Colorado to Wyoming · March 2026
One family. Two states. A late-winter week measured in ski runs, mountain roads, and trails through granite.
Follow the journeyThe week in numbers
Brett and Lisa traveled with their son Andrew, alongside Lisa’s brother Greg, his wife Barb, and their sons Kyle and George. Together they crossed Colorado and Wyoming at winter’s edge—starting beneath the red walls outside Denver and finishing among the granite and frozen water of Curt Gowdy.
The route ledger
Places along the way
From gold-rush towns and railroad cities to ski hills, public lands, and monuments, each destination carries a story that began long before this family arrived.
At the meeting of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, Denver grew from gold-rush settlements founded in 1858. Denver and neighboring Auraria consolidated in 1860, and rail connections arriving in 1870 helped turn the young city into the region’s commercial center.
Explore Denver’s historyThis 738-acre park occupies the dramatic transition between the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. Civilian Conservation Corps crews shaped the amphitheatre between 1936 and 1941; it opened on June 15, 1941, and became a National Historic Landmark in 2015.
Read the official historyRising directly above Golden, Lookout Mountain became part of the region’s early mountain-park story and remains a natural balcony over the plains. Its preserve now connects the Lookout Mountain Nature Center with the historic Boettcher Mansion.
Visit Jefferson County historyGolden began in 1859 as a trading post during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. It was incorporated as Golden City in 1871 and shortened its name to Golden the following year, preserving a compact historic center beside Clear Creek.
Explore Golden’s historyWinter Park opened on January 28, 1940, as a winter-sports center created by the City and County of Denver. It has since become Colorado’s longest continually operated ski resort, growing from a modest public ski hill into a major mountain destination.
Read the resort historyArapahoe Basin opened in 1946 through the efforts of ski racers and World War II veterans Larry Jump and Sandy Schauffler. The hand-built operation was Colorado’s first new ski area after the war and remains the oldest ski area in Summit County.
Read A-Basin’s historyCheyenne began in 1867 after the Union Pacific Railroad selected the site for its expanding transcontinental route. The settlement grew so quickly that it earned the nickname “Magic City of the Plains” and soon became Wyoming’s capital.
Explore Cheyenne’s historyPeople have traveled through this mountain valley for thousands of years, with Ute and Arapaho families using it seasonally long before permanent settlement. The modern town developed into the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Read the valley’s historyEstablished in 1915 after a long campaign led by naturalist Enos Mills, the park protects glacier-shaped peaks, valleys, forests, and alpine tundra. Civilian Conservation Corps crews added many roads, trails, and buildings during the 1930s.
Visit the National Park ServiceThe ski area opened in 1960 as Medicine Bow Ski Area and was later renamed Snowy Range. Set within Medicine Bow National Forest, its compact slopes rise from 8,798 to 9,663 feet beneath the higher peaks of the range.
Explore Snowy RangeWyoming commissioned sculptor Robert Russin’s monumental bronze bust in 1959 for the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. It originally marked the highest point on the old Lincoln Highway before moving to its present I-80 summit setting.
Learn about the monumentThe park was established in 1971 as Granite State Park around the Granite and Crystal reservoirs, then renamed for Wyoming broadcaster and outdoorsman Curt Gowdy. Its trails cross ancient Sherman granite, with the park expanding substantially in 2005.
Visit Wyoming State ParksFront Range prologue
Saturday · March 7
Denver → Red Rocks → Golden
The week opened where the plains meet the foothills. From Denver, the road climbed into a snow-lined Red Rocks Amphitheatre, then rose again to Lookout Mountain before dropping into Golden for an afternoon walk beside Clear Creek.
First tracks
Sunday · March 8
Winter Park, Colorado
Winter Park supplied the first full ski day. The camera started at the quiet base, reached the exposed high country before nine, and spent the afternoon moving between broad views of the Continental Divide and the sheltered runs below.
Bluebird Monday
Monday · March 9
Arapahoe Basin, Colorado
The second ski day climbed higher. Arapahoe Basin delivered a hard blue sky, long ridgelines, a summit view into the surrounding ranges, and a midday table where helmets came off and the stories caught up.
Northbound
Tuesday · March 10
Northern Colorado → Cheyenne
A short camera roll marked a travel day. The mountains receded, the route crossed into Wyoming, and Cheyenne came into focus through its Capitol, downtown streets, and one of the city’s painted boots.
A different pace
Wednesday · March 11
Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park
The skis stayed behind while the group turned south toward Estes Park. Winter had emptied the roads and quieted the lakes, leaving wide mountain views, bare trails, and the kind of overlooks that make a short stop stretch longer.
Wind day
Thursday · March 12
Cheyenne, Wyoming
The open square in the camera roll finally found its story. The family stayed around Cheyenne, went shopping, and watched rough weather sweep across the exposed prairie—an emphatic reminder of how quickly conditions can change on the high plains.
Back on snow
Friday · March 13
Snowy Range, Wyoming
After Thursday’s wind and rough weather, the story resumed west of Laramie. Snowy Range traded the scale of Colorado for open slopes and an unhurried lodge lunch. The return east paused beneath Abraham Lincoln’s granite gaze above I-80.
Final trail
Saturday · March 14
Curt Gowdy State Park, Wyoming
The last full day left the lifts behind. At Curt Gowdy, the route wound through sculpted granite, frozen coves, narrow passages, and patches of open earth beginning to show beneath the retreating winter.
Sound on · March 8 & 12
Two clips came from Winter Park’s high point, nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. Four days later, the camera recorded the force of the Wyoming wind outside Cheyenne.
The complete camera roll
The strongest photographs tell the story above. All 99 still images remain here in capture order, including the meals, transitions, repeated views, and small moments between destinations.
Saturday · 6:05 p.m.
Eight days after Denver, the final photograph faced an open horizon. The skis were packed, the trail was behind them, and the camera roll had become the route home.