Route: Kansas City → Colorado Springs → Buena Vista → Twin Lakes → Leadville → Independence Pass → Aspen → Glenwood Springs → Longmont → Estes Park → Rocky Mountain National Park → Grand Lake → Bear Lake → Denver → Kansas City
Trip length: 4 days
Travel style: Road trip, camping, hiking, and scenic drives
Starting point: Kansas City, Missouri
I Didn’t Have a Perfect Plan
I didn’t have a perfect plan for this trip. I didn’t even know what the best route to Colorado was. I knew I had a long weekend, a few days of PTO if needed, and wanted to get away for a few days. Being from Nepal, Colorado felt like a more instinctive choice. Mountains have always been familiar to me, so when I started looking at the map, Colorado naturally caught my eye.
I looked at the map, talked to a few colleagues, and eventually came up with an idea to make a loop through Colorado Springs, Buena Vista, Twin Lakes, Aspen, Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Denver .
It wasn't a perfectly planned itinerary. I mostly had a direction, a few places I wanted to see, and the freedom to figure things out along the way. And honestly, that's how I like traveling at least for now until I'm married. lol.
My four-day route from Kansas City through Colorado and back
Friday Night: Kansas City to Colorado
On Friday evening, I packed my things into a rented minivan and started driving west from Kansas City, MO. The first part of the journey was, as expected, boring—highway after highway. It was mostly about getting to Colorado, and I knew the scenery would get much better the next day. That is why I planned to leave late in the evening after work.
I drove for about six hours and eventually stopped in Colby, Kansas, where I found a motel for the night. The motel wasn't anything special, and it didn't need to be. I just needed a bed, a shower, and a few hours of sleep before the real adventure began.
Saturday Morning: The Tall Hills/Mountains Appear
I left the motel around 7 a.m. and started driving toward Colorado Springs.
Within a few minutes, I realized I had crossed into a different time zone—the one that's an hour behind. So technically, I had left at 7, but it felt like 6 a.m. Boom!!! I just gained an hour. Lol.
After a couple of hours of driving, for the first time on the trip, the roads started becoming scenic. The view slowly opened up, and the mountains finally began to appear.
At that moment, I knew I had made the right decision.
The mountains began to fill the horizon as I drove west.
Why Colorado Reminded Me of Nepal
Mountains feel different when you grew up in Nepal. I’ve lived in the United States for several years, but Colorado brought back something familiar. The mountains reminded me of home, of being younger, and of the landscapes I grew up seeing.
Mardi Himal Trek - My last trek in Nepal back in December 2019.
I once read that we live our childhood and then spend much of adulthood chasing something we experienced when we were young. I don’t know whether that is true, but it may explain why I keep going for trail, hike and into the mountains.
Colorado felt familiar even though I had never been there apart from the Airports lol. After spending years away from Nepal, perhaps I was looking for a piece of home, which I was desperately missing.
My Perspective on Mountains and Hills
Growing up in Nepal, I had a slightly different way of looking at mountains and hills.
If something is tall, steep, behind tall, lush green hills, and fully covered with snow 'almost' throughout the year—almost, all thanks to climate change 😒—those are what I naturally think of as mountains.
If the landscape is lush green, slightly smaller in height, in the foreground of the tall mountains, and gets occasional or no snowfall, I would usually call those hills.
This picture probably explains what I mean better than I can with words.
You can see the Himal (Mountain), Pahad (Hill), and Terai (Plain Land) all in the same landscape.
The three ecological regions: Mountain, Hill, and Plain Terai
Of course, there is more to the geography than just height and snowfall, but that is the way I grew up seeing and understanding the landscape. I think people in the U.S. call many of these formations mountains regardless of whether they are covered in snow or completely green because they are tall and steep, and they get snow during winter. But for someone from Nepal, when that same landscape turns lush green during summer, we tend to call something like that a hill.
Mountain/Hill on the horizon on the way to Colorado Springs
So, in a funny way, the same landscape could be a mountain in winter and a hill in summer if it were in Nepal. Lol.
Growing up in Nepal and now seeing the Colorado landscape made me realize just how different mountains and rock formations can be from place to place. In Nepal, we have these two distinct types of terrain that naturally feel like mountains and hills. Luckily, the U.S. has its own rock formations that can almost play both roles, depending on the season. Either way, both countries are beautiful in their own way, and I feel lucky to have experienced both.
For another view of Nepal’s hills and snow-covered mountains, see my Manung Kot visit.
