Denver this weekend
Dec 3rd, 2008, 05:29 PM
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Denver this weekend
OK, so we will be in Denver this weekend -- Friday morning through Monday afternoon. We know it's the Christmas thing downtown Friday and Saturday, which is cool. We plan to tour the mint Friday afternoon (have reservations) and look around town. Two questions:
1. For a side trip, someone had mentioned the Christmas festival in Georgetown, which sounded cool, and we wanted to go to Boulder. But suddenly everyone says we must go to Colorado Springs, and now I see the Pike's Peak Cog Railway, which sounds cool, so my question is: where to go for side trips Saturday and Sunday?
2. Where to go for a special birthday dinner? I have read a lot about Fruition and Mizuna, which both sound great, but one seems much more expensive than the other, and I wondered if it was worth it. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Someone mentioned The Fort, but something about the website doesn't entice me.
We are visiting the area for the first time, have no preconceptions (other than it's great) and just want a taste of the area. Thanks.
1. For a side trip, someone had mentioned the Christmas festival in Georgetown, which sounded cool, and we wanted to go to Boulder. But suddenly everyone says we must go to Colorado Springs, and now I see the Pike's Peak Cog Railway, which sounds cool, so my question is: where to go for side trips Saturday and Sunday?
2. Where to go for a special birthday dinner? I have read a lot about Fruition and Mizuna, which both sound great, but one seems much more expensive than the other, and I wondered if it was worth it. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Someone mentioned The Fort, but something about the website doesn't entice me.
We are visiting the area for the first time, have no preconceptions (other than it's great) and just want a taste of the area. Thanks.
Dec 3rd, 2008, 07:38 PM
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I think if you get an early start, you could do both Boulder and Georgetown on the same day. The Christmas Festival is worth visiting and Georgetown is very pretty in the winter. Get to Boulder early (definitely do this on Saturday to avoid the I-70 traffic on Sunday), look around and have lunch at Dushanbe Teahouse - very cool and different. In the afternoon, take Hwy 93 through Golden to connect to I-70, a very scenic route along the Flatirons. A few hours in Georgetown should do the trick to look around and shop.
I've never done the Cog Railway, but I can imagine it's a tad cold in the winter, so be prepared clothing wise! Also drive through Garden of the Gods - stunning rock formations. Another idea is to visit the Broadmoor Resort which has gorgeous Christmas decorations.
Have a lovely trip!
I've never done the Cog Railway, but I can imagine it's a tad cold in the winter, so be prepared clothing wise! Also drive through Garden of the Gods - stunning rock formations. Another idea is to visit the Broadmoor Resort which has gorgeous Christmas decorations.
Have a lovely trip!
Dec 3rd, 2008, 07:56 PM
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You will not have much choice about Friday and Sat night. The downtown will be packed especially if the week is mild. The forecast for the week is Iffy. A carriage ride would be nice on Sunday night but need to reserve in advance.
The Fort is very special especially if you have a clear night. If is one of the premiere restaurants, expensive but worth it (IMO) for a very special occasion. Rioja on Larimer is excellent but crowd and noisy. String on 17th has a lot of ambiance AND on Sunday night the 5280 special. Three course meal, including wine,for two - $52.80. A neighborhood restaurant but very nice with lots of ambiance. Strings would be second on my list after the Fort. The Brown Palace would be very nice this time of year. I could give you a dozen more excellent restaurants but start there.
Who is everyone??? CS is OK in the summer but doesn't offer much in the winter. I am not sure the Cog railroad would be running at this time of year. You could do a loop to Boulder, down 93 to I-70 and to Georgetown. I would prefer GT over CS. Weather would be your chief determinate. It has been pretty bad in the mountains this past week with several road closures on I-70. If going into the mountains do it on Saturday. Ski traffic will be bad and impossible on Sunday evening returning to Denver. Might delay the run up I-70 till late morning. If the weather is good, you could loop I-70 to Frisco, 9 to Breckenridge and over Hoosier pass and back into Denver on 285 and that would take you to the Fort. That is about five hours of driving but give you a good view of the mountains, etc.
See if that helps.
The Fort is very special especially if you have a clear night. If is one of the premiere restaurants, expensive but worth it (IMO) for a very special occasion. Rioja on Larimer is excellent but crowd and noisy. String on 17th has a lot of ambiance AND on Sunday night the 5280 special. Three course meal, including wine,for two - $52.80. A neighborhood restaurant but very nice with lots of ambiance. Strings would be second on my list after the Fort. The Brown Palace would be very nice this time of year. I could give you a dozen more excellent restaurants but start there.
Who is everyone??? CS is OK in the summer but doesn't offer much in the winter. I am not sure the Cog railroad would be running at this time of year. You could do a loop to Boulder, down 93 to I-70 and to Georgetown. I would prefer GT over CS. Weather would be your chief determinate. It has been pretty bad in the mountains this past week with several road closures on I-70. If going into the mountains do it on Saturday. Ski traffic will be bad and impossible on Sunday evening returning to Denver. Might delay the run up I-70 till late morning. If the weather is good, you could loop I-70 to Frisco, 9 to Breckenridge and over Hoosier pass and back into Denver on 285 and that would take you to the Fort. That is about five hours of driving but give you a good view of the mountains, etc.
