I managed to snag a direct to flight from Boston to Denver, which got me to Denver aroun 7pm. Just enough time to go out for a bit on a Friday night.
First stop was the Wynkoop Brewing Company, Denver's first brew pub. Stacey and I enjoyed a nice dinner, some weird chili beer and then a game of shuffle board. I asked if she meant the old people's game and come to find out...that is what it was! :)
Next stop was Fado's, pronounced f'doe. Stacey's co-worker/friend, Sarah joined us too. Apparently this is a chain Irish pub that was build in Ireland and then shipped over to Denver. It wasn't my favorite bar, but we did find a seat on on the porch so we could enjoy the nice Denver evening!
Stacey and I
Stacey and Sarah
Due to the time difference I was exhausted by 11pm or so. That is 1am Boston time (as my mom likes to say!).
DAY 2
I awoke Saturday morning to absolutely beautiful weather. Perfect for walking down to the local breakfast nook, Le Peep. It was a great walk for good food. However, I feel tricked. They said pancake breakfast sandwich on the menu. Yummy! Unfortunately, it showed up as pancakes and eggs. Seperate. Sigh...no breakfast sandwich. I feel tricked.
After breakfast we did a nice walk through Cherry Creek, Stacey's part of Denver, and made a pit stop at the local market. Great homemade breads, beef jerkey, soap, jewelry and fruits. It was packed too! Tons of dogs and hippies.
Of course you can't go to Colorado without visiting the mountains so off we went!
Stacey is a big fan of hiking so she has been on several trails around the area. One of the "easy" trails is up to St. Mary's Glacier, which is part of Arapaho National Forest. The start of the trail is at an elevation of around 10,300 ft. and the end of the mile long trail is about 11,000 ft.
Before we left for our day trip Stacey told me that the trail was pretty easy and we could just wear sandals. No big climbing. Just walking around. Sounds great, right?...Wrong.
We got out at the base of the hike and this was the first thing I saw.
*Not my photo*
Hmm...not really sandal hiking, is it? Oh well. We pressed on.
Immediately I started to feel like my lungs were shrinking to the size of pennies. I had no idea that the elevation would affect me so much! Huffing and puffing does not make for a good hike. It was good to look around and see others doing the same. Phew!
We made it up a bit farther and started to see quite a bit of snow. Its a bit hard to see with the glare, but the trail was half dirt/rocks and half snow.
We kept going for a bit and I turned around to see this wonderful view. It was breathtaking...literally. Remember I was at an elevated level!
We had traveled quite a bit and I was proud of myself for not passing out.
We walked a bit more and then I realized that snow and sandals aren't a good mix so we turned around to walk back. Apparently, this is what I missed. I don't see what the big deal is. HA!
On the way down we passed a beautiful waterfall and stopped for a little photoshoot. I even have the wind blowing in my hair look going on! I'm a pro.
Originally the plan for the day was just to stop by the glacier, but the weather was beautiful and we couldn't resist a beautiful summer day drive. Next stop...Mt. Evans, 14,264'!
Colorado has 55 fourteeners (mountains 14,000' and above in elevation). There is a drivable path up to the top, making it very accessible to anyone. Apparently this is the highest paved road in the US. Mount Evans can be seen from almost any viewpoint in Denver and fills the skyline.
On our drive up to Mt. Evans we took a pit stop to enjoy the view at Echo Lake (10,900'). Tons of families were stopped for picnics, fishing and just a day of relaxing.
The Mt. Evans Scenic Byway was right after this stop and it was time to "climb" the mountain.
The start of our drive
A view of Echo Lake from above.
We found some new friends, mountain goats! I was so amazed that these animals just were walking by the street.
One even got super close to the truck!
As we continued our ascent up the mountain and we noticed that the weather started to get a bit sketchy. No longer was the sky clear and not a cloud in the sky! Our path looked like we would be just dropping off the side of the mountain.
Our first stop since Echo Lake was Summit Lake Park (12,850'). On the drive up I read about Summit Lake Park and this was what I was expecting.
"During the summer, the park is filled with wildflowers, some of which have not been found anywhere outside of the Arctic Circle."
