COVID has kept most of us home more than we like, except for the best introverts. Recently, Kristen and I got serious cabin fever and had to escape our condo.
Steamboat Springs, realistically, is in the middle of nowhere. Located in the northwest corner of the state, it is the main economic hub. Craig, Colorado has a better-than-expected economy, but is very different from Steamboat Springs’ amenities and volume of traffic. To get anywhere, a drive of more than an hour is common.
Cities within about two hours of Steamboat include Silverthorne-Dillon, Eagle-Vail, Leadville-Buena Vista, and Glenwood Springs. Even more is available at three hours of driving.
We chose to get in the car and drive south to Eagle.
We had been to Eagle for Costco runs and stopping in for something to eat on the way to other cities, like Montrose or Durango. We didn’t know much about the area, so we decided to stay the night at the best hotel there and see what was happening.
Of course, our first stop was Costco. We bought some supplies for the next month, plus some wine for the evening, and got out of there. Well, not quite that fast. I had to go to lost and found to get my wallet, plus stop for a big Costco hot dog. (In hot dog terms, they are consistent, large, and one of my grab and go favorites to get.)
At this time, the county/city had limited capacity for indoor seating. After dark, we took a shuttle to Bonfire Brewing, about five blocks from our hotel. Bonfire Brewing became a favorite of mine over Autumn. When I would go to Brau Haus, their IPA that made me the happiest was Firestarter, made by Bonfire. So, being a Bonfire fan and a couple who likes to visit new breweries, we walked in the door to find what we could.
The atmosphere is clearly a brewery. We were lucky and got a table inside. There was quite a crowd in the adjacent outdoor tent. They sounded like they were having fun. Inside, we were two of the four customers. We drank our beer and talked about the cool things we found as decorations around the room. We watched as parties came and went, ordering growlers to go or a quick refill and back out to the tent. Overall, it was a great visit with no hassles.
In less than a couple hours, we were back at our hotel. Across the street was Chinese take out. We ordered, I picked it up. We sat in a bed to each of ourselves and gobbled up good food with fervor.
Getting out of town for a night was great for our minds, emotions, and overall attitude. Being in one spot for so long drove us a bit crazy. We got out in time before we drove each other nuts. Bingo!