Ever roll into a town and just take an immediate dislike to it? I've been to plenty of places I wasn't particularly keen on but nowhere has rubbed me the wrong way quite like Aspen, Colorado. Was so taken aback that I took a wrong turn and wound up in Snowmass, which was possibly worse but I didn't stick around long enough to find out.
Don't get me wrong, the scenery is amazing but I couldn't shake the feeling that some rich assholes had bought up paradise and were selling tickets. I'll admit, my expectations were probably a bit skewed by the fact that Hunter S. Thompson had called the place home. My money is on him burning it to the ground if he were still around.
Wouldn't have even been in Aspen if it wasn't for Snob Knob Maroon Bells. To get there though, you had to go into Aspen and pay to take a bus up there past the mansions of all the people whose names would get the bus driver fired.
Once you get past all that it's pretty nice. Unless you're a climber that is, the Bells are made of mudstone and it's rather fond of giving way and giving you gravity lessons without warning.
Speaking of giving way without warning, this is an avalanche chute. If you're ever looking to cash in your life insurance policy they're a great place to ski in wintertime.
The weather was acting kind of snobby too, teasing you with a sliver of sunshine and then dumping rain. Eventually said to hell with it, I'll come back tomorrow and went to find somewhere to camp. Easier said than done. Ended up an hour away at the Ruedi Reservoir. I'd never heard of it before I spotted it on my atlas but in the morning's light it wasn't half bad.
Better weather didn't improve my opinion of Aspen any but it made for a better visit with Maroon Bells. Now all I've got to do is get back there when the aspen start changing color. From what I hear it's tripod to tripod with photographers that time of year, my bear spray may come in handy after all...
So where have you visited that you took an instant dislike to?
