Colorado

What We Did

NM --> CO

Thankfully, we didn't have to get up before dawn for this drive. We left Santa Fe on Saturday, one of the coldest days of the year. We doubled back over some of the route we took into Santa Fe, continuing up across the Colorado border. After a quick lunch in Durango, we turned back up on CO-145 towards Telluride. As soon as we made this turn, the sunny weather turned spooky. Thick clouds formed very low to the ground and light snow started. It was 2 degrees. There was more than enough traction to drive on the hilly road, but the wind and snow slowly picked up until we were driving in near-whiteout conditions. Luckily, the mountains soon blocked a lot of the wind and the drive became much more manageable as we pulled into the town.

Telluride

We stayed at the Victorian Inn, right off the main street of the town. The town is actually pretty far from the base of the ski resort, but it's connected by a free gondola that takes people up and over a hill to the lifts on the other side. Our hotel was just a block or two from the gondola stop, which made it super convenient to get in and out. The town is a mix of upscale galleries, outdoor stores, and old rustic dive bars and shops. On Saturday night we got dinner and watched football at one of these old spots. Everywhere was packed for the long weekend.

CO --> CO

We left Telluride on another freezing cold morning. It was MLK Day, and the roads were pretty packed with skiers heading back home. The morning was barely above 0 degrees, and the roads were super slick and icy heading out of town. By the time we made it to the 70 through the mountains, it was much sunnier and warmer. We pulled into town early afternoon, and got pizza at Cosmo’s (a Grace favorite) before heading to our apartment. After a quick unpack, it was back on the road again. Katon had a work trip to Chicago, so we headed to the airport. Crazy day.

Denver

Our place was a little first-floor apartment near Washington Park and South Broadway. It was definitely a bit tight – small kitchen, a couch that was more of a loveseat, and a bedroom with barely enough floor space to walk around. Still, everything was pretty new and nice, and the neighborhood was lively and fun. We spent a lot of time on South Broadway going to restaurants, bars, and shops. It was also cool living so close to friends, who showed us around the neighborhood and made us feel at home. We spent a lot of time at Wash Park – we were even able to play tennis there a few times after the snow melted.

Outside of our neighborhood, we were a little surprised by how many interesting and distinct areas there were to Denver. We spent a few nights in RiNo, going to some pretty cool bars and clubs. We continued our trivia habit (after dry January ended) at a fun spot right by Coors Field. And we walked around the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood (it was super freezing so we had to cut our walk short, but Zoe, if you’re out there, that was for you). We also got a sense of the Denver sports culture by checking out a Nuggets game.

Boulder

One Sunday, we drove out to Boulder to check out Grace’s old stomping grounds! After a quick brunch, we walked around the CU campus and saw Grace’s old dorm, lacrosse field, and neighborhood. The campus was virtually empty, as all the students were probably still hungover. After campus we went down to Pearl Street for drinks and shopping, followed by a drive up the mountains that look over the campus. It was super windy so we didn’t stay too long, but it was cool to see the panorama of the Rockies and the valley. We gotta go back for a football game next fall, when the school is more up and energized.

Skiing

Skiing was definitely a major motivation for our staying in Denver, and we tried to get out to the mountains every weekend. Almost every Saturday, we got up well before dawn and joined the parade of Denverites thousands deep heading down the 70 towards the mountains.

• Telluride: Coldest day of the year (high of -4 on the slopes). Temperature ended up being a blessing though, as low crowds let us explore the whole mountain - including some sparse back bowls.

• A-Basin: Was cold and cloudy, with very low visibility at the top. But it wasn’t super crowded, and we saw Neel from SD who was there. Despite the weather, the runs were pretty solid.

• Winter Park: Also cold, with a sketchy drive up. Went with Emy, Emily, and Kat. Panorama run was a highlight – super soft powder, snow, nobody around, quiet

• Copper: Great day, terrible traffic and horrible time getting to park. Reason for this was because we took extra time to pack up all of our stuff and go to Moe’s. Bluebird day, got pretty sunburned. Met some friends to round out the day.

• Steamboat: Another sunny day, long lift lines, crowds at the top of every lift. Despite that, it was awesome. Runs were super fast, and wide enough to handle the crowds. Got drinks at the base, then went out to the town to explore.

After experiencing 5 Colorado mountains in as many weeks, we both agreed that Copper was our favorite (based on when we went, not overall). We had great days at all of the mountains – none of them were noticeably bad – that being said, here are each of our personal Colorado mountain rankings from this trip:

Grace:

1. Copper
2. Winter Park
3. Telluride
4. Steamboat
5. A-Basin

Katon:

1. Copper
2. Telluride
3. Steamboat
4. Winter Park
5. A-Basin

Thoughts

• Telluride is even more remote than we expected. On the drive in, at times it seemed impossible that there would be anything but forest at the end of the road. But the town is large enough that it was vibrant and had a good community feel.

• There are a lot of cute Denver neighborhoods that make the city feel small and manageable. Wash Park, Highlands, Sloan’s Lake, Athmar. It reminded us a little of San Diego how each neighborhood felt distinct but pretty disconnected from the others.

• There’s a LOT to do in Denver. Concerts, bars and restaurants, sports, skiing. It's a very easy place to stay entertained.

• The weather was very nice overall. There were a few below 10 degree days, but also some that got into the 60s. It was almost always sunny. Despite the cold and the snow, Denver is not a very difficult winter.

• Denver has some of the worst drivers either of us had ever seen. What's up with that? Always be alert when driving in Denver because people don't know what they're doing.

• The culture is very come as you are, very relaxed and informal.

• It's also a very active city - the loop path around Wash Park was always full of runners and walkers.

Favorites

• Cornerhouse Grille - Dive bar and grill one block off the main road. Great place to watch a football game, beer selection made us wish Dry January was over.

• Moe’s Broadway Bagel - Best bagels in CO. Started in Boulder but thrilled to see they expanded into Denver!

• MAKfam - A Chinese-fusion restaurant on South Broadway with delicious dumplings, spicy noodles, and creative cocktails. Don't forget your ID.

• Mockingbird - Unique bar in RiNo. Tables and couches were hidden behind curtains and cages, but also had a main dance floor and DJ.

• The Wolf’s Tailor - Incredible restaurant with a one star Michelin rating. Tasting menu is 9 courses with optional drink pairings as well. Unique flavors and a focus on sustainability, each course kept our taste buds guessing!

• Blue Pan Pizza - A detroit-style pizza joint.

• Bon Ami - A small french restaurant right on our block, this one specialized in crepes. Breakfast crepes, dinner crepes, and dessert crepes. We went for dinner and got one steak and cheese and one prosciutto and brie crepe. Seemed like a neighborhood gem - definitely recommend.

• Washington Park - Probably the most famous park in Denver, we spend a lot of time walking and playing tennis on the warmer days. Katon got to play some pickup hoops there too - the basketball courts were often the only part of the park not covered in snow.

• Broadway Book Mall - Local book store close to our apartment. Large variety off books and very friendly staff. We recently caught a Harry Potter bug, so we bought the first three books and have started rereading them.

• Cherry Cricket - Large bar right across from Coors Field where we went to trivia on Wednesdays!