See if that helps.
Dec 4th, 2008, 02:30 AM
#5
I assumed the Cog Railway would be closed too, as they used to close right after the first snowfall. BUT, it seems they now operate year round. Here's their schedule for December:
http://www.cograilway.com/Calendar/CalendarDisplay.Asp
http://www.cograilway.com/Calendar/CalendarDisplay.Asp
Dec 4th, 2008, 03:59 AM
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Thanks so much for this GREAT information!! The cog railroad did have a schedule, so I assumed it was running (even said it had a "Santa train"), but I will take your suggestions instead!
Dec 4th, 2008, 04:05 AM
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"Where to go for a special birthday dinner?"
We went to Fruition for our anniversary in August and it was superb!
We had just arrived by plane several hours earlier and were delayed by about an hour. When I called them from our hotel about possibly taking us ½-¾ hour later, they said that they could. When we arrived, they greeted us, by name, at the door (even though it was our first time there and they had never seen us). I was impressed by their being able to accommodate us later on a Saturday night, when they were booked up 2 weeks out and it was the night before the Democratic Convention began and tens of thousands of additional of people were in town.
If you think you might want to go, make your reservation now!
We went to Fruition for our anniversary in August and it was superb!
We had just arrived by plane several hours earlier and were delayed by about an hour. When I called them from our hotel about possibly taking us ½-¾ hour later, they said that they could. When we arrived, they greeted us, by name, at the door (even though it was our first time there and they had never seen us). I was impressed by their being able to accommodate us later on a Saturday night, when they were booked up 2 weeks out and it was the night before the Democratic Convention began and tens of thousands of additional of people were in town.
If you think you might want to go, make your reservation now!
Dec 4th, 2008, 10:20 AM
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Fri and Sat evenings this weekend, central Denver will be dominated by the Annual Parade of Lights. Plan your movements accordingly, all info is at www.denverparadeoflights.com
Talking of lights - the Denver Zoo is lit up like a Xmas tree, a very popular destination if you like that sort of thing. Bring your camera, turn off/disable the flash, use a long shutter speed and try to find the correct setting for the "white balance" to capture the colors...
Tekwriter's suggestion about the Dushanbe Teahouse (www.boulderteahouse.com) is a good one - not just tea (although they have a superb selection!) but good food and a unique building, definitely worth a detour!
If you are the rugged kind, go for a stroll in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge (north of where the Stapleton airport used to be, Havana north of I70 runs into the only entrance to the refuge). You can stroll the trails, with a bit of luck you'll see mule deers and white-tail deers and impressive bucks, maybe some coyotes...
They have tours on a funky sort of bus/tram fun conveyance, for free, they tend to book out but often there are no-shows so if you wait til the last minute in the (very nice!) visitor center, you may get on.
Look at www.fws.gov/rockymountainarsenal/
Or head for the Carson Nature Center in the South Platte Park down in Littleton (www.sspr.org), off Mineral just west of Santa Fe Blvd, and go strolling around looking for wildlife etc., you may see a blue heron and bald eagles.
For your dinner you might like the casual but kinda classy Ted's Montana Grill, there is one in the middle of downtown in the LoDo area, on the corner of Larimer Square and 14th Ave just west of the DCPA (www.denvercenter.org).
Across the street is another classy joint, a bit more pricey, serving high-end authentic Mexican food (no orange-colored cheese in sight...): www.tamayorestaurant.com
Up and down those streets there are plenty more restaurants of all types and in all price classes.
Enjoy - Denver is alway fun to visit, never a dull moment.
Talking of lights - the Denver Zoo is lit up like a Xmas tree, a very popular destination if you like that sort of thing. Bring your camera, turn off/disable the flash, use a long shutter speed and try to find the correct setting for the "white balance" to capture the colors...
Tekwriter's suggestion about the Dushanbe Teahouse (www.boulderteahouse.com) is a good one - not just tea (although they have a superb selection!) but good food and a unique building, definitely worth a detour!
If you are the rugged kind, go for a stroll in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge (north of where the Stapleton airport used to be, Havana north of I70 runs into the only entrance to the refuge). You can stroll the trails, with a bit of luck you'll see mule deers and white-tail deers and impressive bucks, maybe some coyotes...
They have tours on a funky sort of bus/tram fun conveyance, for free, they tend to book out but often there are no-shows so if you wait til the last minute in the (very nice!) visitor center, you may get on.
Look at www.fws.gov/rockymountainarsenal/
Or head for the Carson Nature Center in the South Platte Park down in Littleton (www.sspr.org), off Mineral just west of Santa Fe Blvd, and go strolling around looking for wildlife etc., you may see a blue heron and bald eagles.
For your dinner you might like the casual but kinda classy Ted's Montana Grill, there is one in the middle of downtown in the LoDo area, on the corner of Larimer Square and 14th Ave just west of the DCPA (www.denvercenter.org).
Across the street is another classy joint, a bit more pricey, serving high-end authentic Mexican food (no orange-colored cheese in sight...): www.tamayorestaurant.com
Up and down those streets there are plenty more restaurants of all types and in all price classes.
Enjoy - Denver is alway fun to visit, never a dull moment.