Colorado Springs and Garden of the Gods
My first major stop on my Colorado trip was Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. The huge red sandstone formations rise almost vertically from the ground and create a landscape that looks unreal.
I like the flexibility of many tourist areas in the United States. You can park and walk, or drive through and stop at several viewpoints. I prefer walking, but it was early September, the sun was out, and I had a long day ahead. So, I drove through the park, stopped at viewpoints, and walked among the trails and rock formations.
Took the car to the park in Garden of Gods
Some formations looked like giant walls. Others stood like enormous slabs rising from the ground. I grew up seeing tall, snow-covered mountains, tall hills covered with greenery, and rocks with big caves, but these rocks were different. Their reddish color made them look amazing, almost as if somebody had placed them there on purpose.
Garden of the Gods gave me my first real look at Colorado’s geological variety and made me rethink what I call mountains.
A Memorable Indian Lunch
After Garden of the Gods, I stopped for Indian food. I had butter naan with what I believe was paneer masala. The naan was among the softest I have eaten, and the paneer was one of the better Indian meals I’ve found in the United States. Check out Mausam Indian Flavors.
A good meal hits differently during a road trip. Fed and happy, I got back into the minivan and headed for Buena Vista.
The Scenic Drive to Buena Vista
The drive toward Buena Vista was where I could really see the side of Colorado that reminded me of Nepal. The tall green hills, the winding roads, and, as people call them here, mountains appearing in the distance made the drive itself feel like part of the attraction. The highway became part of the experience.
I walked around downtown Buena Vista. It was a good small town. It might have been early evening when I reached there, and the bars and restaurants looked busy. People were eating, drinking, vibing, talking, and enjoying the afternoon.
For a moment, I wondered whether I should grab a drink and wait for someone to come talk to me, as people do in movies. Lol. But my introverted side won, and I kept walking. Lol.
Twin Lakes: My Camping Plan
From Buena Vista, I headed toward Twin Lakes. I usually avoid booking hotels far in advance. I drive until I have had enough for the day, then find a hotel or motel.
Colorado was different. It was Labor Day weekend, and hotels around Aspen cost more than I wanted to spend for one night. The hotels in Leadville were fully booked too. I knew I might run into this situation, so I had brought a tent as my backup plan.
Then I decided to camp at Twin Lakes.
I had done some research beforehand. Many campgrounds could be reserved through Recreation.gov, while others had first-come, first-served sites. I had arrived early, but apparently not early enough to get a spot inside the Twin Lakes Campground. One of the guys at the campground showed me where I could find some other camping areas, so I kept driving uphill and eventually found one of the free camping areas.
To my great surprise, plenty of campers and RVs had already settled in for the weekend.
I found a spot and set up my tent.
As I was setting up my tent, one of the ladies from the nearby campers came over to me. It looked like she had gotten a dare that involved coming over to talk to me, so she did. They seemed to be having a good time. The way she walked made that pretty obvious, her voice gave it away, and her smell confirmed it. She was fully drunk.
Then I faced the mattress problem.
My campsite near Twin Lakes before the temperature dropped.
One of the mattress inflators I had didn’t work, and my mattress needed an electrical outlet to inflate it. I had a jump starter with an air inflator that I keep for my car, and I assumed it would inflate the mattress, but it didn’t.
I now had a tent and an uninflated mattress.
I could have asked one of the nearby campers with an RV for help, but I tried to solve the problem myself. So I went on an outlet search.
I checked the restroom and the area around Twin Lakes, but found nothing. My search eventually took me to Leadville. Since I had driven all the way there, I decided to look around town too.
The museum I hoped to visit was closed, and I couldn’t find a suitable park. Then I spotted a large store called Big R. Outside, I saw the electrical outlet I needed.
I went inside and asked whether I could use it to inflate my mattress. The woman working there said yes and even thanked me for asking first. I thanked her twice.
At that point, that outlet felt like the most valuable piece of infrastructure in Leadville.
Leadville: The Mining City
With the mattress ready, I could finally enjoy Leadville. The mining city has a strong connection to Colorado’s mining history, and reminders of that history are still visible throughout downtown.
A mining bucket and track display caught my attention. Reading that a town grew around mining gives you one kind of understanding, but seeing the old equipment right in the center of town made the history feel much more tangible.
I walked around for a while and then started looking for something to eat. I was heading toward Chipotle when I spotted a Mexican food truck. The decision was easy. I bought two chicken burritos and drove back to Twin Lakes.
