It seemed that out of nowhere a few years back, everyone in Ohio all of a sudden decided they wanted to up and move to Colorado (totally random and un-marijuana related, I'm sure). I never really knew much about the state, but since one of my good friends from college now lives in Colorado Springs, heading down for a visit was a great opportunity to see what all of the hype was about.
We road tripped around CO for a week, and I actually was super impressed! I had the absolute best time and Colorado has plenty more to offer than just legal and readily available weed.
Day 1 Denver
The US airlines are really letting me down these days with their lack of budget prices ($300 round-trip is not budget) and removal of basic inclusions like checked luggage. I hadn't realized I apparently booked basic economy with United (although I vaguely now remember doing price comparisons during my apparent blackout in booking these horrendous flights) and had to add $25 each way for my checked bag. Spirit is doing their best to fill this void in the US market, but they had nothing good from Cleveland to Denver. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss you, Ryanair and Easyjet!
Anyway, I landed in Denver in the morning and had time for a quick lunch and to grab my bag before the guys arrived to pick me up. Sammy and Ian are two awesome weirdos I met at the very start of our freshman year at Kent State and we've been friends ever since. We've all had some reunions over the years, but never a weeklong road trip in a different state, so I was very psyched to see them.
It's been quite awhile since I took an American trip, and it's easy to forget that our own country can actually be pretty diverse. It was cool driving into the city and just seeing the mountains everywhere.
We parked downtown and took a walk around some of the main sights. We went through Civic Center Park with the gold-domed state capitol building at one end and the city council at the other and over by the public library and very cool looking art museum.
The guys were thankfully accommodating to my Titanic obsession and agreed to do a quick tour of the Molly Brown house, the home of survivor Margaret Brown, her husband JJ, and their kids. It was also just a good historical example of what old Denver homes would have looked like in the late 1800s.
The tour was about a half hour long and took us through all three stories past the parlor, dining room, bedrooms, servant areas, and kitchen. We also got to hear badass details of Margaret Brown's life such as her days as an ambulance driver in France during the war or publicly shaming rich people into donating to Titanic survivors by posting the names of those who did and didn't or that time she learned Braille and then translated books for blind people. Really feel like I'm kind of slacking in life now.
Next up was our first of many breweries. Sammy is next level into his craft beer, and he had a lengthy list of breweries he was hoping to visit while in Colorado (not like I complained). Cerebral Brewing was downtown, so we hit that up for a flight each. We all pretty much passed each other our beers for taste-testing, so at any given brewery we each got to sample around eight on average.
We headed to check into our hostel after that. I found this swanky looking place online, Ember Hostel, and it did not disappoint! It was in this historical house about a mile south of the city center, and there was free parking which was good for us.
The place was full of fancy furniture and antiques. Chandeliers hung from the ceilings, a dart board was on the wall, a free coffee station and board games were available, and a hot tub and fire pit were out on the back patio. The bunks in the dorm room each had their own privacy curtain, outlet, and light, and there were waterfall showers in the bathrooms. Easily one of the nicest hostels I've stayed at anywhere in the world.
We had dinner at the all vegetarian City O City (thanks for being so cool with veggie food, guys) where I had fake fried cauliflower "chicken" with southwestern style waffles. Unfortunately, at this point my head had started pounding and I was exhausted. Some waitress even came and tapped me on the shoulder while my head was down on the table to offer me ibuprofin. I was almost ashamed to tell her that I didn't even have a hangover. The guys suggested it may also be the altitude change wearing on me, so after I tried and failed to nap for an hour back at the hostel because my head hurt too badly, I did take some painkillers and soon recovered.
There was one more brewery to hit before bed, the sweet metal brewery TRVE. They had long wooden communal tables and creepy black and white photos of old houses and bare trees on the walls. My kind of place. I was clearly not feeling well because I actually opted out of having a beer, but I taste tested the ones the guys got and they were quality.
I forced myself to stay up long enough for a 10 minute relaxation session in the hot tub back at the hostel, then we all headed to sleep.
Day 2 Boulder & Estes Park
We had brunch in Denver at this awesome Southern-style place called Sassafras before we left. Their menu was absolutely fantastic and I wish I had a week in Denver just to go back every morning and eat all of it. Limited to one meal, however, I ordered the fried green tomato eggs benedict which came with cornbread and a side of potato casserole. They also had full sections for bloody marys and mimosas. TEN bloody mary options! You could get bloody mary flights! Ah perfection. Ian also had a banana cream pie milkshake that may or may not have actually had a pie blended up in the shake. So good. So, so good.
Anyway, moving on, we made the relatively quick drive up to Boulder and stopped there to cross off another of Sammy's breweries, Avery. It was outside the city center, but it was packed upstairs and downstairs. We each had a beer there and did the quick self-guided brewery tour (by which I mean, walk into the brewery and check out the vats- nothing mind-blowing).
