Visiting Aspen
Aspen is one of America’s most famous cities, known for its location in the heart of the American Rocky Mountains. The city is one of the most expensive places in the country to live, and is a popular destination for wealthy travelers. Aspen is largely seen as a winter destination for its world class skiing, but I went in the summer time with my goal to climb some of the surrounding mountains, which are among the most challenging in the United States. Aspen is a small modern city, but you’ll find several 19th century buildings in the downtown area.
The city is named after the Aspen tree, which dominate the surrounding landscape. Despite it’s namesake, you’ll come across way more evergreens than Aspen trees while in the city!
Aspen is incredibly expensive, and has one of the highest priced real estate markets in the country. The cheapest single family house on the market in Aspen was priced at well over half a million dollars! Again that is the cheapest you can find, so I imagine it’s probably in horrible condition and ready to collapse any moment. The average price of a home in Aspen is around five million dollars. There are plenty of other houses that cost around ten million, and it’s easy to spend more money than that! I can’t image what it cost to rent or own a building in the city center, but with so much healthy competition everything is well taken care of. This building above seemed to be a restaurant. Despite the high cost of living the city sometimes keeps things simple and retains its outdoor theme. The tent below is actually a trash can.
Aspen has a small city center like most Colorado towns. Here you’ll find all the best shops and restaurants, and nearly all of them are independent. It’s definitely a lively district with lots going on, such as street performers and live music. These places weren’t priced too horribly, so it won’t kill your wallet to have lunch or dinner in down town Aspen.
I’d say Aspen is pretty comfortable during the summer. It’s elevation at 7,900 feet (2,400 meters) is enough to prevent scorching hot summers. Also the dry heat of being away from the coasts also make it more pleasant. Just in case you can’t tolerate the heat there are several fountains in the city center to run through. Below is a shot of a random piece of art also in the city center.
Aspen is a relatively new city that was first settled in 1879. It’s original purpose was a simple mining town. The US government created the Sherman Silver Purchase act in 1890, which made silver prices skyrocket. Aspen saw lots of development and within a few years it developed reasonable infrastructure as shown in the photo above. As the silver boom ended, Aspen declined for decades until it became a nasty town in the middle of Colorado. It wasn’t until after World War II that Aspen began to be seen as a ski resort within some of the most beautiful scenery in the Rocky Mountains.
By chance I happened to visit the Swiss Alps only two months after I went to Aspen. Of course Aspen can’t compete with the ancient history of Switzerland and some of the majestic peaks like the Matterhorn, but nevertheless I could see a lot of European influence in Aspen. Most of the lodges and restaurants had names taken from the Swiss region of Europe. Below is a painting of showing Europeans from the Alps as well.
Even though Aspen is primarily seen as a winter destination and ski resort, there is lots to do in the summer time as well. The ski lifts can take hikers and campers to some good starting locations, while mountain bikers can ride the lifts up and fly back down. I’d definitely like to revisit here in the winter time. I might even do a winter climb of Colorado’s highest mountain, which isn’t too far away!
Aspen doesn’t have many specific attractions or landmarks, since most of the appeal is the surrounding mountains. The one exception might be John Denver park, which is a fairly large city park filled with different types of gardens, the Theater Aspen and open fields for sports. There were lots of young kids out here skateboarding, some were even getting professional instruction as an example.
John Denver was a famous singer who’s career peaked in the 1970s. He had always loved the city of Aspen, so the park was a memorial dedicated to him after he passed away in the 1990’s. Along the large stones placed in the gardens are lyrics for his songs. The large stone above holds the lyrics for Annie’s Song, which was one of John Denver’s most famous.