Colorado! What an absolutely beautiful place to visit with so many things to see!! Andrew was working out in CO for the week and I flew in to meet him for a long weekend in Boulder and Denver. Even though we were there for just a few short days, we managed to pack SO much into our time spent there.

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Flight: I flew for FORTY bucks! via Spirit Airlines. I flew from CT to FL to CO. My travel time was 11 hours. It was rough to say the least. Everyone complains about Spirit, but it really had nothing to do with Spirit and all to do with the 11 hours. By the end, I was worn out! Can’t beat 40 bucks, and I would do it again for sure, but maybe not anytime soon ;)

 

All things Boulder:

I flew into Denver late Thursday and we drove straight to Boulder. We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Boulder. It was nothing special, but it was nice and clean, had nice mountain views, and within quick distance to amenities and downtown Boulder. 

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I was on my own Friday while Andrew worked and I headed to the Flatirons. If you haven’t seen a picture, see below! Stunning. I was a little bit worried about doing this hike on my own, but the Chatauqua Trail is heavily traveled and I didn’t feel unsafe at any point. The Chatauqua Trail is a fairly easy 2 mile loop with a couple other offshoot trails that you can take up the mountain higher. I loved this hike so much, and spent several hours taking my time enjoying the views.

 

From the bottom, you get amazing meadow and mountain views and once you're higher up, you can look down onto the city of Boulder and see for miles. This is also a good quick pit stop if you don’t have much time. Andrew met me after he finished work and the view from the bottom of the trail is really spectacular even if you don’t have time to hike it.

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That night we went and walked Pearl Street. Pearl Street is a fun area full of restaurants and shops. It was definitely a little on the touristy side, but we loved it. We enjoyed large margaritas, chips and guac, delicious queso fundido, and fish tacos at Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant. I had the most fun people-watching here. Boulder, and especially this area, seemed very fashionable and I enjoyed ogling everyone’s outfits. PS you may want to try to make a reservation at a restaurant on Pearl Street if they take them! One of the Mexican places we tried to get into was a 2.5 hour wait. 

 

Rocky Mountain National Park:

Saturday morning we went to Rocky Mountain National Park! Usually you have to buy tickets months in advance to go, but if you didn't do that, they release a select amount of tickets each night at 5 pm CENTRAL time. If your plan is to try to snag one of those park passes the night before, I would recommend logging in in advance to make a user name and password. Andrew and I logged on half an hour before and waited for the minute it turned 5! We thought maybe we were being dramatic, but nope! all of the timed-entry reservation passes for the day sold out within a minute of being released. We felt so lucky to have gotten one!

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https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10086910 

Click the link above to take you to the ticket reservation. We did the Bear Lake Rd Corridor + Full Park Access, 5 am to 7 am entry time. We got there at about 6:15 and we were able to watch the sunrise over the mountains. It was like nothing we'd ever seen, just amazing. I would definitely recommend doing this time frame as it was beautiful to see the sunrise and also much less crowded than on our hike back down. We did the hike to Emerald Lake and on our way we passed Nymph Lake and Dream Lake, both beautiful beyond words. The hike was moderate, but very doable for people like us who aren't really "hikers". We were a little bit worried about the altitude but it was fine; we took our time and stayed hydrated. I've heard a lot of horror stories about people throwing up and feeling dizzy, so just be careful!

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At the end of our hike we also visited Bear Lake which is right at the entry. We could have done a walk all the way around the lake but didn't feel the need.

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After that, we drove the Trail Ridge Road. This drive was unbelievable with so many different views and lookouts to see the Rockys from. Highly suggest this!

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After leaving RMNP, we thought we were done with the views, but we were wrong! On our way back to Denver, we took one of the scenic byways from Estes Park to Denver. If you have time, please do this! There was so much to see, it felt like every view was better than the prior.

 

All about Denver:

We checked into the Sheraton Denver Downtown. Really nice hotel, huge room, great location.

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Things to do: 

That night, we met up with some friends and checked out the nightlife in the RiNo neighborhood. This area was super cute, lots of street art, and very hipster. 

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Highlights of RiNo: 

-Improper City: large outdoor patio area with outdoor bar and food trucks!

-Federales: nice indoor outdoor bar, packed with people

-Finn's Manor: large outdoor area with lots of seating, good drinks, and a dance floor (with so-so music)

-Lustre Pearl: the best dancing we found, hip hop vibes, packed dance floor

-Stem Ciders and Our Mutual Friend Brewery: okay cidery and okay brewery, nothing special. BUT we did take a fun scooter ride from these places to our next location. If you've never used Uber to travel a city by scooter YOU MUST! It's our fave.

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While in Denver we also checked out Red Rocks Amphitheater and did "The Trading Post Trail" that was a 1.4 mile trail around the red rocks. It was gorgeous and such a unique landscape! We also checked out the amphitheater itself and I can't even imagine how cool it would be to see a concert there! Make sure you go in before 2 pm (or earlier) to see the amphitheater. When we initially tried to go in, it closed early because the band performing that night requested it, so we had to come back the next day to see inside. Luckily our hotel was only about 15 minutes away otherwise we would have missed it. Go early!

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Before heading to the airport Monday afternoon, we were pushing it with time, but we drove down to Garden of the Gods and did the Perkins Central Garden Trail. It was a 1.5 mile trail which took us all through the giant red rocks. I'm so glad we made this stop. I believe there are other trails you can take and make a longer trip of it, but we only had about 45 minutes to do the loop and see everything and I felt that was plenty. Spectacular views.

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Places to eat:

We ate at a Mediterranean restaurant called rioja in Larimer Square. We heard Larimer Square was overrated, but we loved it. It was so romantic with the string lights overhead and live music. The food at rioja was to die for. We got an incredible peach and cornbread caprese salad, ricotta gnocci, and lamb.

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We also did brunch at Snooze. Andrew got a flight of pancakes here which was super cool and super delicious. My pretzel bun bacon, egg and cheese was also good! This brunch spot was a part of the Union Station train station which was a cute place to walk around to for shopping and dining.

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Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory: okay, okay, I know this is practically everywhere, but you have to get it when IN the Rocky Mountains, ya know? The salted caramel apple, COME ON! I could eat twenty.

 

What a trip! So much fun in CO and I'd for sure go back to see what other amazing nature they've got to offer. Until next time, Colorado.