During our long weekend in Denver, we took two day trips to sightsee some other sides of Colorado! We made a full day pitstop in Boulder and our second day trip was to Idaho Springs and Morrison, Colorado. Read on to see how we spent our time in each spot.Boulder: So I mentioned in the first post about Denver (find it HERE) that we got a rental car... If you're just going to Denver, you probably don't need one but we knew we were going to be venturing out of the city so our sweet Toyota came in handy! When Saturday rolled around, we grabbed brunch in Denver at Ophelia's Electric Soapbox. Then, we ran over to Black Eye for some cappuccinos to go. Full and armed with coffee, we took off for Boulder. We headed straight to Chautauqua park so we could hike the easier side of the flatirons. We got lucky and found a parking spot in the actual park area... I always get worried about towing and illegally parking so this put my mind to ease! We grabbed our backpacks and water bottles and headed for the trails. For Colorado, it was a hot day. I think it reached just over 90 degrees so we took extra water and extra breaks along the way! If you weren't sure you were out of shape, hiking in Boulder will make it very obvious if you are. Speaking of out of shape, after our 3 hour hike (up, back, around and down) we went back to the car and grabbed our afternoon snack, Habit Doughnuts. HA... balance, people! Just 30 miles away, Boulder has a very different feel then Denver. The downtown area was serval blocks long and maybe 3-4 blocks deep. Boulder is an artsy city with lots of great shops and local artists selling their goods from art to clothing. After walking the downtown blocks, we decided to go to a brewery called Upslope before our reservations at The Kitchen for dinner. The craft beer and the Italian inspired cuisine were great additions to our list of awesome food spots in Colorado. We'd highly recommend a full day in Boulder. The change of pace and scenery was so refreshing. Mount Evans and Morrison (Red Rocks): Our Denver friends told us about Mt. Evans and when they showed us pictures, we decided it was too beautiful to miss. One great thing about Mt. Evans is that you can drive to the top. 14,000 feet up! A lot of hairpin turns and some mountain goats later, we made it to the lookout and the views were just incredible. It was such a clear day and we could see for miles! We spent about 45 minutes wandering around and taking in the views. It was mid-June and 40 degrees at the top! We were ready to head back to the 80 degree heat so we made our way down the mountain and into Idaho Springs for some lunch. We found a local pizza joint (Beau Jo's) with a salad bar and asked for a seat outside. After lunch, we headed for Morrison. That evening, we had tickets for Film on the Rocks at the Red Rocks amphitheater. As the sun was setting, they had a comedian and a band warm up the crowd before the film, Bridesmaids, started. If you get to Denver, make the 20 minute drive to Red Rocks and see who or whatever is playing. Seriously! It's too cool to miss. Colorado is remarkably beautiful and filled with so much to see and do. If you're heading there in the future, we'd recommend a rental car so you can get around. There are a lot of great towns within 2 hours of Denver. Get out there and see the Rockies!
Until Next Time, C+D
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