The last weekend of October, I flew down to Colorado for a wedding. I had a few days around the wedding, so I decided to venture around Denver and Boulder and explore as I had never been before. Here are a few highlights and thoughts from my trip!
Day 1 - Denver
I spent most of my time in Denver exploring around Union Station. It was a weekday and snowing, so the area and surrounding neighborhoods felt rather quiet. Food in Denver was solid -- Denver Biscuit Company stood out to me with various biscuit breakfast sandwich options.
Day 2 & 4 - Boulder
As I landed in Denver, I was under the impression I would not be able to make it out to Boulder, which I was bummed about. However, upon landing and talking to my host, I learned there was a public transport bus that ran from Denver to Boulder -- perfect!
RTD, the local public transportation system, has an all-day bus pass for $9. This made it easy for me to get around cheaply and allowed me to catch the Flatiron Flyer #FF1 from Denver to Boulder and back. With a bus pass in hand, I switched gears and visited Boulder both the day before and day after my wedding photoshoot.
Boulder is beautiful. The area around Denver and Boulder is really flat, but Boulder itself sits at the foothills of the Rockies. Like...RIGHT at the foothills. One side is incredibly flat, and, as you spin around, you are dwarfed by the Flatirons. It is stunning.
On day 2, I met up with Cheryl who showed me around Pearl Street and University of Colorado Boulder. Pearl Street had a quaint small mountain town feel with the occasional big city vibe with some big name brands like Patagonia there. CU Boulder's campus is gorgeous. Had I been more interested in Physics as I applied to colleges, I would've been stoked to be able to go there.
On day 4, I met up with my high school friend Morgan and went on a hike to Mount Sanitas, just 10 minutes away from where we got coffee in town. Between the green trees and shrubs, red rocks, blue skies, and white snow-capped Rockies, I was in shock. So many different colors and terrains from a quick day-hike just outside of downtown Boulder...
After grabbing post-hike smoothies and catching up for a bit more, Morgan dropped me off at the bus station. However, I wasn't ready to leave quite yet and decided to wander around Boulder, grab a bite, and eventually go on a second, solo hike. This time, I went up to the Flatirons.
Accidentally catching sunset on the Flatirons was absolutely amazing. I had to book it down the trail as sunlight disappeared, but the colors and warmth of the sunset were beautiful as they painted the red rocks, trees, and sky around me. Never before have I looked at rocks and thought to myself, "I would like to climb that one day."
With a second hike in the books, it was time to head back to Denver and home. Denver was nice, but Boulder really made my first time in Colorado memorable. I am definitely coming back.