I thought Jolly Rancher hailed from Wheatridge? Back in the day they made a lovely soft chewy candy that was sold only in theaters, and I once ordered a huge box of them from Wheatridge. Sadly, they've not made them for decades. Off to Google.

Google tells me that Jolly Rancher originated in Golden, but the original Jolly Rancher factory was located in Wheat Ridge and later moved to Arvada. Currently, Jolly Rancher candies are primarily manufactured in Canada. The Wheat Ridge plant, located at 5060 Ward Road, closed in 2002 and was eventually demolished.

God, I'm getting old.

Daniel, very nice report! I was born and raised in Denver and it may sound strange but I appreciate you pointing out the drug addiction issues downtown. I've also had to detour my route and now like many others I know don't even bother going downtown. It's important that visitors to Denver share their experience in hopes of making it better. Thank you.

I'm glad you enjoyed the drive from Evergreen to Echo Lake. When we make that drive, we usually stop in Idaho Springs for Beau Jo's. Before my son moved out of state, Beau Jo's was on his list of must dos before he left. Of course he's been back many times when he visits. Golden is a fun little town. I think Clear Creek is closed this week due to high water, but I love walking along the path when hordes of tubers are floating down the creek to escape the heat. When my sons were young I took them on the tour of Coors. I got the side eye a few times, but the purpose of our visit was to see the machines and conveyor belts lol.

Jolly Rancher was my favorite in elementary school. My friends and I liked the Jolly Rancher Stix that we could mold into "retainer" shapes or lick into sharp points. They were also very effective at gluing our teeth together. No wonder I have so many cavities ughh!

I'm glad you had a nice trip! Thanks for sharing your trip and photos!

Melnq8– It was interesting to see the varieties of Jolly Rancher products and containers from the mid 20th century on display at the small and free Golden History Museum. Lots I had never seen before!

wtm003– The paths alongside Clear Creek in Golden were closed under the bridges but open elsewhere last Friday. The higher water level did not seem to deter some paddle boarding and kayak enthusiasts who seemed to love the rapids! Thanks also for your comments relating to the drug addicts and angry itinerants in Denver; I prefer focusing on things I appreciate about a destination but felt it would be a gross omission to not mention what I saw. If you ever do find yourself in downtown Denver again, the blueberry muffins at Vibe (get them warmed up) on Curtis Street were amazing!

Daniel, your report is so interesting to me. We have flown into Denver several times on our wat to see National parks but spent very little time in the city itself. We did visit Red Rocks though and it is spectacular.

thanks for the tour.

What a beautiful report of your journey — your teaching vibes really shine through. I enjoyed this detailed virtual tour to Denver.

Jennymiller—Thank you. Comments like yours encourage me to keep writing!

oldemalloy— Thank you. I can understand the desire to high-tail it to the parks and natural beauty from Denver Airport, as it is very magnetic! Western North America is pretty amazing…

*Final Thoughts on Denver & Vicinity*

I suppose I was expecting great scenery in this part of the world—that was certainly an underlying motivation for choosing this area of North America for this year’s train getaway. And strange though it is to say, the beauty exceeded my expectations…the foothills, the red rocks amphitheater, the mountainous views an easy car ride from Denver, all were more captivating and awe-inspiring than I had imagined.

Coloradans appeared to have significant attachment to their state, in a way more akin to what I see in Texas, than I realized, which I based on the number of Colorado flags on buildings and apparel. And even from this small trip where I just saw a tiny fraction of the state, I could definitely understand why.

The Denver area is not a place one is likely to visit accidentally, except perhaps on a cross country road trip, train trip or perhaps having to switch planes since it is a hub. For me, I’m glad my love of train travel combined with curiosity brought me finally to this area of eastern Colorado, a scenic jewel on the continent. I get that on the continent, let alone the world, there are so many such jewels, enough for many lifetimes. I think though that if you one day do choose this part of Colorado from among these many jewels, you, like I, will be happy that you did.

Happy summer travels to each of you!

Texans also have a significant attachment to Colorado, much to the dismay of many Coloradans

Thanks for taking the time to post Daniel.

Melnq8–Our tour guide told us there has been quite the influx of recent California and Texas transplants into Colorado. She said one way of telling who they are is they refer to the Denver stadiums by the new names. She also said you can also tell by the way they drive, but did not elaborate, so not sure what she meant 😊.

As a near native Coloradan, I know exactly what your tour guide meant

Yes Daniel keep on writing and riding Amtrak. My memory of the Colorado state capitol tour was on a July 4 many years before my first Amtrak ride. That evening we drove out to a hill and parked beside the road and watched about 5 different fireworks shows.
I too like visiting state capitols. Along the CZ route I have visited Lincoln Nebraska, Denver, Salt Lake City and Sacramento. I'm glad to be back on Fodors even though I seem to have lost my lounge privilege. I hope you had a great Canada Day.

Hi Tomfuller—Thank you. I had noticed your absence and missed your contributions—hope you are well and am glad to see you offering your travel perspectives again. Not terribly long ago, you suggested a multi-capital trip to me on the California Zephyr—I wonder if on some level, that prompted me thinking that I’d never spent time in Denver and vicinity and led to this trip. I’ve not visited other 3 capitals so if I’m lucky, perhaps one day, each of them will be the priority and come into focus for me. Best wishes, Daniel

A bit of research lead me to discover that the neat and very surprising sounds coming from the grates on the block of Curtis Street between 15th and 16th in downtown Denver in front of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City were a “sound art” installation by Jim Green (1948-2024), which I read are referred to as “the Talking Sidewalk” or “Soundwalk”. Sounds I heard ranged from cows mooing to tap dancing shoes to machinery. Jim created some other similar audible art installations. I’d never heard of him before this trip but I’d like to thank Jim for bringing a bit of innovative fun that both Denver residents and visitors can enjoy for free.

Another great TR, Daniel. That pizza amazed, and the scenery was lovely. My bad angel had some remarks about the sound art.

If only the $ spent on rails was equal to that spent on roads! How about we put all those travel trailers onto railroad cars?!

Where to next?

Thanks Tdudette. Great to see your name as always. I don’t know the where to just yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised knowing me if some rail is involved. 😊