We also stopped at a little glassworks place in town, Illuzion. It was like a gallery full of glass cases with the most detailed, awesome pipes and bongs. You could appreciate the artwork even if you're not a smoker.
It was another hour or so up to Estes Park from there. When we got close, we passed by this random, super scenic chapel just on the side of the road surrounded by nothing. It was built on top of rocks, creatively called the Chapel on the Rock. We made a quick stop to check it out. Very pretty.
Up in Estes, we found our motel, the Blue Door Inn. This was one of best motels I've been to. The room was so clean, the staff were all really helpful, there was a (basic) free breakfast, and they had all sorts of activities available outside. There was a basketball hoop, a shuffleboard court, cornhole boards, horseshoes, a heated pool, and a fire at night with a musician. The mountain views in the backdrop didn't hurt either.
We drove down into the city to look for dinner then. The town looked so cute, it's too bad we didn't have enough time to walk around. There were little shops up and down the road.
We went to the most mediocre Mexican place ever for dinner, La Cabana. It wasn't, like, bad, but it definitely wasn't good. I mean, to start, our waiter (whoever that was supposed to be) totally forgot about us after we'd been seated so we just kind of chilled in our booth for 15 minutes until another one noticed us and decided to help out. I'm probably just mad because the guys ordered better margaritas than me, but how was I supposed to know that the tropical margarita was actually orange and pineapple when it was listed on the menu as cranberry and grapefruit (because nothing screams "tropics" like cranberries, right)? I had a pomegranate one which was, eh. My chimichanga was also, I don't know, edible. Maybe go somewhere else for dinner.
We had a nice night back at the Blue Door Inn playing HORSE on the basketball court and having a beer on the swinging bench by the fire listening to the guitarist play song covers.
Day 3 Estes Park & Drive to Glenwood Springs
After breakfast and checkout, we headed to the Estes Park aerial tram. This was so very worth the $14 to the top! (Alternately, you could hike, but we didn't have a couple extra hours to spare.)
There's a gift shop and cafe up there, and the views are stunning. You can see the Rocky Mountains laid out in every direction. There are chipmunks all over and you're encouraged to feed them peanuts you can get at the cafe. We took plenty of pictures on the rocks with that awesome mountain backdrop before heading back down in the tram.
We made a quick stop for lunch then at a place called The Other Side. It was aesthetically very nice with full size windows covering the wall and plants all over. Their salads were very good too.
Ian is a big disc golf enthusiast and really wanted to check out this course at the Estes Park YMCA, so we spent the next hour doing the first nine holes there. He's got a whole collection of frisbees in a special backpack to hold them. I didn't realize it could be such a dedicated hobby! I had never played so obviously smashed the competition... or, you know, averaged a par 6. Whatever. The YMCA had great views anyway and it was a fun time.
We had a long drive ahead of us so we packed up and rolled out as soon as we were done. It was a three hour drive to Glenwood Springs, but luckily the scenery on the way was anything but boring. We passed deep blue lakes in places like Silverton, expensive ski resort towns like Vail, mountains and cliffs, old mining towns, and these random old Western looking towns called Central City and Black Hawk where we counted about 10 casinos in 5 minutes between the two.
Central City
We reached Glenwood in the evening and checked into the Hotel Denver. I wasn't altogether crazy about this hotel aside from the central location. It looks really cool and charming online, but charm was the thing it was totally lacking. It's a historic building but the room was just depressing and worn down. The floor and furniture were all wooden and it was so dim. Our window looked into the lobby, no outside light, and we had to keep our curtains closed because you could see into our room from the elevator on the opposite side. No mini fridge or microwave.
The lobby had some cool decor but it just felt empty- there was no bar or food there so there was no reason to hang out in it. The worst part though was really that we paid more money for the hotel than the hostel and motel we'd stayed at the past two nights and I preferred those.
There was an attached brewpub though, Glenwood Canyon Brewing, and it was the only place open really by the time we were ready for dinner after 9 PM. That was good! We each got a flight (surprise) and I had a great cobb salad with tempeh. They even accepted our apology for being assholes and not arriving until 15 minutes before the kitchen closed (seriously there was nowhere else to eat!).
Day 4 Glenwood Springs
We grabbed a quick breakfast down the street at a cafe in the morning (which I ate on a bench while an adorable black pug gave me sad eyes- I was torn between "I don't know your dietary restrictions"/"but that face!") then drove over to Iron Mountain Hot Springs. We'd gotten a slightly cheaper pass ($22) from hotel reception and they'd given us towels to borrow so we didn't have to rent them at the pools.
The Iron Mountain Hot Springs were scenic. On the left hand side were a whole collection of various small private pools layered on tiers in varying temperatures. To the right was a larger swimming pool and a cafe with food and overpriced drinks which didn't stop me from spending money on a craft beer. The whole thing overlooked the river and cliffs.
