Jason and I and my brother, Brandon, headed out to Denver to spend Labor Day weekend with my brother, Christian. Christian has lived in Denver for the last 5 years and I hate to say that this was the first trip Jason and I have made out there. We definitely will not wait another 5 years to go back! Christian planned a great 3 days and we packed in as much as we could.
Friday:
Christian picked us up from the airport and after a quick stop at the flagship REI store, we grabbed lunch and headed to Washington Park for a picnic.
The Taste of Colorado was going on in downtown Denver - within walking distance of Christian's house. There were tons of food, drink and merchandise booths set up.
Christian lives in the Denver Art District and Friday evening we explored the Artwalk which occurs every first Friday of the month. We didn't look at much art but there was definitely some interesting people watching!
At the end of the walk we went to this cool urban winery, The Infinite Monkey Theorem and enjoyed some delicious wine and a live DJ. A great end to our first day.
Saturday:
We woke up and had a breakfast and coffee on Christian's deck and then headed out. Our first stop was Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater. Amazing! I hope to see a concert there someday.
Next up Mount Evans. If I had to pick a favorite thing from the weekend it would be this. Mount Evans is unique in that you can drive almost to the top and then hike the remainder of the way. Standing on top of a mountain at 14,000 feet is a pretty amazing feeling. I literally felt like I was on top of the world. It was very windy and cold (the temperature dropped 35 degrees from Denver and winds were gusting at 40 mph) and the altitude made it a little difficult to breathe but it was all worth it!
We saw several of these guys
We made it to the top!
The view was breathtaking
Jason on top of the world
Happy to have made it to the top
Christian picked us up from the airport and after a quick stop at the flagship REI store, we grabbed lunch and headed to Washington Park for a picnic.
The Taste of Colorado was going on in downtown Denver - within walking distance of Christian's house. There were tons of food, drink and merchandise booths set up.
Christian lives in the Denver Art District and Friday evening we explored the Artwalk which occurs every first Friday of the month. We didn't look at much art but there was definitely some interesting people watching!
At the end of the walk we went to this cool urban winery, The Infinite Monkey Theorem and enjoyed some delicious wine and a live DJ. A great end to our first day.
Saturday:
We woke up and had a breakfast and coffee on Christian's deck and then headed out. Our first stop was Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater. Amazing! I hope to see a concert there someday.
Next up Mount Evans. If I had to pick a favorite thing from the weekend it would be this. Mount Evans is unique in that you can drive almost to the top and then hike the remainder of the way. Standing on top of a mountain at 14,000 feet is a pretty amazing feeling. I literally felt like I was on top of the world. It was very windy and cold (the temperature dropped 35 degrees from Denver and winds were gusting at 40 mph) and the altitude made it a little difficult to breathe but it was all worth it!
We saw several of these guys
We made it to the top!
The view was breathtaking
Jason on top of the world
Happy to have made it to the top
After driving back to Denver we enjoyed a delicious dinner on the patio at El Noa Noa in Christian's neighborhood.
Sunday:
We had brunch at Dozens, a cute little breakfast nook also in Christian's neighborhood - he lives in a great area! After brunch we went to Roxbourough State Park and did a two mile hike. The park offered a completely different landscape than the mountains we saw the day before. The red rock formations were awesome!
After our hike we drove to Colorado Springs and visited the Garden of the Gods, another park with amazing red rocks.
Next up Manitou Springs - think Lake of the Ozarks or Branson. A little town full of touristy gift shops, a penny arcade and lots of bikers and hippies :) We had dinner and drinks and then walked around and played the part of tourist. We got ice cream, I bought a souvenior sweatshirt and we took our pictures in a carriage.
Our final destination of the night and the weekend was a balloon glow in Colorado Springs. It was the perfect way to round out our Labor Day Weekend.
Monday we headed back to St. Louis. We had such a great time exploring Denver and the surrounding areas. We got to see and do so much and each adventure brought something different. Thanks to my big brother for being a great host and showing us all Denver has to offer!
Sunday:
We had brunch at Dozens, a cute little breakfast nook also in Christian's neighborhood - he lives in a great area! After brunch we went to Roxbourough State Park and did a two mile hike. The park offered a completely different landscape than the mountains we saw the day before. The red rock formations were awesome!
After our hike we drove to Colorado Springs and visited the Garden of the Gods, another park with amazing red rocks.
Next up Manitou Springs - think Lake of the Ozarks or Branson. A little town full of touristy gift shops, a penny arcade and lots of bikers and hippies :) We had dinner and drinks and then walked around and played the part of tourist. We got ice cream, I bought a souvenior sweatshirt and we took our pictures in a carriage.
Our final destination of the night and the weekend was a balloon glow in Colorado Springs. It was the perfect way to round out our Labor Day Weekend.
Monday we headed back to St. Louis. We had such a great time exploring Denver and the surrounding areas. We got to see and do so much and each adventure brought something different. Thanks to my big brother for being a great host and showing us all Denver has to offer!
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