Hello everyone. The following memoirs are from my travel to
Colorado from 12th Aug to 20th Aug 2014. We stayed at a vacation rental in Lakewood
which is about 15 mins from Denver. I always book a vacation rental to have access
to a kitchen, as I am a vegetarian. I like the flexibility of preparing my own
meals if the local cuisine does not entice me enough. Also, as always, my disclaimer that all the listings of accommodation and restaurants is based on my personal experience and I do not get any monetary benefit out of it.
I anticipate this to be long so I would narrate my best experiences
first. The most memorable experience from this trip was our drive to Aspen.
1) Aspen:
The drive to Aspen was nothing like I had ever experienced before. We started
from Denver early morning and took a breakfast stop in a small town called
Frisco (exit 203 on I-70). From there we continued our Journey to Aspen through
the Independence Pass (highway CO-82). The views on Independence Pass were
breathtaking with huge mountains and clear water bodies. There are endless
number of stops you can make on the way and still not have enough of nature. I
totally recommend this drive to experience the full beauty of mother nature. Independence Pass or CO-82 is only open during summer and is closed in winters.
While coming back from Aspen, we
had to take a detour because of a bike race. We went to Glenwood Springs and took I-70 all the way back
to Denver. We had lunch at a small Thai restaurant called Bangkok Happy Bowl in
Carbondale. It was a nice find and the food was amazing. I ordered a vegetarian
Laksa and my husband ordered a Bangkok Bowl with chicken.
On the way back to Denver, we also
visited a town called Breckenridge. It was late in the evening so we could not
do much there but it is a neat little town with a river walk.
2) Red
Rocks Amphitheater: If you love music then you have to experience music in this
amphitheater. It is in Denver and very close to Lakewood where we were staying.
It is an open arena surrounded by tall red rocks. We attended a Spanish music
concert by Rodrigo and Gabriella. We were sitting in the arena with a huge animated crowd (that too on a Sunday night), starry sky above our heads and
gigantic red boulders surrounding us. The whole experience was ethereal and one
of the best highlights of this trip. If you decide to go here make sure you add
an hour for parking because the venue is in the mountains and the parking
process is slow. You will find the parking easily though because the events are
very well managed. It takes time just because of the curvy roads and the sheer
number of cars as the events are very popular.
3) Pike’s
Peak and Garden of the Gods: We went to Manitou Springs early in the morning
and took the cog rail up to Pike’s peak. It is a 1.5 hr ride each way (return
journey is slightly shorter). You get 30 mins to spend on the peak. The ride
and the views from the peak are very scenic. Do carry a jacket because it is
extremely cold at the top. After Pike’s Peak, we went to the Garden of Gods
visitor center. It is very close to Manitou Springs and can be easily covered
on the same day, provided, you take the morning cog rail. A couple on the cog rail advised us to go to the Garden of Gods visitor center first before exploring the area. We found it very helpful as we were able to get a map of the area from the visitor center. It is a big loop and you can easily get lost if you do not have a map. Also, if you miss your scenic sight, there is no way to take a u-turn. You will have to drive the whole loop again to come back to the same place. So, it is advisable to get the map
first. We drove around the loop and did a 0.5 mile hike to Siamese twins. These
are two huge rocks joined together forming an arch. You can see Pike’s Peak
from the arch opening of the Siamese twins.
4) Boulder:
We did not do anything specific except for driving around the university town.
University of Colorado is very impressive and we enjoyed just walking around
admiring the different structures. We also went to Chautauqua Park. There are
many vacation houses around the park and a steep mountain trail if you want to
do a little hiking.
After that we just hung out at the Pearl Street Mall. Do not be deceived by the nae, it is not a mall in the traditional sense but plethora of shops spanning numerous streets. It was a fun place to walk around and watching the tourists milling in and out of the souvenir shops.
If you like international cuisine, you can try Gurkha's in boulder. It is nepalese cusine with excellent noodles and soups. It is kind of a food court place, though, (perfect for a take out), and not a proper sit down restaurant.
After that we just hung out at the Pearl Street Mall. Do not be deceived by the nae, it is not a mall in the traditional sense but plethora of shops spanning numerous streets. It was a fun place to walk around and watching the tourists milling in and out of the souvenir shops.
If you like international cuisine, you can try Gurkha's in boulder. It is nepalese cusine with excellent noodles and soups. It is kind of a food court place, though, (perfect for a take out), and not a proper sit down restaurant.
5) Science
and history museum: I know you must be thinking “What, a museum?” but trust me
it was worth the time. They had a special exhibition on the Mayan civilization.
It was fascinating to learn how they calculated days, depicted seasons
accurately and that too without any sophisticated tools. There were a lot of
archaeological artifacts that give you a sense of how people lived in those early
times. Some of the traditions are alive even today.
6) Air
force academy and Mining Museum: We covered both of these on the same day. We
first drove to the Air force academy which is in Colorado Springs. The self guided tour started with a short movie on the academy and the training program for the cadets. The
academy has its own chapel and you can attend the morning service if you are
interested (we went on a Sunday, not sure if the service is conducted on other
days of the week too). There isn’t much to do in the academy except for the scenic
views as it is built at the foothills of a mountain. We went to the mining
museum thereafter which was only 5 mins from the academy. The museum is closed
on Sundays but we got lucky as it was open that day on the request of a travel
group. We took a guided tour and learnt of many amazing facts about mining in
the earlier days. They still have many machines from that era in running condition.
They also let you sift through sand to find gold flecks.
Overall, it was an amazing trip and I would totally
recommend this destination to the travel aficionados. Please do not forget to
comment if you liked the blog or if my comments made your travel easier in any
way.
Restaurants we tried while in Colorado:
1) La
Loma – In Denver and extremely good Mexican food.
2) Bangkok
Happy Bowl – In Carbondale close to Aspen and fabulous Thai food. Hidden gem.
3) Danny’s
– In Lakewood. It is a local diner and we stopped here for breakfast.