The 102-108 degree pools themselves would have been super relaxing in the winter but were slightly less so in the summer. You don't often step out into 90+ degree heat and think, "You know, I'd really like some extreme heat with this already unbearable heat! Let's try it in a different elemental form." And I actually enjoy 90 degree temperatures. It did make the air feel a lot cooler once you got out, at least. We probably spent about an hour there and felt that was sufficient.
Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped at a nearby dispensary, the Green Dragon. I've seen legal weed in Amsterdam, but this was my first USA experience! From what I hear, this dispensary was a bit out of the ordinary. I've been told at most of them, there's security at the doors and it's quite strict. Here, we just walked in like it was a normal shop with merchandise on the walls, a menu behind the counter, edibles in the display cases, and samples of all their strains in containers so you could smell them before buying. The guys working there were so chill! They even let me take photos.
We got changed back at the hotel then drove over to the start of the Hanging Lake hike. This hike was not quick or easy. It was only 1.2 miles long, but it was all uphill and the destination, Hanging Lake, was 1020 feet off the ground. Luckily it was all in the shade, but it was rough at times. At about the 3/4 mile mark people on their way back down started shouting out encouragement. "You're almost there, don't worry!" Well that was bullshit! I kept expecting it to be around the next corner but it took at least another 20-30 minutes to reach the top from there.
The view was worth it though. Just coming up to the end and looking down from the top of the canyon was incredible.
We took a left first and went to see the waterfall there which you can actually walk around behind, then we headed over to Hanging Lake. It was beautiful! Waterfalls streaming down over the rock into this lake with the clearest turquoise water. Even more stunning because it was randomly hidden at the top of this canyon.
The way down was a whole lot easier, but we were all starving and exhausted by the time we got back to the car. We headed straight to an Indian around the corner from our hotel, Masala & Curry. I had a spicy paneer makhani and cheese naan, and their food was fantastic. I had been planning to go check out the Glenwood Springs Hot Pool, the world's largest mineral hot springs pool, but the guys were asleep as soon as we got back to the room and I couldn't gather the energy to get back out of bed either. Day 5 Black Canyon of the Gunnison
This was a long, LONG day of driving but so very worth it. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is about two hours south of Glenwood Springs, and that was where we were headed as soon as we checked out and grabbed breakfast at the cafe attached to the hotel.
We drove through increasingly smaller towns until we were practically in the middle of nowhere. The GPS said we should be close, but there were no houses around, no cars on the roads. I was wondering if somehow we'd input the wrong destination. Finally we came to a sign for Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and we even stopped at a latrine there near a ranger station, but still nobody around.
We started driving around the trail and all of a sudden we came to an opening and the canyon was just sprawled out in front of us. We all immediately went, "Whoa!!" and stopped the car right there on the road. It was unreal!! You could hardly comprehend how vast and deep it was. It reminded me of how I felt seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time.
We spent the next hour driving around the canyon and stopping at each viewpoint to take in the dark rocks and the river below. What made this whole experience even more amazing was that there was almost nobody here at this awe-inspiring natural site. We saw maybe four other cars along the way and ran into just a few people at one or two of the lookouts.
We practically had the canyon to ourselves, and we stopped back at the first viewpoint on the way out to share a couple of beers and appreciate it. This was easily the best thing I saw in all of Colorado and I highly recommend going out of your way to visit.
It was a 5 hour drive east to Colorado Springs after that, and we each took turns behind the wheel driving along the cliffside roads. We stopped at a gas station around 10 for our first not-quite-meal since breakfast. It was 11 PM when we finally arrived at Ian's cute little house in Old Colorado City, and it was so very nice to settle in and be in one place for the last few days of the trip.
Day 6 Colorado Springs: Red Mountain & Manitou Springs
We had coffees at a place called Jive's in Old Colorado City before driving into Manitou Springs to hike Red Mountain. This is apparently more of a hiking spot for locals, and we didn't see a single other person heading up the mountain while we were (I think one or two passed us going down).
Well, I am terribly out of shape. This hike was a fucking struggle. Unlike Hanging Lake, we were in the sun the whole time, and the path was all a gradual incline as opposed to rocks and steps to move upwards. I was collapsing onto the nearest rocks/logs/whatever every 5 minutes to recover and drink water.
The views at the top were pretty great though! We had the whole peak to ourselves, and there is a little raised stone ledge where you can sit and overlook Colorado Springs. We could see Pikes Peak, the incline (a big no thanks from me on hiking that), and Garden of the Gods.
Going back down was almost as bad as coming up. My Teva hiking sandals (definitely a thing) did not have great traction on the loose rocks and topsoil covering the path, and I had to hold onto Ian's shoulders the whole way down because I slid down the rocks every other step.