This was the photo that I was shown.
This is what I saw.
I don't believe those writers when they talk about the flowers. LIARS!
We laughed a bit at the sight and started back up the mountain. On the way up we saw several hardcore cyclists, runners and a few skiiers trying to hitch a ride up to the top.
Right away we saw another moutain goat. It actually freaked me out a bit because he was so close!
The road leads up to the summit parking area, which is at about 14,130'.
There is a small hiking path that covers the last 134 feet to the summit. The hour or so drive up to the top was worth it for the wonderful views! I can't even express the beauty that can be seen from the top of this mountain. It looked like a painting. Now I get why people do all that outdoors stuff!
Start of the trail up to the summit of Mt. Evans. Mmm hmm...we didn't even try it!
On the way down I was able to enjoy the view again. We could see in the distance that more rain was coming. So far we had head, rain and snow. What else is there?!
Mountains being rained on in the distance.
I'm like Eeyore with the raincloud over my head.
But we weren't done...there was more weather! HAIL! What a weather day.
The day ended with drinks and sushi! My faves!
DAY 3
We woke up early again, which is rare for me, and stopped by to pick up Sarah on the way to brunch.
What a nice surprise to end up at Bump n' Grind, a drag queen brunch. Interesting! My dad and I have been to a place similar in NYC. This place wasn't as nice as Lucky Chengs in NYC but it certainly was as fun and the food was awesome! Best part about the experience was the menus. My menu was on the back of the Rod Stewart record. Rod Stewart!
I was so overwhelmed with looking around that the only other photo that I managed to take was of a painting. Oops! No waitress/waiter photos!
The day before Stacey and I had talked about a few area tours that we could do. One was the Coors Factory tour and another was Celestial Seasonings factory tour. I don't really like beer so tea was the choice!
Celestial Seasonings is located in Boulder, Co so we had a little drive. Again I got to see beautiful views on the drive over. It was wonderful!
The tour is about 45 minutes and includes a look at the history, factory and some info on how the tea is made. It was super informative and we got free tea samples at the end. I learned more in that one tour than in all the hours of tv I watch!
On the way back to Denver we stopped for a bite to eat in Boulder and a little walk around Pearl Street Mall. Boulder is defintely the hippie part of Colorado. I haven't smelled that much B.O. since I was in Italy!
Pearl Street Mall
Street Performer
We also had some great sangria and tapas at The Med. I forgot how much I enjoy tapas like hummus and house olives!
Stacey and I made it back to Denver to just hang out on her porch and chat. It was a wonderful day and it was great to just relax.
We started to end the day with dinner at Lola. According to their website they are rated one of the Top 5 places to drink tequila in the US. I have to wonder how they figure that stat out. Hmm...
The last stop for the night was Downtown Denver. The sun was just setting and it was a wonderful evening to take a stroll.
Last Day
The last day in Denver was a short one but we packed it full! We had breakfast at a cute little greek cafe down the street and then paid a visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens.
The gardens, flowers and other decorations were stunning. It seems like it would be a great place to just go and relax. Read a book by the lake. Knit under the willow trees. Nap in the Japanese garden. Definitely a must to visit right in the middle of Denver!
A special part of the gardens for the summer is David Roger's Big Bugs exhibit. These sculptures are made using "combinations of whole trees found standing or fallen dead, cut green saplings selectively harvested from the willow family, dry branches, and other forest materials." They reminded me of Honey I Shrunk The Kids. :)
Chinese Garden
Flowering Cacti
The Rose Garden
There was a cool tropical area that we walked through. With all of the humidity it was like being back home in Florida!
On the way out we even spotted some creepy black flowers. I loved them!
The last part of the day we walked around downtown again, walked through Wash Park and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.
Stacey dropped me off at the airport and she was telling me how the Denver airport is the largest in the US. Crazy! It looks so funny too. I read that the pointed tarps are supposed to resemble the view of the rockies. I'm not so sure but it sure does look interesting!
Finally it was time to get back to Boston and the rain. Sigh...I love vacation!!!
Now I'm back in Boston and I ready to become outdoorsy. Does taking Korky to the dog park count?!
