Colorado

Itinerary

June 03 (Sat) Chicago - Denver

Limo service with an SUV was great. Flight was on time and went fast. Rental was Ford Escape but they offered a Kia Sorento SUV for $11 more. I declined. Then they upgraded me for free. Kia Sorento was great for this trip, comfortable, roomy.

We headed over to a popular Denver location, Larimer Square, where they where having a Chalk Art competition.

Lunch at Tom’s Urban in Larimer Square. Good food. Good start to the vacation.

Drove to Hotel for naps. Hotel messed up and did not have a two bedroom suite so gave us two one bedroom suites as an upgrade. Worked out fine. Jake and me took one room, Kathryn and Brit the other.

Jake and I visited a nearby dispensary..... enough said!

For Dinner we walked to Chili's and then went to the movie theater to watch Wonder Woman - Click on the image to watch the trailer.

Lodging: Town Place Suites 3699 South Monaco Parkway Denver, CO 80237

June 04 (Sun) Denver - Pikes Peak Area

Cave of the Winds

Drove to Cave of the Winds near Colorado Springs. It was a two hour tour and I thought it was very cool. Jake and Brit were not so enthusiastic about a guided tour.

Amazing to think of the early explorers of this cave. Exploring the unknown depths in near pitch dark so easily getting lost in all the different passages and not knowing what might be lurking in the darkness.

Views from the Cave Entrance

After the Cave Tour we drove to the quaint historic town of Old Colorado City not too far from the Cave of the Winds and had lunch at Bon Ton's Cafe.

Back to the hotel for naps! Then a nice evening Hike.

Horsethief Trail

Jake picked out a nice hike on the back side of Pike's Peak. So we drove around the mountain and did a three mile hike - Horsethief Trail - The hike took us up to 10,000 ft which was pretty good for having been in Chicago below 1000 feet just 36 hours prior.

Dinner- Sunday night we did not finish hike until after 9pm and all the restaurants were closed so , had to have Sonic for dinner back at the hotel.

Lodging: Booked Eagle Fire Lodge and Cabins 777 US Hwy 24 E, Woodland Park, CO,719-687-5700.
It was excellent with two bedrooms, spacious living room, full kitchen. Very clean and comfortable. Rating: *****

June 05 (Mon) Pike's Peak Area

Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak Cog Train- 3 hrs. The train ride was rather boring just slogging up and down Pike’s peak mostly in the middle of forest. The views from the top were worth it. Claims you can see 5 states from the top of pikes peak- Az, Ut, Wy, KS, CO? Worth the trip once.

We caught the Cog Train in the small "hippie" town of Manitou Springs. So after Pike's peak we had lunch in town at PJs Statecoach Inn, just ok.

Then, back to the hotel for a break!

In the afternoon we headed to the Garden of Gods and did a 3.2 mile Hike Fantastic!! The overcast looked a little threatening but it never did rain.

Garden of the Gods

Lodging: Same as yesterday.

June 06 (Tues) Pikes Peak Area

Breakfast- Kathryn made home made in the room.

We then drove to Cheyanne / Canon National Park.

We did the Mt. Cutler Trail (2.2 Miles) that was really Fantastic. We brought a bag lunch and ate at the top of Mt. Cutler! Can't get better than that.

Mt Cutler Trail

Lunch on top of Mt. Cutler

Hiking- Back to Garden of the Gods. Just did the 1.5 paved looped in and around the huge red stones. We were lucky with the weather as it was supposed to be raining but, we got both hikes in before the rain came at a bout 3pm.

After the Mt. Cutler hike we decided to go back to Garden of the Gods since yesterday we were cut a bit short due to the weather. So, we did a little more hiking, just the 1.5 miles paved loop in and around the huge red rock out croppings since again the weather was threatening.

Garden of the Gods ... Again

Back to the Lodger for a nap.

We had dinner in Woodland Park at the Circle H Smokehouse Ok, Ribs and smoked foods. After dinner Me, Kathryn and Brit headed back to the hotel and Jake went out with a friend that lives in the area.

Another really nice day.

Lodging: Same as previous day.

June 07 (Wed) Boulder - Fort Collins/CSU - Estes Park (elev 5400ft)

Drove to Boulder and went to main activity area in downtown boulder on Pearl St. (no pictures)

Had lunch at Ed’s Cantina. ok First impressions of Boulder is we liked it.