Cool "it's a small world"/"keep in touch with everyone you meet traveling" story: Back in 2010, I studied with this girl Jenni in Northern Ireland, and we took a trip down to Amsterdam for a few days where we shared such bonding experiences as dinosaur hunting and being mistaken for prostitutes. We're both Americans but I hadn't seen her in the eight years since that semester. Well, she apparently moved to Colorado Springs a few years back now and hit me up when she saw that I was in town!
We met up at Manitou Springs Brewing. We each got a flight of beer and I had this awesome quinoa burger with truffle fries for dinner. It was sweet catching up with Jenni, and she came over later on to join us all for a drinking night back at the house. We played this Loaded Questions game followed by Cards Against Humanity until we were all too incoherent to continue being witty or focus on any sort of game at all.
Day 7 Colorado Springs: Garden of the Gods
We started the day out at the main Colorado Springs tourist attraction, Garden of the Gods. It's all huge red rock formations, and you can climb up and sit on the hills, get a permit to actually rock climb, and walk around to see the various scenery.
Next up, well, let's just say we were supposed to hike Williams Canyon, turned back 10 minutes in, but then ended up sitting around in the canyon for about two hours anyway. It was a memorable failed expedition. Totally hear the hike is super cool though, I should probably give it another shot.
Anyway... we headed back to the house in the early evening and sat under the sprinklers in the front garden which was magical. It was a chilled out few hours on the porch hanging out and talking until we decided to go to the bars.
We hit up Phantom Canyon Brewing first. The beers I thought were less impressive than some of the other breweries, but they have pool tables all throughout the bar so that's kind of the drawing point. Also, the guys have a friend, David, who manages there (I met him once back in college as well), and he took us on a free tour down through their brewing and barrel storage rooms.
Finally, the guys kept insisting I would love the last bar. It was called The Rabbit Hole, and the entrance was a glass enclosure in the middle of the sidewalk with stairs leading down like to a subway station with the inside all lit up with fairy lights and a chandelier. Downstairs, there was a bar and restaurant with Alice pictures all over the walls. I had this white rabbit martini with a marshmallow in it that they lit on fire as well as this excellent truffle cauliflower mac and cheese. Definitely worth a visit!
Day 8 Colorado Springs: Williams Canyon
We went to breakfast at this place called King Chef's where they supposedly offer the best breakfast burrito in all of Colorado. I did order it and wasn't disappointed. It was massive, they offered Morning Star sausage as a meat substitute option, and the whole thing was covered in green chili sauce. The place was set up like an old diner as well. Good stuff.
We did a quick shop for groceries so we could cook that night and save money, then we were headed back to Williams Canyon, but the top of it this time. I had just found out a day or two beforehand that you can launch yourself from the top in a canyon swing, so, um, of course.
I was able to convince Ian to ride with me (possibly by paying for his ticket) even though he didn't feel quite the same need that I did for a potentially life-threatening adrenaline rush on this trip. It was really fun! We did the happy hour special for 7 PM (you have to order online for the discount) at $40 each, so it wasn't too overpriced.
We were strapped in and did our best to ignore the guy running the swing. Ian had warned me while we were waiting that he was just fucking with people during the countdown and releasing them randomly. He decided to tell us when our chair was tilting forward that the lap belts don't actually clip. FUNNY, GUY.
So yeah, the thing starts with the whole swing rotating forward so that you're facing downward into the canyon before the release. As soon as they let us go, we both just screamed. It was a ton of fun though and the views of Williams Canyon were great once we were just swinging back and forth over it. Got to love the adrenaline shakes afterwards too.
We had a chilled out last night together at the house. Sammy made us a pasta dinner and we had some last expensive craft beers together before bed. We had to get up early so I could catch my flight.
And here's another reason these two are awesome: I booked the world's dumbest flight coming home because my brain temporarily escaped my head I guess, and I was leaving Denver at 7:56 AM or some god-awful time like that. Obviously, Ian doesn't live in Denver, so that meant I was going to have to head up the night before and stay somewhere on my own, paying a bunch of money for a bus up, a hostel, and then whatever car/train combination I needed to take to get to the airport. It would have ended up being cheaper to just book a reasonably timed flight.
Well, a couple days before, the guys decided they'd come up to Denver with me instead so I wouldn't be on my own and sad on the last night. When we realized that the hostel was booked full, they then said we could all just wake up at 4 AM and drive up together, then they could hang in Denver the rest of the day until Sammy's flight. Lifesavers! I love them both!
So we were up before dawn on Sunday morning to head to the Denver airport. I hated the stupid sunrise and everything about having to leave. It was a phenomenal trip and saying goodbye sucked.
I loved Colorado though and everything about my week there! And I didn't even see half the state. Guess I'll just have to go back again... it's a rough life.
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