Twin Lakes Under the Stars
The night sky at Twin Lakes was beautiful. I sat there for a while, just watching the stars. Then a light drizzle started. Then I went to the campground and the tent kept me dry, but the rain brought the temperature down even more.
I jumped onto my inflated mattress and tried to sleep. Camping always sounds better when you’re planning it than when you’re actually alone, cold, and missing the blanket you need.
The Night I Abandoned My Tent
The temperature kept dropping. I had enough clothes, but I didn’t have a proper blanket. All I had was what we call a polar back home in Nepal, a small woolen blanket. It helped, but it wasn’t enough.
My campsite near Twin Lakes before the temperature dropped.
Camping at Twin Lakes during the Colorado road trip
A short video from the night at Twin Lakes.
Other campers were setting off fireworks that sounded like gunshots while I was trying to sleep. In the middle of the night, I finally admitted defeat. I left the tent, got into the minivan, turned on the heat, and slept there.
At that moment, I was glad I had rented a minivan instead of taking my car. It was long enough for me to stretch out my legs and actually sleep. The tent had been the plan; the minivan became the solution.
Independence Pass: Waking Up in the Mountains
The next morning, I packed up and drove toward Independence Pass. The road climbed through the mountains, and the scenery seemed to change around every turn.
I stopped beside the road and washed my face with cold water flowing down the mountain. It woke me up better than coffee ever could.
As I climbed higher, the terrain grew steeper and the views opened up to exposed rock and distant peaks. I wanted to stop at every overlook. Independence Pass wasn’t just one destination. The drive itself was the attraction—the tight corners, the winding road, and the breathtaking views. Every turn seemed to offer something different, and the scenery was honestly mesmerizing.
Aspen
After crossing Independence Pass, I continued toward Aspen. By this point, I had already driven through so much beautiful scenery that I thought the day couldn't surprise me anymore. I was wrong.
I decided to take the gondola up Aspen Mountain. As the gondola climbed, Aspen slowly disappeared below me and the mountains started opening up around me. Once I got to the top, I didn't just take a few pictures and get back on the gondola. I decided to walk around and take one of the trails into the woods.
It was a nice change after spending so much time behind the wheel. I had no particular plan. I just followed the trail and enjoyed being up there. The air was cooler, the trees were everywhere, and every now and then the view opened up to the mountains.
Later, I drove toward another area around Aspen that had a lot of mining history. I don't remember the exact name of the trail I took, but I remember seeing old mining equipment and other things left behind from the area's mining days. It was interesting to see those old instruments sitting there and imagine people actually working in these mountains years ago.
The drive to that area was an experience by itself.
There were a lot of bicyclists on the road. And I mean a lot. The road was narrow and winding, with mountains on one side and very little room on the other. I had to be patient whenever I came up behind a cyclist because passing on those tight curves didn't feel safe. The scenery was beautiful, but I was also thinking, How am I supposed to get around all these bicycles?
I came across some cold mountain water and thought soaking my feet might feel good.Beneath Aspen’s luxury and tourism lies its mining history. Aspen began as a mining town.
I followed a trail with old mining structures, equipment, and information about the area. Those remnants changed how I saw the mountains. They shaped the communities that grew here as much as they shaped the scene
Glenwood Springs
Estes Park
I left Longmont and drove toward Estes Park. Before heading into Rocky Mountain National Park, I spent some time downtown. I walked along the river, looked around the shops and streets, and enjoyed the small-town feel of Estes Park.
Getting Into the Park
I had a vehicle pass and shuttle access, but I didn't have the timed-entry reservation I wanted. So I took the shuttle from Estes Park to the Park & Ride area and explored what I could.
After 2 p.m., I returned to my minivan. That was when I finally got to do what I had been looking forward to—drive through the park.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Driving through Rocky Mountain National Park became one of my favorite parts of the trip. Some stretches made me feel like I had returned to a remote part of Nepal, but with excellent roads.
The valleys, winding roads, and open mountain landscape felt familiar and new at the same time. I stopped several times to walk around and take pictures. The wind was so strong in some places that standing still was difficult.
Rocks, Mountains and the Wind
One thing that caught my attention was the variety of rock formations along the drive. The mountains didn't all look the same. Some areas were smooth and massive, while others had exposed rocks with completely different shapes and textures.
And then there was the wind. At some of the higher overlooks, it was unbelievably windy. I would get out of the minivan, walk around for a few minutes, take my pictures, and get back inside.
A Glacial Lake in the Distance
At one point, I noticed what looked like a glacial lake far away in the mountains. I took out the binoculars I had brought with me.