Drove to Fort Collins and did the CSU Campus Tour. Nice campus with Front Range mountains as a back drop.(no pictures)

Then we drove to Lodge in Estes Park (entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park).

The drive from Fort Collins to Estes Park was a spectacular winding road through the mountains.

Ate dinner in Estes Park, Ed’s Cantina (Mexican, ok)

Lodging: Estes Park Condos on Fall Creek. 1400 David Dr Estes Park, CO 80517 Ph: (970) 577-0068 This was an excellent place to stay. Spacious suite with 2 bedrooms, full kitchen, living room, deck in a newer cabin right on a river. Rating: *****

June 08 (Thur) Estes Park

In the morning we found a whole herd of Elk grazing like nobody's business on the grounds of the Lodge. People did not seem to bother them in the least.

Lunch Estes Park- Wapiti. Good, outdoor seating. Rating ****

We then went to the ATV outfitter and set up for a three hour adventure on ATVs. After getting fitted for helments and a short video we were off in our own cars to the trail head. This was a blast, We all started on individual 4 wheel ATVs. On the trial run Brit did not like it so she and Kathryn went back and got a UTE which is a two seater and more stable. Jake and I hit the trails, Kathryn and Brit hit the trails. All had a great time. Unfortunately, only a couple of pictures from this great excurtion.

For Dinner we grilled out at the lodge along the river. Nice!

Lodging: Same as previous day

June 09 (Fri) Estes Park

In the morning after breakfast at the lodge Kathryn, Jake and Brit went shopping for groceries and souveniers in downtown Estes Park. I planned next couple of days.

After lunch we drove up the Trail Ridge Road up into Rocky Mountain National Park. The drive was pretty hair raising at times with tight turns, narrow lanes, big cliffs and no guard rails. However, the scenery was well worth it. We stopped at many of the turn offs for some great views of the Rockies. We got well above tree line and there was still a fair amount of snow.

Trail Ridge Road Scenic Drive

Me and Jake had a cocktail in town. Then picked up Tony’s Pizza for take out dinner at lodge.

Lodging: Same as previous day

June 10 (Sat) Estes Park - Denver

We planned to go kayaking on Estes lake but the conditions were to windy and after looking at the small lake it did not look at the much fun anyway.

Next up was hiking the Gem Lake trail. This was a great hike, about 4.2 miles, elevation gain of about 900-1000 ft. Topped out at a small Gem Lake surrounded by cliffs. Really cool setting it was little crowded because everyone just wanted to relax and enjoy the lake and cliffs after a strenuous hike.

Gem Lake Trail

After the hike we drove to Golden Colorado (near Denver). Checked into Hotel. Took Naps

In the evening of our final day in Colorado we had tickets to Big Head Todd and the Monsters performing at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre. The best venue ever for music. It was very crowded and we got there pretty late so we had to park a ways away but luckily grabbed a shuttle right away. The opening band, Collective Soul was still playing but the stands were jam packed. So, it took us a while to finally find a ledge to sit on, but not bad at all. You can see from the pictures how cool the venue is and the moon was an amazing site hovering over the city lights of Denver.

The only bummer was, I did not pay attention to were our car was parked after we caught the shuttle and.... we couldn't find it! Eventually, we grab a cab who drove us around until found it. Lesson learned.

Red Rocks Ampitheater

Lodging: Denver Marriot town place suites, 800 tabor street. Two bedroom with Kitchen & FR. Nice.

June 11 (Sun) Denver - Chicago

Slept late.

Drove to 16th Ave downtown Denver, an open mall similar to Nicolet mall in Mpls. Walked around. Had lunch at Cheesecake Factory.

Drove to Airport and had an uneventful flight home. Everyone excited to see Cutter tomorrow!

Summary

This was a great vacation.

Hiking was great, got six hikes in. The Mountains were great. Colorado people are friendly and laid back. Got to visit CSU. The weather was great. The views throughout the trip were fantastic as we were embedded in the Rocky Mountains most of the time. The lodging was really nice (mostly two bedroom suites). Had fun on the ATVs. Loved the Red Rocks venue. Everyone liked Colorado. Rating: *****