Denver – so many reasons to go; so much to enjoy. I first put Denver on my travel bucket list in the `60s watching Colorado’s heroine, “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” That musical told her rags-to-riches story and led my heart straight to Denver. In real life, the Titanic survivor Margaret Brown was typical of those whose spunk and spirit during the Silver Boom and Gold Rush made Denver what it is today.
Whatever your interests, today’s Denver and that area of Colorado provides vacation diversity.
- Visit the unique downtown area. The Tattered Cover bookstore is just one gem in downtown Denver where the Wild West blends with urban chic. On the 16th Street Mall find decades-old bookshop, Tattered Cover, full of old-style lamps, leather couches, and all the books you could ever wish for. Or buy a cowboy shirt at Rockmount Ranch Wear (inventors of the snap button shirt). Denver’s LoDo (lower downtown) district comprises 28 square blocks of restaurants, sports bars and brewpubs as well as nightly live music in various places. (Booklovers – Tattered Cover is an indie bookstore with three locations in the Denver metro area.)
- See the Denver Botanic Gardens – 3 of them! Woody Allen’s film “Sleeper” was filmed at the central Denver Botanic Gardens. It is huge and features a large amphitheater, a conservatory, themed gardens and rotating exhibits. One of the Gardens’ satellite locations is the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, a working farm located along a creek in southern Jefferson County. Prepare for exceptional trails and great bird watching.
Another satellite garden is the alpine and subalpine location called Mount Goliath, accessible by the M. Walter Pesman Trail within the Arapaho National Forest. Mount Goliath includes delicate wild flowers and awesome Rocky Mountain vistas.- Take in a game. Name a sport and Denver has a team. The Mile High City is the home of the Denver Nuggets, the Denver Broncos, the Colorado Avalanche and the Colorado Rockies. You can watch the Colorado Rockies hit homeruns at Coors Field where 52 craft beers are on tap.
- Scavenger Hunt. If you have the grandkids along or if you are just someone who likes to have some fun in new places, use the Smart Phone app and go on the amazing scavenger hunt Urban Adventure Quest for Denver. By solving clues and completing challenges, you can turn Denver into a three-hour gameboard combining the fun of Amazing Race with a city tour. (Urban Adventure Quests are now in 35 cities and are just plain FUN.)
- Find your organic self. Imagine a huge warehouse called The Source. Now put an organic-centric Colorado spin on it. Do that and you have 26,000 square feet of local everything from food to crafts to beer. From coffee shop to restaurant to art gallery – take your foodie self to The Source for a taste of Colorado on Brighton Boulevard.
- Stay at the Brown Palace Hotel. At this iconic and elegant old hotel, you brush your teeth with water from the hotel’s own artesian well. Almost every president since Teddy Roosevelt has visited this elegant, classic hotel. (About $300/night)
- See Western art. Western Art rarely looks at home anywhere but in The West, but I admire it at every opportunity in my travels. The Denver Art Museum houses the Petrie Institute for Western American Art. The American Museum of Western Art – The Anschutz Collection is downtown in the Navarre Building. The Visions West Galleries of Denver specializes in Western art and wildlife motifs, and small galleries in the area almost always include Western artists’ works.
So, plan a trip to enjoy a spirited time a mile high. For more, go to www.denver.org.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Recently, Lonely Planet ranked Rocky Mountain National Park as # 2 on their list for top places to visit in 2015. And in 2014 National Geographic named Rocky Mountain National Park as one of its best trips in the world. Just 70 miles from Denver, RMNP is a memorable day trip or multi-night trip add-on.
Driving to the park you’ll pass breathtaking red sandstone rock formations. In the park, take the Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous motorway in the US. You can snake across the tundra at over 11,000 feet elevation for incomparable views, crossing the Continental Divide along the way. Or traverse the Old Fall Road, the first road to cross the Rockies with stunning overlooks. The highway is closed during the winter.