Kristen Cummings

If you are looking for inspiration for a romantic getaway for two in the Colorado Rockies, read about our stay in the Highland Haven Creekside Inn’s magical, whimsical and luxurious TreeHouse. But, we weren’t looking for Denver-proximity on our anniversary weekend: We were looking for a romantic weekend to unplug, unwind and reconnect in a unique, off-the-beaten path lodging experience. We ate at Murphy’s Mountain Grill, where we gorged ourselves on Citrus Grilled Chicken Plantain Nachos, The MURPH Burger, the Dirty Frenchman Chicken Burger, and took an order of Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding back to the TreeHouse for a bedtime snack. Colorado couples looking to spoil themselves in a beautiful setting for a short weekend getaway that has that far-away-from-home feeling Couples traveling to Colorado that want the multitude of activities and entertainment provided by nearby Denver, but also want that rustic “Colorado feel” of being tucked away in the woods Couples wanting to make Evergreen, Colorado their destination or their homebase as they explore the nearby mountain towns of Blackhawk, Georgetown, Morrison, or Idaho Springs

For us, they needed to be small enough to carry-on (this meant about 46 liters or smaller), they needed to be durable, comfortable, and we wanted straps that stowed away in case we needed to check them because of weight on smaller flights in Asia. Extra features that we wanted were padded laptop compartments, water bottle holders, detachable daypacks, nice suspension, and usable organization compartments. It has a lot of padding, feels durable, feels safe to check onto the plane, and can attach an optional Osprey Daylite pack to the outside (although attaching it is pretty clumsy and callus-inducing on the fingers). They have a lot of neat features, great organization, a water bottle holder that packs away (it will not fit a Nalgene – only a disposable water bottle), an inside shelf to keep everything from shifting to the bottom, a special pocket for quick access to liquids, and many more fun organizational features.

I know we won’t feel young forever, so there is no time like the present to enjoy that type of travel with our kids. If we don’t teach the kids how to travel abroad, they will learn how to travel to other countries from their college buddies. And, now I can see why… “You kids are entitled to go overseas just because you’re almost done with high school And, if you’re reading this from the United States and think a trip to Thailand with your kids is a must-do

My husband will tell you… if I don’t have some trip to plan or look forward to, even if it’s just an adventurous weekend away, I get stir-crazy! And, even if the next trip is many months away, I find great joy in the planning and researching that goes behind making sure we make the absolute most of that trip. And, truly, planning those trips has allowed me to live vicariously through my friends’ travels, and dream of my next travels. So, if you live on the other side of the world, and are planning your first trip to the United States, or if you live down the street and are just looking for something different to do this weekend, I will point you in all the right directions.