Aspen

last weekend i went to aspen to enjoy my birthday present from my mom. to go see my favorite opera in Aspen at their music school. it was pretty good. the singing was awesome, but the acting and blocking were not a favorite. i saw many backs of actors who were not singing, and they were blocking those that were singing upstage. yeah. the one thing that bothered me the most was the guy that played the lead male's dad. the lead looked older than this guy. they didn't do so well on the age thing. but his singing was very good. the only one that really impressed me was the male lead. he was excellent all around! we stayed in snowmass, which was 20 minutes from aspen. we were right next to the ski hill! obviously we didn't go skiing. but there was still snow patches! aspen is a really pretty town, but so very expensive. it was about 4 hours from us. i got burnt. yeah. see, my fiance wanted more power through the mountains, so we didn't have the air on. which was fine because it wasn't tooo hot in the mountains (denver 102 degrees, aspen 85) however, the sun was beating down on me. you can see where the seatbelt crossed my chest. yeah. anywho, it was a beautiful drive. went by vail. can't wait to ski there! passed lots of slopes! hopefully we will be able to go skiing this year! $$$ on our way home, we took independence pass, which is pretty much a scenic drive. talk about beauty! sorry, no camera this trip, but we will be back. we stopped at one of the pulloffs and climbed on these massive granite rocks by a creek (creek, river, who knows what it was) and the water was so clear! it was beautiful, rolling off the rocks, half expecting to see a bear come get a fish. the water was still cold, but felt good! and we even drank some! it was pretty good! i can't even explain it! then we drove on a little further and found a ghost town! no, not haunted, just abandoned. it's in this valley where it is constantly windy, and in the winter has major blizzards and brisk winds. according to the sign. it was during the late 1800's when everyone was mining for gold. there were about 500 people living there, 4 groceries, 3 bars, a hotel, a boarding home, there used to be a three story building along the hill, but we couldn't find it. most of the buildings were just holes in the ground. they rebuilt some homes, but mostly just fallen wood. there were still nails and glass and cans everywhere! the town was only there for about 30 years, till everyone started to move to aspen for the better climate. and you won't believe the name of the town. independence. hmmm... insperiation for the name of the road? so then, after walking around that, we went further up the road. and i mean up. we stopped at the outlook (AWESOME) and we were over 12,000 ft. it didn't effect us a whole lot since were were at 10,000 the whole weekend. anyway, it was a beautiful drive. aspen is beautiful, the opera as pretty good. it was just nice to get away for a little while. could live without the burn, but now i have a nice tan! =) have to look good in that wedding dress! =) that is my trip to aspen. i'm sure i will be back again, and this time i will take pictures! even if i have to get a disposable again! (blech)