Aspen, CO: June 2025

It took us about 6 hours to drive from Steamboat Springs to Aspen where we stayed at Hotel Jerome. Our room was spacious - which was perfect given we unloaded most of our bags from the car. The valet, Carlos, was particularly helpful- especially when my passport was missing. He took me down to the garage helped search the car. When it didn't turn up he suggested we bring the car around where there was more light and we found it wedged between the middle console and the seat.

We walked around Aspen for a bit and then went to Betula - one of our favorite restaurants in Aspen for dinner. We were quite surprised when our server walked in and said- and "did you find your passport - it is me, Carlos, from the hotel."

At Betula with Carlos

Sunday morning we decided to go for a walk along the Rio Grande Trail and then do some shopping. Our walk turned into a pretty long hike up the Lower Hunter Creek Trail (we were wishing we had worn our hikers).

Along the Lower Hunter Creek Trail

Sunday evening we had dinner at Casa Tua- which had been on our "would try again" list. We sat outside and while the people watching was great, the experience was good, but not great. We added "not" to our "would try again" list because in Aspen one should expect greatness at restaurants.

Enjoying our outdoor table at Casa Tua

As fishing and horseback riding are now in our comfort zones from our week at Vista Verde we decided to try them again in Aspen. We scheduled a 9am ride on Monday morning with Maroon Bells Guide and Outfitters. Micki rode Calypso and Filip rode Stella, both of whom were more responsive than Filka and Mouse (our horses at Vista Verde). The ride was pretty rocky in parts, but the weather was perfect. Our group was large, but fortunately we were just behind one of the guides who provided great commentary on the ride.

Filip on Stella, Micki on Calypso

Monday night we tried a new restaurant (both to us and to Aspen) called Wayan, serving French-Indonesian cuisine. We really loved the Lobster Noodles, the Crab cake and the chocolate dessert with avocado ice cream. We added this one to our list to repeat.

Our fishing trip on Tuesday morning was booked with Wild Willow Outfitters (which was connected to the Hotel Jerome) and we fished in the Roaring Fork (near Leaning Tree), which meant moving water in waders. We had a great time and even caught a couple of beautiful German Brown Trout.

Filip casting in the Roaring Fork

Micki's catch

On Tuesday night we met our dear friends Stan and Sarah for dinner at Wild Fig, which is also one of our favorites in Aspen and it definitely didn't disappoint (despite the fact that it took 20 minutes for our first round of drinks to arrive).

Wednesday morning we worked out, packed up our bags, did some shopping and had a light lunch before heading over to Stan and Sarahs where we had drinks on their deck while enjoying the beautiful views from their home, followed by dinner that evening at their golf club.