Sky High In Colorado

Weekend trips are easily becoming a favorite hobby of mine. I love exploring new places and seeing how other people live in different parts of the country. Although two days can be very short to sightsee, I try to cover as much ground as possible!

I’ve been wanting to visit Colorado for some time now, so I finally booked a trip spontaneously a few weeks ago. (I’m trying this new thing where if I want to do something, I just do it. Buying tickets, going places, etc., w/o waiting on someone). I’m honestly so happy that I did because I had such a great time! I know if I had waited on others, I would not be going anytime soon! A friend from high school ended up joining me on this vacation, so it was nice to not be entirely alone as well!

I flew into Denver early Friday morning and got the day started right away after checking into my Airbnb. I stayed in Capitol Hill which was an awesome location close to everything I wanted to do! The neighborhood was really cute as well with some Victorian homes and a bohemian vibe. My host was a college graduate from Boulder, so she gave me a bunch of recommendations that came in handy!

My first stop was the Denver Art Museum. As you will see, I have no photos from here. Photographs weren’t allowed, but they had so many incredible paintings! Especially the ones from Britain ranging from the 1400s to the 1800s. They also had an exhibit by Jordan Casteel who had huge, colorful portraits that spoke so loudly. Each of her paintings had a million words to them and the bold colors helped bring out the liveliness. (She’s an emerging artist based in Harlem, N.Y. but originally from Denver).

After the museum, I checked out the city a bit. We drove by many of the neighborhoods admiring the differences and similarities. It was pretty simple to get around compared to Chicago. The city is definitely smaller, but really charming overall.

On Saturday, we drove up to Boulder to Chautauqua Park. The drive alone was so beautiful seeing all the mountains on the way, but the park was breathtaking! We didn’t hike the entire thing, nor did we come prepared to really hike (as you can tell by my attire LOL), but we made sure to get some amazing pictures! The view was just absolutely stunning and it helped that the weather was relatively nice and sunny too!

After Chautauqua Park, we grabbed some food and checked out the smoke shops near the college campus. The area reminded me of IU Bloomington a bit, just a lot more relaxed and chill!

After leaving Boulder, we drove back down to Denver and went to Cheesman Park near the Airbnb. It was super packed with families and teenagers getting ready to go to prom, but it was still laid back.

For dinner, I made sure to go to Appaloosa Grill for some bison! This was an absolute must for me because I love steak/red meat. There was no way in hell I was going to leave Colorado without trying bison. (FYI; the whole thing was delicious!)

One of the last stops of the trip was to see the Colorado State Capitol Building. I really wish we had the time Friday to look inside, but the outside alone was captivating. I didn’t even have to add a filter to these pictures!

Everything considered, I would definitely recommend checking out Denver & Boulder Colorado! I honestly loved it so much and can’t wait to visit again! The people were super nice and welcoming! The atmosphere was chill and laid back! And of course, the mountains were so beautiful to see in person! It’s an experience I will never forget for my first time out West and I can’t wait to explore more of Colorado in the near future!

Xox

La Flare