samples.  We also popped into a wine tasting shop to taste some local wine made in Helen.  There was an open market, called Wildewood that had some really neat things in there!  My favorite was the wind chimes.  So many of them and there was a big gust of wind right as we walked in that had them all going and it sounded wonderful!  We stopped by Cowboys & Angels and checked out the menu while we had a handmade margarita.  The menu looked good but we weren't too hungry yet, so we finished our drink and went out to explore some more.  We ended up at the Troll Tavern which sits right along the river tucked under the bridge.  It was a great place to people watch!  Brandy had the hot wings and fries and I had brats and mashed potatoes with sauerkraut.  It was ALOT of food!  

Day 3: We had thought about hiking Yonah Mountain.  But after reading reviews and looking at pictures we realized there were no waterfalls on that one and we really like waterfalls! LOL

So again, started off with breakfast in the cabin and coffee on the back porch.  Then we ventured out and went to Anna Ruby Falls to see the "twin" waterfalls.  This hike was more commercialized and had a paved path the whole way with 2 observations decks at the top.  Don't be fooled though... the hike was still very steep right before you got to the point you could see the falls.  It was beautiful and definitely worth it if you go!  The hike itself is probably only a mile in and a mile out.  They also have nice bathrooms there and a small gift shop! I should also add there is a fee to get in to the recreation area, I believe it was $5 per person.  

These are the Twin falls

That afternoon we got back and went exploring in town again.  Our cabin was so close we walked everywhere we went except we did drive to the hikes and the spa.  The town kind of reminds me a little of Gatlinburg, TN with all the little stores and alleys of shops.  Lots of souvenirs that the kids would love to buy! We walked across the bridge that we ate under the night before and people have put all these locks along the rails of the bridge.  I need to research what it means.  They had a few spots on the main drag that had live music and this town is VERY dog friendly.  The weather was so nice and lots of people were out!  So many dogs and lots of shops even had water bowls out for the doggies!  

That night for dinner we went to The Old Bavaria Inn.  Their dinner plates are a LARGE portion, so I recommend splitting a plate!  We got the pork chops, mashed potatoes and 2 kinds of kraut. It was plenty of food for us to share, it came with 3 pork chops!

Day 4: I am so glad that Brandy and I both like to go to bed early and wake up early, but have a slow morning!  I especially like to do that on vacation!  Another peaceful morning with coffee on the back porch listening to the river.  Today however, we decided to eat a later breakfast at Hofer's Bakery. We had heard wonderful things about it from one of the locals.  We also scheduled us a massage at Valhalla Resort & Spa.  The line to eat at the bakery was about a 30 min wait to be seated to eat in the restaurant.  There was also a separate line for those waiting in line for just the bakery.  Keep in mind this was a Sunday and it was after 10am, so I'm sure that's why the line was so long.  But, I do have to say, the line was worth the wait!  The food was very good!  Brandy got the corn beef dish and I got the bacon & onion hash brown dish.  After this filling meal, we headed to the resort to get relaxed and ready for our massages.  It was a small resort but very nice!  The staff that we interacted with was all very friendly and accommodating to help us have a very relaxing day there.  We first check in to the spa and went to the locker room to slip into out robes.  Then we went to the steam room and sat in there for about 10 min.  It was such a beautiful day, that after the steam room, we sat out by the pool and had a few mimosas.  It was a perfect end to our long weekend to finish off with a day at the spa with massages!   

                                  

After we returned from the spa we were worthless, LOL!  However we were hungry and in the mood for pizza.  So we walked to town and looked for a pizza place with gluten free pizza.  We finally found one but it was closed at the time, so we decided to sit and people watch while waiting for it to open.  Thankfully it opened earlier than the sign said and we were the first customers in, so our pizza was nice and fresh and HOT!  Brick House (which was not actually in a brick house) pizza, burgers and pasta did not disappoint.  Very good for a gluten free crust!  We took our leftovers and walked back to the cabin, and decided to enjoy our last night with a glass of wine on the swing out back by the river.  It was the perfect end to our relaxing vacation!  

We both agreed that we will come back!  Next time with our family and in the summer to do some tubing down the river!  There was also another waterfall hike we were told about that we did not do, so if you are going, check out Duke Creek Falls.  It's a moderate hike and about 2 mile round trip.  Until next time... 

These pictures are taken in the same spot just one at night and one during the day!

  

 

DF, GF Potato Soup

Dairy Free/ Gluten Free Potato Soup

I created this soup yesterday on a whim when I needed to use some carrots before they went bad and my husband came home with a bag of white potatoes, (which we rarely eat).  So, I thought with it being the end of winter and soup season almost being over for us, that I would make one last "comfort" food for lunch.  The kids loved it too, they each had 2-3 bowls that day.  Let me add here that they are not 100% dairy free, so they did add some shredded cheddar to the top of their bowls! 

This cream cheese you could add if you are NOT dairy free or the light laughing cow cheese wedges.  I would use about 3 TBSP cream cheese or 3 laughing cow wedges.  The consistency is what thickens up the soup and gives it the creamy texture! I chose to suggest "light" versions of dairy because this soup is higher in carbs, so it should be lower in fat!  Reason being using one source of fuel (carbs) for energy.  

If going for Dairy free, what I did was open this can and scooped off the cream that is naturally on top.  There was about 1/4 cup of cream on the top and I used it all!  I didn't have a light version of this coconut milk, but usually the light versions do not have the cream on top!

I'm using my ninja foodie on the pressure cooker and saute function today to make this soup super quick and also to allow it to stay warm so the family can graze on the soup all day as they desire.  Once I had everything ready and the lid locked, I cooked everything on high for 10 min and let it naturally release.  Then I added the creamy coconut milk and stired to combine, adding about 2 tbsp nutritional yeast and salt to taste.

So for starters, I washed and diced about 6 medium sized white baking potatoes and about 1/2 a small bag of organic baby carrots.

Use 2 cubes of this garlic and saute in about 3 tsp olive oil on high till melted.

using the saute function on the ninja foodie

Next I added my diced carrots and sautéed them with the garlic for about 1 min.

This is a freezer MUST HAVE to keep on hand.  I start so many of my recipes off with this!  I buy mine at Walmart.  

I added this frozen mixture to the carrots and garlic and sautéed for about 2 min.

I used this bone broth from Walmart next and added the potatoes in, turning off the saute function.

Lastly, I added about 2 tsp salt and the sealed the lid shut, pressure cook function on high for 10 min!

After it is done cooking you could manually release the pressure, depending on how much time you have. I let mine naturally release on its own.  After removing the lid, add your cream (whatever you choose) and stir well.  You can add more salt and even pepper too if you desire. I added 2 TBSP nutritional yeast giving this soup more of a "cheese" flavor keeping it dairy free.    

Toppings that would be good include, bacon crumbles, green onions, chives, sour cream and cheddar cheese (use dairy free versions if you're dairy free)

ENJOY!