This summer, we finally took a trip to the Rockies. I had been talking about doing this for years; my family lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and the idea was to meet halfway and have a joint vacation, the bonus being the shortened trip, the kids (my sis has three, I have two) wrecking someone else’s place instead of our own, and maid service and restaurants to clean everything up and keep everyone refueled. We managed two out of three, landing a very nice, very inexpensive condo just outside of Dillon, Colorado. My wife and I debated: fly? Drive? If we drive, which car? We drove the Audi A4 (small, but it fit all of our luggage, the kids were actually pretty comfortable, and best of all the car kept up an average speed of 90 mph and cornered like it was on rails in the twisty mountain sections of I-15 and I-70; road trips are much more when taken in cars built to perform on the Autobahn), and the drive from San Diego took us two days.

The I-70 through the Rockies: a driver's-eye view.

We spent 5 days exploring Colorado’s Summit and Eagle Counties, but if you’re hankering for a solid Colorado summer vacation, you needn’t wander outside of the immediate Dillon area. Located a few miles from the popular Breckenridge ski resort and town (we went there as well, and I’ll tell you all about that in an upcoming post), Dillon is a small, clean, and very friendly mountain town built on the shores of the aptly named Lake Dillon. Although the lake is justifiably the activity hub of the town, there’s plenty of other stuff to do for the non-aquatic types; road and mountain bikers will be in heaven here, there’s great hiking, a fantastic Farmer’s Market, and good food and great beer at the Dillon Dam Brewery (the place’s brews have won many awards, and for fun and education there’s a self-guided tour of the brewing facilities).

But the best reason to visit is Lake Dillon. Dillon boasts the country’s highest yacht club (altitude-wise, anyway; I’m sure that certain members of the Santa Cruz Yacht Club would argue that, metaphorically speaking, they are the country’s highest yacht club), and a full service marina. The highlight of our stay in Dillon: renting a barbecue-equipped pontoon boat and spending the afternoon exploring the lake’s 26 miles of shoreline. The lake is very calm, and novice sailors will have no problem operating the pontoon boat. (Some advice – even warm weather dwellers should be prepared for the sun; at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level, it’s very intense, and hats and sunscreen are a must.)

They'll let anyone drive these boats - even me.

The lake is too cold for swimming, unfortunately. But it’s a great haven for boaters who want to avoid JetSkis, wakeboarders…truth be told, I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of other watercraft, even during the peak boating season. It made for an altogether relaxing and collision-free experience (I’m no Magellan when it comes to boat handling), and I hope to return to Lake Dillon one day for more.