I am SO in love with Colorado in the summer, it’s unreal. Its the perfect temp and not humid at all ( esp for someone coming from Texas.. hot and humid is pretty much the norm ). The cherry on top of this little getaway was our new house in Durango. Seriously, the perfect mountain home… I’m such a lucky gal !! Here’s my favorite stuffz about the house ::

The town of Durango is the cutest little town I’ve ever seen.  Its a little hippie town ( probably why my grandma loves it so much.. she’s a little bit of a tree-hugger ) with a large Native-American presence. There is an endless amount of amazing restaurants that provide yummy meals made from organic and locally grown ingredients ( << they’re real big on that in CO ). In the evening, most bars/restaurants have live music and options to have a drink/relax or dance.

Also, Durango hosts SO MANY places to shop for gypsy/Native American-esque jewelry, leather, home decor, etc (some of my jewelry bought from Durango can be seen here). My favorite.

Here’s some highlights from the first few days in CO::

My favorite coffe-spot in town:: The Steaming Bean Coffee Co.. the lady who works there is such a badass too.. its a must-go.

The train that goes from Durango to the town of Silverton is something you gotta do at least once. We rode in the Silver Vista train car, and it was so worth the money to sit first-class. The car was glass-roofed and open on the sides so we could see EVERYTHING.. which is what you want because the views are absolutely incredible.

Seriously, though. Amazing. The railroad also offers special wine tasting experiences and a bunch of free stuff when you sit first class, SO its worth it. A 3 hour train-ride is really only enjoyable with some snack/drank action going on.

Colorado in the summer = flowers galore. The town is COVERED in them and they are all bright and perfect and beautiful.

Also a must-go:: The Durango Juice Bar. I got the Daily Greens Juice ( spinach, parsley, kale, celery, cucumber, green apple, & lemon ) with a wheatgrass shot pretty much every day. The sunflower seeds are grrreat too. My 9-year-old brother liked the green juice here.. so obviously, its freakin’ good.

A couple other places we ate in the first few days that I recommend are::

Eolus:: really good organic food and tons of gluten-free options ( and sushi )! I got the chopped salad and we all split the flourless chocolate cake, the creme brûlée, and the gluten-free beignets w/ lemon custard sauce. My family goes really hard in the desert arena… as you can tell. Also, Eolus has live music most nights on the roof in the summer.. its a really cool spot.

Christina’s Mexican Grill & Bar:: the most amazing mexican food! I mean, we have GREAT mex food in Texas, but this place competes with some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had. I got this amazing Pollo Asado with beans and rice on the side ( we all decided mine was everyone’s fav ). They serve some AMAZE breakfast too.

Find Part II of the trip here!

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