osakaorchid

Just returned from a 2,500+ mile road trip to Colorado's Front Range. Started in Pueblo, ended in Boulder/Denver. Spent 3 days/3 nights there. Places visited: Pueblo Riverwalk, Royal Gorge Bridge, Pikes Peak Cog Railway, State Capitol, 16th Street Mall/Denver Pavilions, Coors Brewery, Celestial Seasonings, Pinche Taqueira, Downtown Golden, D'Deli, Cripple Creek, Mile High Comics Megastore,

Started my trip in Pueblo, and I must say that the town is highly underrated and is often shadowed in the limelight when being advertised in travel to its larger neighbors to the north: Colorado Springs & Denver. I honestly didn't even want to leave this town, and fell for its quaint charm, scenic beauty, and fantastic weather. Not being a local, I found the town's roads quite easy to learn, and was really impressed with its Historic Riverwalk area, and even found it to be better than San Antonio's Paseo del Rio, and Oklahoma City's Bricktown Riverwalk. Pueblo is a definite must visit place for anyone coming to Colorado, and the hotel I stayed in (Econolodge off of Eagle Ridge and Elizabeth) was rather nice considering the price I paid, and included a decent breakfast, and hot tub adjacent to the pool area. The room was quite too, and there's a large open field to the west of the hotel, that serves as a natural sound barrier for those requesting tranquility, such as myself.

The Royal Gorge Bridge was breathtaking,...although I was saddened that I had to pay about $20 just to walk across it. Considering that more famous bridges are FREE to walk across (such as San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and The Brooklyn Bridge in NYC), it really makes so sense. Your ticket price includes a ride across their sky-car that's strung across the gorge by a large cable....but if you cant muster the courage to ride it, or simply aren't interested in riding it, there's no cheaper ticket price....you're still paying the same rate. Their gift shop was much overpriced, and the quality of the goods being offered was sub-par (shirts had threads coming loose off of them, and weren't made of the best materials)

side note: as far as obtaining souvenirs goes, I hit up a lot of local GoodWill Stores and found many shirts there emblazoned with various locales for as little as a few dollars.

There's an excellent place to get a chair massage inside of the Pueblo Mall called "Chinese Massage", and they gave me the best back massage in my entire life. They employed a shiatsu technique that rocked their elbow deeply into my back, and alleviated any anomalies. They are highly recommended.

The next day, drove to Cripple Creek from Colorado Springs....and while the route proved to be extensive and rather exhaustive,..with many hairpin turns along the way....the payoff was when I came around a final turn around a mountain, and a magnificent panoramic mountainous vista came into view with Cripple Creek below nestled in a valley. It was definitely a postcard moment. Cripple Creek itself showcases its old western charm with many small casinos, shoppes, cafes, diners, and antique stores. You could literally spend a whole day or two here....so plan for that, and the short amount of time I spent here didnt seem to suffice. A bonus about Colorado casinos is that they are all enitely smoke-free as regulated by Colorado State Law....so if you can not tolerate cigarette smoke like myself, its a haven.

My next stop was the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. This Swiss-made cog lacks a restroom or climate control on-board, so be sure to bring jackets, blankets, and to use the bathroom before boarding onto the train. ...and yes, the summit of Pikes Peak is still very cold....even in the summer months. The train chugs up the mountain at 8 mph and takes 45 minutes each way...so you'll be sure to introduce yourself to your neighbor seated adjacent to you by the time the whole trip is over. Once atop the peak, youll have 30 minutes to enjoy the views, and to visit the gift shop and snack bar located there. be sure to taste one of their "high-altitude" doughnuts.

I then headed into Denver and stayed at the LaQuinta in Lakewood off of Hampden and Wadsworth. This hotel left something else to be desired. For one, its a very busy hotel. Secondly...if youre traveling from Denver along 285,...you will not be able to exit Wadsworth (albiet it being a busy street itself, there's no Wadsworth exit....you will need to exit off of Sheridan, and follow the service road/Hampden about a 1/2 mile or so over to the hotel). Also, even though you may have requested a certain room size (I requested a king size bed), its important to note that this hotel will only reserve a room for you, not a particular bed size, so if you arrive late, and all the king size beds are taken up by other arriving guests who came before you, you will end up with whatever is left). LaQuinta=never again

