MILE HIGH CITY
"There's a road I know that will take you up to heaven for a day
Where you just might see an eagle fly or watch the big horn play
Or you can take a trail that will lead you to the rivers edge
Where you can listen to the rolling waters carrying your troubles away
Well there's nothing that can quite compare to the Colorado sun
When your high in the Rocky mountains and away from everyone
And you know the mile high city will always be home to me
But for those times when I got to get away there's a place I'll be" Railbenders
Colorado is considered one of the best places to ski in the States! As I packed the night before, I wasn’t entirely sure of what I was going to be venturing into, but after spending around 10 days in Colorado I do have to say it’s a place absolutely worth visiting!!
We arrived in Denver on Christmas, because of which the town was quiet and lazy. The highlight on the very first day was our visit to a dispensary. I had no idea what a dispensary entailed, but our friends who had gotten there earlier had had sufficient time to do some exploring. The name itself signified visiting a clinic. However, as I entered I breathed in the legality of the ‘illegal ;) It was so fascinating, being able to browse through the shop to select the form in which one would prefer to embrace the much-relaxing experience! From gummies, flavored chocolates, chewies, liquids to body oils, the array of options were plenty, just waiting for you to beckon. Well-stocked, we continued on with our day :P
$1000 per person (no transport)
10 days
12/25/17-01/03/18
Getting There
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Flight from New York to Denver
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United Airlines
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Duration: 4 hours
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Cost: $350​ (during peak season)
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Stay
Echo Mountain
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Airbnb: $175 / per day
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Location: Echo Mountain
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Rating: 4.5 out of 5​​
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Denver
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Airbnb: $60 per day
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Location: 20 minutes away from city center
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Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Food Much & NightLife
Denver​
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ViewHouse Eatery Bar & Rooftop
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City O City
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Four Friends
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Nick N Jim's BBQ
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Club Vinyl
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Evergreen Town
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Murphy's Mountain Grill
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Muddy Buck
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Little Bear
Highlights
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Evergreen Forests & Lake
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Evergreen Town
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Skiing at Echo Mountains
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Garden of the Gods
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Cave of the Winds​​
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A bar true to its name, View House Bar, Rooftop & Eatery has a view overlooking the city. With redbrick and wood, it has a cozy vibe and expands across floors. The bartender whipped up a special concoction to keep the merry spirit going. I indulged in fish and chips topped off with my favorite day drink mimosas ;)
Delayed in leaving for our eventual destination, several ubers refused to take us, since our cabin was a 40-minute drive tucked away in the midst of the mountains. It had apparently snowed a day before so the roads could be tricky! We got seriously concerned when a person from Colorado driving a 4/4 said he’s scared of the drive and cancelled our ride without discussion. Almost prepared to make alternative arrangements, we decided to try our luck one last time. As the guy arrived with a compact car, we weren’t hopeful. He, however agreed without blinking an eyelid, we jumped in, ecstatic and later discovered he had only been in Colorado in 6 months, thus the fearlessness or one could say naivety :P We made our way up quite smoothly. Only at the very end, we could have avoided turning downhill towards our cabin. It was challenging for the car to go back up, but eventually after myriad accelerations, our friend zoomed into the night.
The insides of our cabin, which was the perfect place for a get-away! It had three bedrooms with one of the rooms opening up to the forest. In fact, one of the mornings during our stay, our friend was nimbly woken up by the visiting deer with gigantic antlers, I wouldn't have minded a nuzzle! A homey place, the fireplace was definitely a highlight, which not only kept us warm and cozy, but also had us intriguingly engaged post the edibles ;) The sundeck outside had a grill, and we spent our evenings barbecuing steaks and vegetables. Stocked with board games and movies, we played monopoly that lasted through our stay and ended up spending Christmas watching the Grinch who stole Christmas, ha!
Since, we had arrived the first night with no supplies, we literally ate chocolate for dinner and breakfast! The closest town to us was Evergreen and it was a 20 minute ride away. The following morning we discovered that there were no ubers around us, courtesy the weather! Luckily, our friend's folks were staying at Evergreen and drove us from the cabin to King Soopers, a grocery store in town for us to stock up for the next few days! Rest assured, we didn't hold back and the chefs amidst us ensured that we had the yummiest food through the trip!
