Denver Travel Guide
So far my other posts have been reminiscing on past travels and documenting those experiences. Flying to Denver was my first big trip since COVID-19 hit, so I will include a little bit about how that changed the traveling experience. We were originally supposed to be flying into Denver and then going to Vail for a wedding in June, which then got postponed to September and then later on postponed again until 2021 (side note: my heart goes out to all of the weddings that have been impacted by COVID. It is not easy planning a wedding, let alone in this environment). Instead of cancelling our flight, we decided to still go to Denver and make a little trip out of it since I had never been with two of our best friends!
Pretty much any airport that you are in requires a mask to be worn at all times, unless you are eating, as well as while you are on the airplane. So from the time that we were dropped off at Charlotte Douglas International Airport till we landed in Denver we were wearing a mask the entire time. We flew American Airlines on the way there and Delta on the way back. American had us all packed together and the flight attendants handed out a bag when you were boarding the plane that had a disinfecting wipe, water, a snack and cookies. Delta had the same bags that they handed you when you were boarding, but they had us spaced out and not sitting next to anyone that was not in our party. I was a little relieved when we finally stepped outside and I was able to breathe in fresh air not through my mask.
We decided that we wanted to rent a car while we were in Colorado since we wanted to be able to easily drive to go hiking and sightseeing. Well...we learned a valuable lesson with this. Make sure you set the pick up time to the time that you will actually get to the rental car place, because apparently after two hours some companies won’t hold the car for you. Our flight got in at 10:30am and the pickup time was set at 7:30am...so you can see the problem here. After a couple extra hundred dollars more than we were planning on spending on a rental car though we were on our way to Colorado Springs for the first night! (I have the whole trip documented on my Instagram in my Denver highlight bubble for you to check out as well for more videos and pictures!)
Colorado Springs
We thought that this would be a fun place to start the trip. It is only about a 1.5 hour drive south of Denver and has some really cool places to see. First up was the Garden of the Gods. My boyfriend, Andrew, had been to Colorado Springs before and said that this was a must see, and boy was he right! This place has some amazing views and trails...plus it’s free to the public which is a bonus. We walked around for a little over an hour just taking it all in. It almost feels like you are in Sedona. So definitely recommend adding this to your list of places to see!
After working up an appetite at Garden of the Gods, we quickly got ready to go grab some drinks and appetizers at Phantom Canyon Brewing. I am a big fan of Hefeweizens, so I had to try their Alpenglow (very good by the way). We also ordered their pub wings as well as the pretzels and beer cheese...I mean how can you not get pretzels and beer cheese when you are at a brewery! Both were delicious and we all appreciated that it came with three medium sized pretzels instead of one giant one like some breweries do.
We had reservations at The Rabbit Hole at 8pm, so after spending some time talking about the day we finished our beers and walked over to dinner. I found The Rabbit Hole through Trip Advisor and immediately made a reservation because it looked so cool! It almost feels like you are going underground to get on the metro, but then it ends up being an underground restaurant! We started with some cocktails and I opted for the coffee martini and then got a bottle of red wine to share for our meals. I had the cherry braised buffalo short ribs, which came with asparagus and mashed potatoes and it was sooo good! Others at the table got the seafood pasta and the burger. I tried each of these as well and they were also very yummy (have to say mine was a little bit better though). Finally, I normally do not order dessert but everything sounded amazing so we ordered three desserts (carrot cake, cheesecake and red velvet cake) to split between the four of us...no regrets!
The next morning we planned to go hiking at Mt Muscoco, but before that we stopped at Denver Biscuit Company to fuel up. Now when I say this was the biggest biscuit I have ever seen I am not exaggerating. I mean look at the size of this thing! Mine had fried chicken, pimento cheese and scrambled eggs...holy yum! Everyone was very pleased with their breakfast choice. May have not been the lightest choice given that we were about to hike up a mountain, but I would say it was worth it.
Mt. Muscoco was a quick 15 minute drive to the trailhead. There are two options for this trail as they split off half a mile in. The Mt. Cutler trail is about 2 miles round trip and rated to be an easy trail with little elevation gain, while on the other hand Mt. Muscoco is 4 miles round trip and has over a 1,200 foot elevation gain! The trail was well marked and not too crowded. My legs were definitely a little sore the next day from doing that but the views were definitely worth it. We even made a little chipmunk friend at the top.
Before heading back to Denver, we stopped at Bristol Brewing Company after our hike, so these flights of beer were well deserved. The brewery is located in a school that was built in 1916 and has since been transformed into a restaurant on one side called The Principal's Office and a brewery on the other, with plans to expand and add more tenants. It was a very cool concept and I had to see if for myself when I found this place online.
Denver
Once we were back in Denver we walked around the city for a bit and one place that caught my eye was Larimer Square. This street was so cute! It is closed for traffic and is filled with restaurants and shops that have patios lining the street. We did not eat at any of the restaurants here, but they all looked great. Definitely a spot to check out!
We then walked over to Union Station to check out Terminal Bar. I had seen pictures on Instagram of Union Station and I was so glad that I got to see it in person. It was beautiful! There are restaurants and bars lining the station and there is even a boutique hotel inside it. Really cool spot to grab a glass of wine and a bite to eat.
When we were walking around that day we went by Sam’s No. 3 - a local diner that has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. It looked and smelled amazing, so we decided to go there for breakfast the next morning. You can add yourself to the waitlist ahead of time so that you don’t have to wait as long when you arrive. If you are feeling a spiked coffee, the McCloud 9 Latte was a great way to start the day along with their french toast, scrambled eggs and bacon. Everything was delicious and filling...a great combination for starting off a day of watching college football!
Later that evening we headed to Blue Moon Brewery, which was in the RiNo District of Denver. This was a super cool spot with great pub food. I was actually very surprised at how good their guacamole was. The wings, pretzel bites and burger were also very good. The brewery also has a couple other places to pop into within walking distance.
The last thing that we did before flying back to Charlotte was driving out to see the Red Rocks Amphitheater. We almost decided not to drive out there but I am so glad we did. The views were spectacular and I had always wanted to see it in person. The only thing that would have made it better was if I was watching Mumford and Sons or a Coldplay concert there. There are a couple easy trails that you can do around Red Rocks as well as climbing the stairs in the actual amphitheater. We sat around for a little bit just taking it all in and thinking about how thankful we were to be there and for this trip before heading out.
Overall, I felt very safe while traveling around and I was just grateful to be able to travel again, make new memories, see new places and of course eat good food. Thanks Denver for showing us a good time!
Until next time, Madison
