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After our hectic day in Washington D.C and having been on the road for almost 6 weeks the prospect of some home comforts and a bit of a slower pace was super enticing! This is exactly what our pit stop in Denver was going to be. A chance to re group and plan the next half of the trip. Even more exciting than anything, I got to see Pete (aka Stinky Pete) and Kattrin.
It was so nice to see Pete's friendly face waiting for us and a big hug too (a home comfort missed). A welcomed change to our normal of getting to an airport/bus terminal/train station and standing there totally disorganised trying to work out the cheapest and easiest way to our hostel.
A bit sceptical of the weather on our arrival as snow had been forecast we brace ourselves for the shock. It was fairly chilly compared to the 33 degrees we had just come from in Washington but there was no snow in sight.
We jump in the car and head to Cherry Creek. We are greetedwith yet more hugs from Kattrin and doggy barks and tail wagging from Daisy and Tobe too.
Shown to our room we were totally spoilt and given the master room with en suite. At this stage we had no plans of onward travel. Making us so comfortable was a risky move!! We would never leave! I have been to Cherry Creek / Denver before so instantly felt at home and knew we could be here for a while. (2 weeks to be precise)
Our first evening was destined to be a full one! Mainly full bellies! Best burgers in town at Cherry Cricket. I could not move properly after polishing off my cricket burger with bacon, cheese and BBQ sauce (minus the bun, damn gluten intolerance) the rest of the evening is spent catching up and chilling out (this continued as a theme throughout our Denver time)
Day two was set to be a family affair. Kattrin's sister Patty was arriving in town and we were set to celebrate her birthday with her brothers and mum. We popped in to town to grab a card and then back to 'home' to help get ready. It was a really lovely evening and actually quite refreshing to do normal things with lovely people. (Watching a very random film called 'Red Dog' also helped pass the evening away in a blink)
Day three started about half way through the morning! A late brekkie and a leisurely getting ready session we join the crew and decide to head to Denver Botanical Gardens. It was a scorcher of a day. Wandering around in the sun looking at some truly stunning pieces of art work by Dale Chihuly inter twined with beautiful gardens was a pretty decent way to while away an afternoon.
Not wanting to bore you with the hours that Blinky and I managed to spend wandering around Cherry Creek drinking smoothies and depressing ourselves looking at all the lovely things we could not afford let alone fit in our bags, I will summarise the the best bits from our two weeks.
Sadly Kattrin and Patty had to leave town :-( so it was just Moo Moo, Blinky and Stinky Pete. Now you cannot come to Colorado and not visit the Rocky Mountains. Our first trip was up to Mount Evans. The drive up was pretty cool. Seeing the scenery change after every turn. The very summit was shut so we settled for the next level down. The views were pretty cool. We start our mini hike only to be met with that snow that was forecast the day before!! In sheer 'excitement' / bemusement we perch on some rocks and admire the beauty that was around us. Sun shining, snow falling and natural beauty. Now Blinky and I are fairly active people , but being so high above sea level really does make it hard work! So being out of breath and definitely blaming the altitude (again a theme that continues through our stay) we head back to the car to start our scenic journey back to Cherry Creek. We drive through lovely villages occasionally stopping for coffee and eventually arriving at Red Rock Amphitheatre. The landscape had gone from luscious green to dry rocky ground. The amphitheatre itself was set into these huge red rocks. Being the shy and retiring people we are Blinky and I make a beeline for the stage to test it out. Having made our debut we make use of the steps as our daily exercise. Having seen the Rockies, snow, some mountain goats, a yellow bellied marmot, some elk and some red rocks we were ready to head back to the city.
Our next encounter with the Rocky's was to Rocky Mountain National Park. First stop Estes Park. The Aspen trees were just turning colour. The looked almost as though they were alight, the yellow colour was so bright. Stinky Pete was disappointed as they were not quite as beautiful as he had envisaged they would be at this time of year but Blinky and I were quite happy with what surrounded us! We stop intermittently for photo opportunities and pit stops to admire the endless picturesque scenery. With each turn in the road another stunning view appeared. We were heading as high as we could get. We reached 12,0005 ft above sea level (not quite as high as the 14,000ft visited at Mt Evans) but high enough seeing as we had to climb the steps to get to the elevation point. Silly jumping photos and a few sensible ones to record the moment we make the much easier decent down the steps and head in search of a picnic spot for lunch.
Not wanting to be mainstream we head off the beaten track and settle for a creek side picnic. Rested and re fuelled (read as really full) we begin the longish journey back via Nederland.
Not wanting to miss out on Denver's nightlife we decide to head Downtown on Saturday night. We heard about a Flea Market/live music/open air movie event going on called 'The Big Wonderful'. We had aimed to get there at about 4 in reality we arrived at 6 missing the flea market all together so we headed to the bar and enjoyed a cocktail whilst looking at all the stalls packing up and listening to the band playing. Sitting on hay bales, sun setting and chatting was a nice chilled out way to start our evening. It did not continue this way. One cocktail down, a photo booth and silly dress up outfits pretty much sums up how we passed the next hour of our time! It would also transpire that The Big Wonderful was not a common tourist spot, making our accents stand out like a sore thumb. Another cocktail down (well for Blinky anyway, I managed to fob half of mine off!) and I think we were definitely feeling the effects. I think we have a valid point here in saying that the altitude had something to do with the lack of tolerance to alcohol (it definitely had something to do with the headache the next day) so after making cocktails and making new friends (and the addition of Stinky Pete) Blinky and I suggest we all head down to Denver's Oktoberfest (we had stumbled across this event on our way to the 'civilised' Flea Market) Live music, beer and jagermeister were to blame for the drunken journey home and the hangover to follow the next day.
I was up early ready to skype home and to head up to Boulder, a university town. It has boutique shops, coffee shops and is generally a lovely place to just be. We arrived and made our way down the main street. There were market stalls and street entertainment taking place. We managed to wander away the best part of the morning before heading to Brasserie Ten Ten for some seriously needed food. Steak and eggs for me! Soon waved farewell to the hangover troll of yesterday's night out. Harmony was restored within the group! We decide to explore Boulder creek. A pretty walk alongside gave us time to digest before we strolled back up the main street and back to the car. A thoroughly chilled out time was spent in Boulder. Stinky Pete drives us through Boulder Canyon and up to some waterfalls ( that were actually closed when we got there ) so on the road back to Cherry Creek we went.
Having ventured further afield so far we feel it was about time we explored the local area. We jump aboard the bikes we had been offered and cycle along Cherry Creek. It was a pretty cycle and nice to be outdoors in the sun. We had planned to cycle back the other way, reaching Downtown, but this never materialised. Instead we earmarked the next day for that. Our day in Downtown Denver included seeing the big blue bear, the Art Museum, the main shopping area, stopping for a coffee at my favourite coffee shop 'The Market' in Larimer Square, the state buildings and the surrounding parks. We had already seen the newly renovated Denver Union Station on a brief visit Downtown with Stinky Pete.
So having walked, cycled, drank, eaten, watched movies and generally chilled out (add in being totally spoiled) we thought it was probably time we left our amazing hosts and give them their home back. It was such a lovely two weeks spent with such lovely people (and doggies too) It was also very sad saying goodbye but that is the nature of travelling.
We have a few more stops on our itinerary that we need to tick off otherwise we would have stayed for a few more weeks for sure.
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