The underlying motivation of this trip was to ski away. This was my first time skiing! I do have to say the initial hour can be quite overwhelming! With sudden heavy extensions added to one's body, as I tried to navigate my way in the midst of snow stormy weather, it was challenging to even lock my foot into the skis. I fell during the process and in many instances after, and getting back up was was a tribulation of its own! However, as time passed and I got used to these extensions becoming a part of my being, with knees bent and weight forward, I slowly started making progress and began enjoying the bunny slope! I spent the entire morning and afternoon going up the magic carpet and commenced working on turns and halting with the movement of snow plough or as kids are taught the pizza!
This is the big slope, which was the eventual and aspirational ski path, with both pictures reflecting the day we spent till sunset. We were up at Echo Mountain, literally a 5 minute drive from our cabin and it was special because it wasn't a touristic spot. Since, there was no ski resort attached to the lodge, people were from around the local areas, thus, it was comparatively economical and not too crowded.
On Day 2, I happily progressed to a part of the big slope. Looking down at the expanse of the mountain, however, was super s.c.a.r.y. I had to wear horse blinders and fully focus on the path in front of me. Unfortunately, the lodge was closed because of weather conditions on the third day. I definitely intend to return and continue practicing in order to take the plunge on the entirety of the big fat slope!
The best part about being high up in the mountains were the extraordinary views!
Left me breathless, both with the altitude and glorious landscapes!
As we drove down from Idaho Springs towards Evergreen town, we crossed this open field where horses grazed and soaked in the sun.
The highpoint of Evergreen town was the Evergreen Lake, where the entire town showed up to camp, fish and ice-skate. The lake was frozen with a 9-inch density and people had bonfires going as they drilled deep holes to catch fish. It was quite the place to get together, soak in the vibes of the town and enjoy the stunning beauty omnipresent around us!
From Denver, drove 80 miles to South Colorado. I'll have to admit I'm not a fan of driving on the highway. With the cars zooming by, my biggest challenge having grown up in Delhi, was sticking to my lane ;) In Colorado, however, another key factor was keeping my eyes off the gorgeous sights and not getting totally distracted!
Our first stop was Cave of the Winds. One can only enter as part of a tour and it's an interesting walk through the labyrinth that has been dug up over time, so that we can meander through instead of crawling on our bellies. The natural wonders are millions of years old and as the story goes, Arthur B. Love discovered the limestone archway and cave entrance in 1869. It was soon after in 1881 that the Pickett brothers found the entrance, and realized there was more to explore when their candle flickered off because of the mysterious wind blowing from behind a crevice, thus, the name, Cave of the Winds!
There are different tours available, which include experiencing the caves with only lanterns, hearing folklore and eerie ghost stories. We took the Discovery tour, where our humorous tour guide introduced us to the history, continually drawing analogies to the shapes that existed inside the caves with our lives, such as stalactites that represented bacon or the story of Romeo & Juliet! It was fascinating to walk though spaces that had eroded over decades because of the force of water, re-shaping the interiors of the caves. This was largely possible since, the solid rock that exists is made up of limestone. The geology of the cave signifies that 500 million years ago, in what was then known as the Ordovician period of the Paleozoic Era, the Pikes Peak region of Colorado was immersed in shallow seas. As the sea creatures died, the broken sea shells began consolidating and eventually over millions of years formed the solid rock that we now refer to as limestone.
As we perched ourselves at the entrance to the caves, we overlooked the 600 feet drop into William Canyon, located at the brink of Manitou Springs. The canyon is home to many wild adventurous rides including the terror-dactyl, similar to a roller coaster that spans the entirety of the canyon!
Next up was Garden of the Gods. The red rock formations are a result of geological upheavals that occurred along a natural fault line millions of years ago. With the Rocky Mountains and Pikes Peak Massif in the vicinity, during the Pleistocene Ice Age, the glaciation and erosion resulted in the present rock formations. Fascinatingly enough, a dinosaur's skull was found in the park in 1878 and was thereafter, identified as Theiophytalia Kerri in 2006! Colorado is known to be Dinosaur Land!
The famous Balanced Rock, a 290 million old year rock has been performing it's balanced act for a while now. The speculation goes, how long will the 700 ton red sandstone withstand the wind, earthquakes, erosion, Colorado's freeze-thaw cycle? We can only wait and watch ;)
A delicious meal at Jim & Nick's BBQ Restaurant. Colorado, you treated us well!
Can't not end without another peek-a-boo into the beauty that Colorado has, simply marvelous!
Our troupe as we vacilando'd through Colorado! On New Year's Eve, we went the steam punk way and took the city with our elation and hip-ness...Steam Punk on ;)