Denver ~ Base Camp

As a dream destination for many, Colorado offers beautiful scenery with majestic Rocky Mountains and their ever-changing classical beauty. People who opt to move to Colorado find spare time is filled with a variety of destinations, day trips to the close-by attractions that dot the state.

Living in Colorado comes with a guarantee, your friends and relatives will come to visit. Most likely they will come on a regular basis, you will find it necessary to know all the attractions so you can properly entertain them during their vacation. With a little planning and some luck on your part, you may be able to go with them. Why not; it’s another Colorado amenity.

Here’s a sample week of activities for you to ponder:

Day 1: Optimize your Colorado trip with a drive to Colorado Springs to visit the spectacular Garden of the Gods. This huge city park is a Registered National Natural Landmark. Free and open to the public daily this one of a kind park has towering red rock formations, Balanced Rock and many hiking trails, both paved and not. Doing some research, you may be able to schedule your trip with time to take one of the walking tours of the park. If not, do still go. The park is wondrous enough, it isn’t even necessary to get out of the car, unless you truly want to.

After the tour, head toward Old Colorado City or Manitou Springs for a bite to eat. My personal favorite is La Baguette (sorry no website, they are too busy baking awesome bread!) where ordering French Onion soup is not mandatory, but strongly advised. The fresh bread and pastry baked there is available to go, so be sure to get some. You earned it, climbing all over those rocks in the Garden of the Gods!

Day 2: Kids can be daredevils, but then so can some parents. Age is of no importance if you are feeling like trying something new. Go to the Indoor Skydivingplace in Lone Tree in the Entertainment district. Located just of Yosemite between Lincoln and County Line, you can’t miss it. Just look for the building with the extra tall round stack. Yes, that’s where you can experience flying, or is it blowing in the wind? How ever you look at it, as a participant or a fan, you will have a few laughs and perhaps experience what all the raving is about. My niece and nephew had a great time, in fact it was one of their top 3 favorite things to do on their Colorado trip. But unlike the saying goes, "these Trix aren’t just for kids." The big kids do it too!

Day 3: Snowriding. What’s a trip to Colorado without riding the snow ? Colorado has countless ski resorts from small family resorts to International destinations. The one you choose is up to you. Time constrains considered you can easily do a day trip to the mountains and be back home to cook dinner that night. Or you can plan an overnight and catch two or more days in the mountains. Beginner bunny, shredder or pro there is a hill for everyone, the options are endless.

Day 4: Denver Zoo. After back to back activities, give the muscles a break and visit the Zoo. Denver Zoo is an amazing place, concerned with conservation and it shows. Denver Zoo is constantly upgrading the facility to give the best care for it’s guests. Polar bears, lions, tigers and monkeys are bound to entertain you. Kid friendly, of course Denver Zoo offers wagon rentals so not having a carriage is not a problem, just rent one.

Day 4, Part 2: IMAX and Museum of Nature and Science is conveniently located next to Denver Zoo. For one entrance fee your group can see both the Museum and take in a movie at the IMAX. The exhibits and shows change frequently, so don’t worry too much about having to sit through a rerun.

Day 5: Snowmobiling. Being at the base of the Rockies, it’s easy to rent a snowmobile and go motoring off into the wilderness. The snowmobile Capitol of Colorado is Grand Lake. Here and along the way you will find many opportunities to enjoy this sport. Grand Lake is located right next to Rocky Mountain National Park. In the winter snowmobiles are allowed to use the trails in the park. A four hours round trip will get you above the timberline. If you dare go here, be prepared to awe!

Day 6: Denver is home to FIVE professional sport teams. If there is a fan in your group, scoring with them will be easy. Just take them to one of the tours of these facilities;

Bronco Stadium- Invesco Field at Mile High
Colorado Rockies – Coors Field
Nuggets (basketball) Avalanche (hockey) at the Pepsi Center
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – Opening in April, this park will be the largest soccer complex in the world. Tours have not been set yet, but stay tuned to the website.

Day 7: Glenwood Springs Hot Springs- People pass this place for years on their way to Steamboat or Aspen. When I ask them if they ever stopping, few know what I am talking about. Colorado has many natural hot springs, Glenwood has the Granddaddy of them all. Two pools combined lengths are 505 feet! The main pool is cooled to about 90 degrees. The therapy pool is only cooled to 104 degrees. After a day of riding the snow, nothing feels better than a dip in the pools.

I could write a book about things to do in Colorado. The best thing of all, everything I’ve mentioned here can be a day trip or less from your Denver Base Camp.

If company is coming or you just need a change of scenery, you’ve got it made if you live in Colorado!

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