Colorado is Calling

I’ve been to Denver a couple of times because Red Rocks is one of my favorite venues in the entire country, but there is just something so inexplicably addictive about Colorado. I don’t think it’s possible to “get enough” of these magic mountains. I was elated to find a month long house sit in Loveland to escape the heat of the summer. My sweet puppy companion and I went on several scenic drives and adventures. Family, and friends new and old joined me for my shenanigans, and it really only made me want to come back for more.

Unfortunately most of the parks prohibit pets on trails, so it really limited what I thought I’d be able to do. I took some of the homeowners recommendations and crossed some interesting (and easy to access) things off my wish list.There isn’t much in Loveland, nothing you absolutely need to come see. I loved the hearts and love locks sprinkled around town, and the sweet custom painted heart sculptures at local businesses made me smile. Colorado is craft beer heaven and I had an awesome time working from patios and checking out brews at Verboten , Purpose, Snowbank, Grimm Brothers, Odell, Mother Tucker, and it made me really happy to see that Atlanta’s Sweetwater Brewing opened a location (with excellent food) here. All of them were pretty good, but none of these were ones that I would insist you absolutely must visit.

The main street of Fort Collins inspired Disney’s main street, and it’s an adorable stroll of cute boutiques, shops, and coffee shops. It’s also home to Fat Tire Brewing, which is one of the very best brewery tours I’ve ever done. It’s the #2 craft brewery in America (behind Yuengling… but there’s some controversy there.) You can take the free 45 minute tour or pay $10 for the extended tour, and it’s totally worth it. They fill you in on the history of the brand, pour samples at various parts of the production, let you pour your own off the taps, give you fresh off the line brews for answering trivia questions correctly. Plus, you exit the factory floor on a slide. It’s a LOT of fun.

I also had a great time making wishes at the Fort Collins Water Lantern Festival. Food, music, water, and wishes- what’s not to like? The festival has a pretty big national footprint, you should see if there is one near you this summer. What self respecting spoiled spinster could resist a place called Feisty Spirits Distillery? They let you select your tasting flight, and do a wonderful job talking you through their process and line up. After listening to about 30 hours of Ready Player One and Ready Player Two audio books, I absolutely couldn’t say no to a trip to Totally 80s Pizza. It was a museum to my childhood, and the pie was pretty fantastic. Be sure to bring a $1 to pay Zoltar to make your BIG dreams come true. Fort Collins is absolutely worth a day trip from Denver, it’s about 90 minutes north.

Not far from Loveland is Longmont, and it is home to one of my very favorite beers. Left Hand Milk Stout was my first foray into Nitro beer, and they keep leveling up. I had no idea they had so many amazing nitro sours and interesting twists on old classics. The Left Hand tour is free, they have a huge line up of events, excellent swag, and GREAT beer. I’ll be having dreams about the Key Lime Pie Nitro, Flamingo Dreams, and be sure to try whatever cask conditioned beers are on tap. The beer at High Hops was fantastic, they had so many interesting sours, fruit wheats, and really nice complex stouts and porters. I felt ridiculous ordering a beer called “Pinkalicious,” but it was totally worth it.Their sister property, The Heart Distillery offered a lovely range of flavored and straight spirits. The greenhouse location made for a wonderful place to hang out and explore. Everywhere I went suggested that I visit Abbott & Wallace, they have collaborations with several other makers in town. Cobanero Whiskey was new for me, and I absolutely loved it.

I took a little ride from Loveland to Poudre Canyon, Poudre Falls, and pulled over and explored everywhere that interested me. I particularly loved the rock tunnel, wildflowers, and abundance of fast moving water. I cant say that I did a lot of prep. I mapped myself to Poudre Canyon, pulled over at a gas station outside the park and found this handy map. I just plugged in Poudre Falls, and kept my eyes peeled for cool things along the way. It was WONDERFUL. I didn’t bring the pup along, so I only had a couple of hours to explore, but I didn’t feel rushed exploring the rocks and water. It was absolutely worth of a detour if you have the time.

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I decided to bring the sweet pup with me to the Paint Mines, but they don’t allow pups on the trail so I kept my explorations pretty quick. I spent about an hour scrabbling over the most gorgeous rainbow rocks, but you could spend at least 4 wandering around the park. It’s free, about an hour from Colorado Springs, and the drive from Denver was absurdly pretty.

Since the pup couldn’t come hang out with me, we continued onto Colorado Springs to check out the Glen Eyrie Castle and Garden of the Gods. I had missed the castle tour for the day, but I got a pass to wander the grounds/gift shop at the guard gate. It was a really serene and stunning retreat space, and I’m told it is a lovely place to stay. It’s a block from the main entrance to Garden of the Gods- so if nothing else, it’s a convenient pit/coffee stop with a view.

Garden of the Gods is breathtaking. It’s free, easy to navigate, and pet friendly. I went a few years ago, did a little drive through trip, and came back for a trail ride. It’s a place you really can’t get tired of visiting. I made a quick stop at Lost Friend Brewing on my way home to Father’s day Facetime with my dad and it was AMAZING. Creamsicle Beer Slushie? Sign me up!