My eyes couldn't make out much detail, while my camera could capture more. The binoculars sat somewhere between the two and gave me the most satisfying view.
A Moment That Took Me Back to Nepal
Looking at that distant alpine lake reminded me of the recent glacial lake outburst disaster in Nepal. I had started the day wanting to see mountains, but standing there, I found myself thinking about home—the beauty of the mountains and the danger they can carry.
My heart goes out to the people who lost family members and friends in the disaster. Standing in the Colorado Rockies with binoculars aimed at that lake, I felt that connection to Nepal again. Childhood memories of mountains stay with you.
I’ve also written about disaster preparedness in Nepal and the need to protect people when infrastructure fails.
All the Way to Grand Lake
I continued along Trail Ridge Road toward Grand Lake. The landscape kept changing as I drove—alpine valleys, exposed mountain terrain, forests, and then another overlook waiting around the next curve.
This was the road trip I had imagined while studying the map in Kansas City. I didn't have a perfect itinerary. I had a direction, and each stop gave me another reason to continue.
Racing the Sunset Back to Bear other lakes
After reaching Grand Lake, I turned back toward Estes Park. I wanted to catch the sunset around Bear Lake and the nearby lakes and waterfalls.
I walked around the area and took in my final views of the mountains and water. After several days with the mountains around me, I finally had to accept that the trip was coming to an end.
The Long Drive Back to Kansas City
I left Colorado and began the drive home. I had crossed mountain passes, camped in freezing temperatures, explored Aspen, driven through Rocky Mountain National Park, and walked around mountain lakes.
I was tired and happy. The rough loop I had drawn on a map had worked, until around midnight.
The Animal on the Road
I was driving in the left lane when an animal ran toward the road from the left. I saw it coming but had no time to react.
I hit the animal, and the impact damaged the rental minivan’s bumper. I made it home, but the incident added a few hundred dollars to the trip.
Wildlife creates a serious risk on long nighttime drives. Sometimes you can plan and adapt. Sometimes an animal runs across the road at midnight, and you have no safe move available.
What I Took Away From Four Days in Colorado
I remember this trip as a journey rather than a checklist. I remember leaving Kansas City without knowing how the next four days would unfold, the boring drive to Colby, and the first mountains appearing the next morning.
I remember Garden of the Gods, Buena Vista, and the night at Twin Lakes: the failed mattress inflator, the search for an outlet, the woman at Big R, the food truck, the stars, the drizzle, and the fireworks. I remember leaving the freezing tent for the warm minivan.
I remember washing my face with cold mountain water, riding the gondola in Aspen, missing Maroon Bells, and seeing Colorado’s mining history. I remember the cliffs around Glenwood Springs and the road through Rocky Mountain National Park that took me back to Nepal.
I remember looking through binoculars at a distant alpine lake and racing toward Bear Lake before sunset. I also remember the animal on the road.
Would I Do It Again?
Absolutely, though I would change a few things. I’d bring a proper blanket, carry a mattress pump that works without an outlet, reserve popular destinations earlier, and avoid driving late through areas with wildlife.
I wouldn’t change the freedom of the trip. Traveling alone lets me change my mind, stop in a town that looks interesting, spend an hour staring at a mountain, eat at a food truck, and turn a failed camping setup into a night in a minivan.
That freedom made the Colorado trip feel like mine instead of an itinerary someone else wrote.
Colorado, I’ll Be Back
Four days didn’t come close to covering Colorado. I missed Maroon Bells, spent too little time in Aspen, and left countless trails, lakes, mountain towns, and scenic roads unexplored. Those missed places give me a reason to return.
Somewhere between the red rocks of Colorado Springs and the alpine terrain of Rocky Mountain National Park, I realized that I was chasing a feeling I remembered from childhood: looking at enormous mountains and wondering what was on the other side.
That feeling made Colorado familiar and personal. Even after hundreds of miles, a freezing tent, missed reservations, a broken camping plan, and an animal encounter on the drive home, I would take this trip again.
My Colorado Road Trip Route
Friday night
Kansas City → Colby, Kansas
Saturday
Colby → Colorado Springs → Garden of the Gods → Buena Vista → Twin Lakes → Leadville → Twin Lakes camping
Sunday
Twin Lakes → Independence Pass → Aspen → Glenwood Springs → Longmont
Monday
Longmont → Estes Park → Rocky Mountain National Park → Trail Ridge Road → Grand Lake → Bear Lake → Kansas City
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