I next headed to the Coors Brewery in Golden. The tour is absolutely free, and is quite amazing. Even the parking is free. The tour is self guided, and typically lasts about 30 minutes, and teaches you about the history of the company, its processes, and what seperates it from other beer manufacturers. I thought it was interesting that Coors invented the aluminum can, and although they couldve patented the technology, they opted against doing so, cause they wanted everyone else to adopt using aluminum cans. Once you learn about everything Coors is versus other beers, youll come to realize that Coors is the best and will probably only drink their beer versus any other beer thats out there (..and no, Im not being paid to write this, this is just a honest review from a typical visitor). Their gift shop is amazing, the quality of the goods are top notch and the prices are very fair. I bought a nice shirt made of soft combed heavy cotton (that kind of shirt that gets better with age and the more you wash it). They even give you 3 FREE beers to taste in their lounge area. ...and to top it all off,...the fine folks at Coors will even let you park your car as long as you want in their parking lot as they encourage you to stroll into downtown Golden to visit many of the businesses there and to give them your business as well......which is exactly what I did....and found the absolute BEST sandwich shop I ever ate at in my entire life....a small place called D'Deli....which is an award recipient of consistent, back-to-back years in local newspapers.

I next ventured to Boulder to tour the Celestial Seasonings Tea factory. This tour is free and so is the parking.The tour itself lasts about 30 minutes and is guided. You are required to wear a hairnet, and are shown a short 5 minute introduction video, and are guided thru the factory and are shown key equipment used in their manufacturing process (no cameras are allowed as the equipment is proprietary to the company) ....the fine folks at Celestial let you sample many of their wonderful teas for free prior to the tour beginning inside of their waiting area, and at the end of the tour inside of their gift shop is many, many, many different types of teas for sale.....many of which are seldom displayed on retail store shelves (just because Celestial makes over 100 different teas,..and its just impossible to shelf every single one of them at your local grocer,...so be sure to buy whatever you like right there, if you see it)

My next stop was to the Mile High Comics Mega Store on Jason Street in Denver....and if youre a comic book lover, this store is not to be missed, as they carry a massive inventory....and showcase many of their prized collections behind glass cases......their prized comic is a Flash Gordon comic book that's worth over $17,000!!

I next ventured to the Tattered Cover Book Store on Colfax....and while I love books and bookstores, I must say this bookstore is rather ecclectic and beatnik. This is not your typical Barnes and Noble. I wanted to stroll inside and peruse many of their selections, but I felt consistently intimidated and taunted by their prominent signage indicating that the maximum time limit for parking is 30 minutes. I dont know how much they enforce this, but I felt it to be rather ridiculous....so I left in fear of my car being towed.

I next ate at Pinche Taqueira at Colfax and York (adjacent to the bookstore I just left)....again, parking isnt the greatest, and much competition rivals you in finding a parking spot....but once you do, youre not in fear of getting your car towed, unlike the bookstore.......Inside the taquiera, my tastebuds were impressed with some rather tasty tacos being served here.....it all made sense why people were fighting over parking spots to get into this place.....its definitely worth checking out. $35, bought 8 tasty tacos and drinks for me and my companion

I next ventured to the Denver Pavilions/16th street/State Capitol area.....this plaza area reminded me much of Market Street in San Francisco.....(if youve been to both places, youll see what I mean by that). Theres a parking garage located off of Tremont and 17th street that I parked in....$7 for about 3 hours....not too shabby. There are free buses that you can ride up and down 16th street (aka The MALL). Hard Rock Cafe and Coyote Ugly are located here, along with countless other retail outlets and eateries.

MichelleY

Thanks for the detailed report.

Ackislander

This is nice.

It makes me want to go.

They would have to pay ME $20 to go out on the Royal Gorge Bridge!

Were you alone or traveling with a companion?

barbrn

I am loving this trip report. I am in Colorado right now (Fort Collins) and am staying until the end of September. You are giving me all kinds of ideas and also reliving some of the memories I've already made (Pikes Peak Cog Railroad). I need to write a trip report myself, I just need to get my details squared away.

What did you eat at that best sandwich shop (D'Dell)?? I really want to hear about it.

Thanks for writing this. You never made it up to the Fort Colllins area??

Googs

Great details - thank you! I'm going in October and am excited to visit some of your spots.