Its breathtaking setting certainly deserves the title, but Estes Park is not really a park ? At least not in the typical sense of the word. In geologic lingo, “park” describes a glacially cut, level valley between mountain ranges. And…
Colorado’s summer heat beats down on wilting trees, and the flowers are in full bloom. What better way to spend an easy afternoon than sitting under a shady tree or umbrella and sipping a cool beverage and munching tasty snacks.…
On a typical late Saturday night, the Denver Diner’s pink and green sign casts a neon glow over West Colfax Avenue and Speer Boulevard in Denver. The large window wrapping around the northwest corner of the diner reveals a full…
“I need to go to Lone Tree,” I tell my friend Larry, who also happens to be the ideal dining companion. He’ll eat anything once, which pleases me to no end. At the mention of Lone Tree, however, he unleashes…
Bob LeMassena told me his age with a smile and a gleam in his eye, as if letting me in on a long-kept secret. “I’m still young,” he said. Bob is 93. And then he quoted the first line of…
The tiny community of Tabernash might not be among your first choices of Colorado vacation spots because the list of tourist amenities it does not have far outweighs the attractions it does, other than the Colorado-class views, of course. For…
When it comes to lakes, Colorado may not have the largest or the most, but the state can comfortably boast of having some of the loveliest high-altitude bodies of water in America. Some can be explored by car, while others…
Calming waves of hot mineral water envelop the body. Relaxed eyes gaze at mountains and forest. Nothing but sky hangs overhead. Simmering in an outdoor pool of earth-heated water may be the hottest way to enjoy Colorado’s wet side. The…
I had been lucky. On five previous rafting trips through Brown’s Canyon on the Arkansas River, most other members of the group took tumbles into the frigid waters. But, throughout the years, I’d always been able to maintain position on…
Everyone knows there are no oysters in the Rocky Mountains. The oysters we’re talking about, for better or worse, aren’t seafood at all — they’re the family jewels from that herd grazing next to Interstate 76, and they’re a tradition…
A big black dog, a tent and a fishing pole are the sine qua non of Colorado living and, over the years, I’ve had a number of all three. Fishing, I enjoy, and scratching the ears of a big goofy…
Remember the good old days? The times before World War II, when food was natural and drive-throughs weren’t around to proffer foods pumped with trans-fats and processed sugars? I don’t. And at 41, neither does Dan Hanley, general manager of…
Butterflies are born free and float gracefully in the Butterfly Pavilion at 6252 W. 104th Ave. in Westminster, Colorado. In my childhood, I chased butterflies and caught them with a net if I was lucky. Now, all I need do…
In western Colorado, the Grand Mesa towers more than a mile above the landscape. Aspens paint thick dark forests with streaks of gold, while some 300 lakes mirror the changing sky. The Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway climbs up…
Everyone knows Breckenridge as one of America’s top ski resorts. But not many visitors know that the town also owns a rich history of mining dating to the discovery of gold in 1859. Even fewer are aware that one of…
If pressed, you could probably come up with some facts about Denver International Airport off the top of your head. The roof is a giant tent. It’s one of the busiest airports in the world. If you read Business Traveler,…
The big cushioned theatre seat engulfed me, a tiny little girl in a pink tulle-and-satin party gown. Sitting with my parents in the front row, I leaned toward my mother so I could hear her whisper the story in my…
Art lovers get ready! The fourth annual Denver Arts Week is here, and it’s time to celebrate the vibrant arts and culture scene here in the Mile High City. The eight-day festival, Nov. 5 – 13, hosts nearly 200 events,…
“Cancer, it’s just a word.” That’s a favorite saying of Vail resident Allan Goldberg, First Descents executive director and 27-year cancer survivor. He likes the phrase so much so that he had it printed on t-shirts. “It is a scary…
More than a century ago residents of south Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood woke up to rambling trolley cars scooching along Old South Pearl Street. The area was initially incorporated in 1886 as the Town of South Denver. James Fleming, a…
Rolling meadows, weathered barns, waving wheat and country farmhouses distinguish Colorado’s eastern plains. This area, known as Colorado’s Outback country, was home for many of the state’s first settlers who forged their existence from the earth. You can get…
In 1965, Sherman Poppen bolted two skis together to make a snow-riding surfboard for his daughter. Dubbed a “Snurfer,” the design achieved instant popularity, and a manufacturer sold more than a half million of them the next year. The new…
Like many other nights, the bed called to me like a siren from a Greek epic, but this time would be different. I was about to find out if the buzz about the beds at Hotel Teatro in downtown Denver…
The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa at Beaver Creek Mountain offers some of the most breathtaking vistas in Colorado and also boasts some of the finest amenities in the state. Less than a two-hour drive west of Denver via Interstate…
“Yah, yah, yah, yah” robustly sings the lively—but not rowdy—crowd gathered around an oom pah band during Vail’s Oktoberfest. Robust smells of grilled bratwurst and spit-roasted pork blend with lively strains of Bavarian music, while visitors dance to the lively…
The upscale Volcano restaurant in Centennial, Colorado, is not just another Asian restaurant. It’s really three fine restaurants all beautifully combined under one roof at 10440 E. Arapahoe Road and Havana Street. Its name comes from the restaurant’s signature Volcano…
Walk into The Arrabelle at Vail Square, and guests may feel they have arrived at a European resort. This RockResort property is right in the thick of things at Vail and aims to please guests’ every need, from luxury rooms,…