Scenic Byway: Cache La Poudre-North Park

Wild waters froth as they roar through sheer-walled Poudre Canyon. Beyond a range of craggy peaks, moose nibble wetland willows and songbirds trill. Along the Cache la Poudre-North Park Scenic and Historic Byway, sights and sounds vary from wild to serene. The byway stretches 101 miles between Fort Collins and Walden in the north-central part of the state. Following Colorado 14, it courses westward along the Cache la Poudre…

River Rafting: High-Country Thrills and Spills on the Colorado River

The record snowmelt in the Colorado Rockies this summer means action-packed river rafting. And if your teenager is addicted to adventure and virtually fearless, this is the ideal time to enjoy some family togetherness on a raft in the middle of a rushing river. River rafting is ideal for families with teens — just enough togetherness, but not too much. Typically, you’ll be put into an eight or 12-person…

Aspen, Colorado: Culinary Dream Come True

The international “who’s who” in food and wine gather in Aspen, Colorado, every year for the Aspen Food & Wine Classic sponsored by Food & Wine magazine. It’s a culinary dream come true to be able to taste and sip some of the best food and wine in the country. The culinary superstars of this year’s 29th annual classic June 17-19 in Aspen include John Besh, Michael Symon, Michael…

Palettes: Popular Art Museum Restaurant Reopens

The debut of the Denver Art Museum’s Daniel Libeskind-designed Frederic C. Hamilton Building has made coast-to-coast headlines and elevated Colorado in both the art and architecture realms. Art lovers rejoiced. At the same time, foodies cheered the reopening of Palettes Contemporary Cuisine, Kevin Taylor’s restaurant in the museum, closed since 2004 while the Hamilton Building was going up. Even as the museum’s exhibition space doubled, so has Palettes. The…

Pacific Mercantile Co.: Downtown Denver’s Touch of Asia

I don’t remember the last time I wanted to buy fresh octopus, but there it was right in front of me, the tentacles wrapping around each other like a thick, fleshy ball of yarn. A little to the left, behind the glass panes of Pacific Mercantile Co.’s fish counter, a salmon head stared up at me with its one visible eyeball. It’s items like these — as well as…