Labor Day Weekend in Denver, CO
About a month ago, I flew to Denver to meet up with two of my friends from Chicago. I miss my friends back home so much, so finding/making the time to slip away and see them if only for a couple of days is really important to me and so worth it. :)
Anywho, our first stop in Colorado was at the Denver Botanic Gardens. We were all blown away by how huge and beautiful the gardens were. It's hands down the best Botanic Gardens I've ever been to! I just wish we had gotten there earlier because we lost sunlight fast. It was pretty cool being there at night though. They had this amazing light-changing water feature and huge Chihuly art pieces that were lit up in the back garden. It was all so great. I'd totally go back.
In the morning, we grabbed breakfast at The Weathervane Cafe. They had quick, delicious sandwiches and yummy coffee that hit the spot. I know everyone hates food photos, but I can't help myself. Photographing food is one of my favorite things to do and I'm not sorry about it.
Red Rocks is a place I've heard about forever, but had actually never visited myself, so it was fun to finally see it up close! Sadly they were just closing it up when we got there in order to prepare for the band playing that night, but we were still able to wander around and snap some photos before leaving.
We stopped at Juniper Pass after leaving Red Rocks. The views reminded me a lot of Washington. Pretty, pretty! Colorado has so many different layers.
We made our way to Mount Evans after we left Juniper Pass, and had no clue what we were getting ourselves into. It was great, don't get me wrong, but I don't think any of us had ever been quite that high up before, so the higher we climbed (in our car, mind you!), the shorter our breath became. The feeling was strange, and since I've (unfortunately) experienced a few panic attacks in my life, the shortness of breath reminded me too much of how I feel moments before having one. It was bizarre.
We went from sweating at Red Rocks in the nearly 80 degree weather, to driving through snow and hail in under an hour. I'm sort of used to that part, living in Washington and all and driving to the mountains for snow, but the crazy elevation change was new for me and I was definitely not dressed appropriately. (That last part isn't unusual, though.)
The road to Mount Evans just so happens to be the highest paved road in North America! "Mount Evans is the road into the sky. Drive from 8,700 feet at Idaho Springs where you turn off Interstate 70 to 14,240 feet to the summit, and you will pass through 3 life zones, passing ancient trees, lakes and forest to the land above timberline. It can be 90 degrees in Denver and 40 degrees at the top of Mount Evans. Mountain Goats and Bighorn Sheep will greet you as you climb to the top of the world." (via Mount Evans)
We had dinner at Watercourse Foods which is an amazing vegan restaurant in Denver. We liked it so much, we actually returned the next day for brunch! While we were eating dinner, a friend who recently moved from Wisconsin to Colorado called and suggested meeting for brunch at Watercourse in the morning. He had no clue we were actually sitting at the restaurant eating dinner when he called, haha. We didn't mind going back at all. We even had the same server from the night before! If you live in the Denver area and haven't been here yet... Get on that!
So another reason the three of us met up in Denver was not only to enjoy the long weekend together, but also to see Rocky Votolato. He's currently on a 10 year anniversary tour for the release of his "Makers" album, and we're all big fans. He's actually a Seattleite, and one of my favorites for sure. Listen to this, this, or this if you've never heard of him! The show was great of course, aside from the drunk guy we ended up babysitting most of the night... Long story.
The weekend was short but sweet, and spending time with Brett and Kendal was so much fun. Thanks for the memories, Denver. You da best. (The photo above is from the Denver Bicycle Cafe!)