Ahhh... God's country, I know it well.
I lived in Denver for 9 years in the late fifties & early sixties; was married there.
Have been to all those places many times over in both the summer & winter.
Colorado is simply a wonderful place to live. It would be 95 degrees (F) in the summer in Denver, would put the top down on the ol Corvette & head for the cool, dry mountains; and in no time it would drop to 70 degrees (or lower).
Next time you go check out...
Just outside of Denver... Lookout Mountain. Take a tour of the Coors brewery. Wonderful, very cold beer on tap at all times.
Glenwood Springs... the springs are 80 degrees (F) year round. Stay at the Glenwood Springs Lodge & bathe in the springs right outside your door, wonderful. Also check out the hot dog stand across the street, PBS said it has some of the best hot dogs around.
Hanging Lake... just outside of Glenwood Springs. You have to park your car & hike up a trail to the lake but is well worth it. The lake is a large, clear, blue pond that is actually hanging on the side of a mountain complete with waterfall; simply beautiful.
Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge, Snowmass, Telluride, Winter Park or about 20 other great ski resorts are always nice in either the summer or wintertime.
Take you car over the Continental Divide Pass which is around 13,000 feet high. This is the highest spot in the Continental US. It is freezing year round & you are way above the tree line. You can see forever in the cold, clear air.
Another nice ride is the round trip going west out of Denver, past Grand, Granby, & Shadow Mountain lakes. The coldest temperature ever in the Continental US was recorded at the dam on Lake Granby... minus 65 degrees (F). Fraser Colorado (which is in the same general area) has freezing weather year round. It used to be reported by the US Weather Bureau and almost always had the lowest temperatures in the US every day. It is no longer reported anymore as it is a really small town & is no longer an official weather station. After passing the lakes you will enter Trail Ridge Park & take the Trail Ridge Road through the park to way above the tree line. Yes it is cold there but nice in the summer. You will come out close to Boulder Colorado & take the Boulder Turnpike back to Denver. The whole round trip takes about a day. I have made it many, many times & would like to do it again.
In Denver, check out Lakeside Amusement Park. PBS said it is one of the top 10 parks in the US for pure fun. I can vouch for that as I have been there many times & always loved it.
In Denver, if it is still open, check out Eliche Gardens. It is actually an old amusement park with a rickety old roller coaster that is loads of fun to ride. Also, the garden has the current date done in living plants each day, very nice.
Also, the Durango - Silverton railroad is a must see. It takes about a day but is the most spectacular train ride anywhere on earth.
And of course, who could forget Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs? Be sure to go up to the peak twice... once by car (for the pure excitement) and once by the cog railway. I have heard that teenagers sometimes (illegally of course) will put a thick piece of cardboard on one of the rails & ride it all the way to the bottom. Very dangerous but sounds like loads of fun (for the very brave only).
Colorado has so many neat things to do, places... to see, and the scenery is so spectacular that I often think about going back there. I miss it a lot.
After I moved from Colorado to Texas, my first impression as I transferred planes in Dallas was that a wet blanket hit me in the face. I also noticed the very first pictures that I took in Houston that the sky was not as blue, the grass was not as green, and all the water was muddy & not the deep blue or black that all my Colorado photos showed.
Yes, Colorado really is God's country.
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Topic: OT -- Summer Vacations (Read 1437 times)