“Sometimes a man hits upon a place to which he mysteriously feels that he belongs. Here is the home he sought, and he will settle amid scenes that he has never seen before, among men he has never known, as though they were familiar to him from his birth. Here at last he finds rest.” ~ W. Somerset Maugham

This is exactly the way we felt when we first saw the Colorado Rockies in August 1987, and again when we first set foot in the Roaring Fork Valley and saw Elk Springs in 1999.

One of our reasons for RVing full-time for four years, was to see as much as possible of this great North American continent, and to decide where to live once our traveling days were over, and we were back to making hotel reservations! With total freedom to choose the location of our next home, we were faced with a rare decision. Like most people, our “home town” had always been decided by Mick’s place of employment and, to an extent, by the local school district. This time, no-one but us had a say in where we should live … and this actually made the decision quite tricky: how do you decide?!

To cut a long story short, our list of possible states was quickly reduced to two: California and Colorado. Finally the mountains won, and then we found and fell in love with Glenwood Springs and the Roaring Fork Valley, which stretches all the way to Aspen and Independence Pass. The first time we saw Elk Springs…well, it simply felt like home.

Nearby, Glenwood Springs is a lovely and very interesting small town that has a fascinating history (Doc Holliday is buried here, legend has it!) and lots to offer, including the famous Hot Springs – a fabulous place to relax year round. 

We LOVE this place, and it’s weather!

The route from Vail to Glenwood takes us west on Interstate 70 through the dramatic Glenwood Canyon. To us this is one of God’s great wonders, truly awe-inspiring. From Glenwood Highway 82 runs south east (past the left turn up towards the Colorado Mountain College and Elk Springs) and on down the Roaring Fork Valley past Carbondale, El Jebel and Basalt to Aspen.

This has to be one of the most gorgeous valleys in the entire world.

We invite you to check out our Log Home section to see how our RV adventure ended.