My personal favorite field trip in the Denver Area is a little jaunt to Idaho Springs, home of the Colorado Gold Rush. Strolling down their streets feels surreal. The mountains, beautiful buildings, and adorable shops & boutiques are whimsical and fun. Westbound & Down had decent beer but EXCELLENT branding, and the food was fantastic at MTN Prime. I’ll be daydreaming about their Brussels sprouts for years. We made a reservation for a private hot tub at the Indian Hot Springs, but the water was intolerably hot. I couldn’t get more than my feet in, and sitting in the full sun on the deck in 100 degree weather with what felt like 200 degree water was not my idea of a good time. We went back in and begged to swap our reservation to the pool. The pool felt like bathwater- so it was neither a cool dip or dunking in lava. They also have hot spring caves, but a fellow hot spring fan told me it was so hellaciously hot and uncomfortable down there, she couldn’t make it either. Maybe it’s a fun winter spot, but in summer- you have to have much thicker skin than me.

You really can’t come to Colorado without a field trip to the Rockies. The route to the park from Loveland is beyond lovely. Take a quick stop to wander around the Devil’s Backbone, pull off and wander along the water in Roosevelt National Forest en route to Estes Park. There’s no shortage of beauty along the way.

I’m of the opinion that the real world is scary enough, I really don’t need to watch scary things to exacerbate my insomnia. Estes Park is famous for many things, but the top of the list is the infamously haunted Stanley Hotel. Stephen King was once stranded there the night it closed for the season. After wandering the halls and sharing a bottle with the caretaker/bartender Lloyd, he had an outline for The Shining by morning. Stanley Kubrick’s version of the film was not filmed here, but the mini-series was. Stephen King notoriously hated the Kubrick film and recovered the rights for a mulligan. They host haunted evening tours, but they mainly focus on the outer buildings. Dumb & Dumber also used this hotel as Aspen’s Danbury. If you want to hear more about that and see this gorgeous hotel, you’ll want to book the historic day tour. Be sure to stop for a drink or dinner at The Post, and head downstairs to the bathroom to see the infamous carpet from the movie. We went on the Fourth of July and had a fantastic time on the porch of the hotel watching the fireworks over the lake and echoing off the mountains. Even if you don’t want to book a $30 per person tour, it’s worth the $10 parking to walk the campus, try your hand at the tiny hedge maze (installed to humor the fans that kept inquiring about it) and enjoy the views.

Since I bought a National Park Pass in Arizona, I wanted to try to fit in another before starting my international leg of the house sitting journey. I should note that during peak seasons (5/27-10/10,) you are required to make a timed reservation on this site to enter the park between 9-3. You don’t need a reservation to enter the park before or after those times. Make your reservations well in advance if you’d like to visit Bear Lake or enjoy the scenic Bear Lake Corridor. I absolutely recommend it because it was the highlight of a delightful day. It’s a stunningly scenic drive through Roosevelt Park to Estes Park to the Rocky Mountain National Park. Coming from Loveland, I happened to go to the Beaver Meadows visitor’s entrance. I approached the restrooms and went “Woah! Looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright…” only to find out that it was built by Taliesin Associated Architects. I asked the ranger for suggestions on the most scenic spots to stop, keeping in mind that I had a pup in the car and she wasn’t allowed on trails. She marked Rainbow, Fan, Alpine Ridge (And the Alpine Ridge Trail)

There were elk EVERYWHERE. Especially at the Beaver meadows and Bear Lake entrances. I was totally amused by the marmots running around and scaring people in the parking lots. I had to make a u-turn to pull over to take some gorgeous elk photos at Alpine Ridge which is said to have the best gift shop.

Denver is so dreamy. Beyond beer and outdoorsy activities, there are beautiful options indoors too. I made it to the Denver Art Museum for a gorgeous 19th Century European/American painter exhibit, and Modern Women/Modern Vision photography exhibit, and will have to double back for the Georgia O’Keefe photography exhibit.

The Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art feels like the most high end designer antique mall, and is currently displaying their permanent collection of Frank Lloyd Wright pieces. It’s absolutely worth the $10 price of admission.

Meow Wolf made me so happy in Santa Fe that I had to go back and experience it again. Denver has very different themes and wildly different art experiences, but it is an absolute must for people that love street art, escape rooms, and wandering around and marveling at weird and beautiful things. I couldn’t get enough of the magnatile castle, book nook, house of mirrors, analog alley filled with dioramas in vintage electronics, and the three story underwater and tree space. We spent 3 hours and didn’t even attempt to follow the story and unravel the mystery. We just explored every room, tunnel, hidden passage, mystical machines, and couldn’t stop ooohing and ahhing over each surprise. We had to go on a Saturday, which I never recommend because it’s always a zoo on the weekend. If you have ample time and space, consider a $3 QPass to unlock extra features and dimensions. It’s $45 per person, parking is $10 and (was a complete nightmare for us) so it’s a commitment, but one that I would never regret making. We took masks off for a couple quick pictures, but it was pretty much a mask free zone in there, so keep that in mind if it matters to you. I’m so excited that Houston and Dallas are getting the next locations. I usually loathe Las Vegas, but I’m up to revisit to cross that Meow Wolf off my list too.

America’s favorite pastime is a perfect place to celebrate America’s birthday too. If you find yourself in Denver the first week of July, they put on one of the best fireworks displays I’ve ever seen. Upper deck seats are fun, since beyond the purple row are a mile in the sky. Getting seats under the scoreboard will get you access to the field after the game as they clear the entire section to launch the fireworks. It is mass chaos leaving the stadium, so I highly recommend hightailing it to Blake Street Tavern for some wings or a giant pretzel to wait out the traffic.

While not technically Colorado, Cheyenne is just over the Wyoming line. George Strait’s “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” was inspiration enough for the trek, but the city itself was well worth a field trip. Nothing was open on the Fourth of July, but it was a lovely little stroll.