Colorado Rocky Mountain High – Lovin’ where you live.

It’s interesting to “see” where you live with fresh eyes – something that I have tried to be conscious of while living my everyday life here in Denver.  While traveling in a foreign country, it’s easy to be stunned, captivated, mesmerized and “wow’ed” by the incredible people, food and places around you because everything is new and novel.  But having someone come visit from another country – someone who’s never been to Colorado, let alone the USA – really made me open my eyes and “see” the incredible beauty that surrounds me here in Colorado.

After meeting in Nepal in March, we decided to get together again in Colorado so Jean Marie (aka “Piu” by his friends -which means “more” in French), flew to the USA for his first visit to this continent from his home in France to spend a couple weeks with me here in Denver.  As a consummate travel planner, my planning was now turned homeward, rather than to Marrakech, Lisbon, or somewhere outside of the 303 area code. I wanted to make sure Piu saw the beauty of this gorgeous state, and enjoy a real Colorado experience.

So.  First stop – Red Rocks Amphitheater.  An iconic music venue voted one of the top places in the world to perform music and where I can only imagine it’s a heavenly place to have the honor to play as a musician.  Red Rocks is a natural formation created millions of years ago, which gave birth to an acoustically perfect setting.

Set on 868 acres, the venue holds over 9,000 people and sits at an elevation of 6450 feet above sea level.  The benches and stage were built in the 1930s by the CCC – Civilian Conservation Corp, and the acoustics in this setting lend themselves to incredible shows.  I’ve had the great privilege to see Van Morrison, Michael Franti, James Taylor, Grace Potter, an ABBA cover band (hey, stop now.  It was a blast!!!) and many others play here and the setting is truly one of a kind. The skyline of Denver can be seen over the top of the stage, and the setting sun makes the rocks glow crimson, the stars above the crowd glow in the indigo sky and all is good with the world. We had tickets to see The Motet, and had a fantastic time – the setting, the music and the night were perfect!

Next stop…Hiking. Hiking in Colorado is almost a requirement. There are thousands of options – my research shows over 17,000 trails in The Centennial State, ranging from easy walks that meander around beautiful alpine lakes to intense “14-ers” – tough and rugged hauls up the 53 mountains that peak at over 14,000 feet. Not being a huge fan of the uphill climb, I chose a couple of scenic and moderately challenging hikes nearby.

We spent an afternoon hiking Three Sisters/Alderfer Park in Evergreen, about 45 minutes southwest of Denver.  Having lived in Evergreen for 18 years, I knew this Open Space Park well.  There are over 15 miles of trails on more than 1100 acres, with paths to suit everyone’s skill level. “Three Sisters” refers to three large rock outcropping perched high above, with vistas from the top overlooking downtown Evergreen, the lake below (oddly enough also built by the CCC in the ‘30’s), and views of the Continental Divide (the backbone of the western United States, where rainwater falling on the west side of the ridge flows eventually to the Pacific Ocean, and anything falling on the east side of the divide meanders down to the Atlantic.)

Another day was spent hiking in Reynolds Park in Conifer, on the Eagle’s View Trail, climbing over 1000 feet to a spectacular and expansive vista, showcasing Chair Rock, Cathedral Spires and Thunder Butte, with hawks circling lazily in the skies above us in the clear blue skies and gorgeous wildflowers blooming everywhere.

As the South Platte river runs along Foxton Road at the far end of Reynolds Park, we took this scenic (and I do mean scenic – as in gloriously beautiful and jaw-droppingly gorgeous) route that winds along next to the Platte to eventually arrive at The Bucksnort Saloon, a quirky western cowboy kind of bar in Sphinx Park near the tiny town of Pine, off Highway 285.  Nothing beats the drive to this watering hole – it’s a bit treacherous and narrow but totally worth the effort.  Situated in a canyon above Elk Creek, this saloon had its start in the early 1900s serving railroad workers on the nearby narrow-gauge Denver and South Park Railroad.  Since then, it’s become a “must see” kind of dive bar, serving delicious burgers, Moose Drool beer on tap as well as their signature Antler Ale.  Signed and artistically embellished dollar bills hang from the ceiling to add to the funky atmosphere.

Perhaps not actually “hikes”, we spent a couple of hours walking through the two premier parks in Denver – City Park and Cheesman Park.  Located between York Street and Colorado Boulevard and stretching between 18th and 23rd Avenues, City Park has over 330 acres and is a gathering place for Denverites of all ages.  You’ll find free Jazz in the Park on Sundays in the summer, two beautiful lakes on which you can rent paddle boats or duck boats, the Denver Zoo and the Museum of Nature and Science (with the IMAX Theatre inside), formal gardens, running paths and bike lanes, and statues galore.  There’s a very impressive Martin Luther King Jr. statue with benches for contemplating the many quotes carved into the stone walls surrounding his image.

Cheesman Park is situated a bit south – backing up to the Denver Botanic Gardens between 8th and 13th and betwixt Race and Humboldt Streets.  A much smaller park of only 80-some acres, this plot of land began as Prospect Hill Cemetery.  Legend has it that once the cemetery fell into disrepair in the late 1800s, the city decided to turn the property into a park and gave families 90 days to exhume their loved ones’ bodies and relocate them.  Although many of the bodies were re-homed, most were not, giving rise to the stories that the land is forever haunted and visited by ghosts and spectral beings.  Besides all this, it is a beautiful park with paved bike trails and running paths where people gather to play volleyball and frisbee, practice dance moves on the Pavillion, picnic, and string their hammocks between the ancient trees to relax in the shade.

Knowing how much Piu wanted to see the mountains of Colorado rather than the city scenes in Denver, we headed west for 3 nights of camping just outside of Carbondale and Redstone, Colorado.  Bogan Flats Campground is situated in the White River National Forest, an absolutely stunning part of the state (my favorite area), close to Aspen and near Mt. Sopris, an awe-inspiring “14er” (a mountain reaching over 14,000 feet in elevation). We had the perfect site at the end of the campground, alongside the Crystal River.  The river, a tributary of the Roaring Fork River, raced and thundered past our campsite, providing a soundtrack to accompany the views before us.

There’s so much to do and see in this neck of the woods.  A ride in to Redstone (for beer and ice, camping musts!) and to see the quaint town with its shops, antiques, and castle. A short drive from the campground up Highway 82 to Mile Marker 55, where you can scamper down the embankment to the rustic Penny Hot Springs.  Located at the base of a granite cliff, in a divot of the Crystal River, the springs are naturally fed with hot mineral water (take note – the water’s minerals will discolor your jewelry for a time!) and are surrounded by the towering snow-capped peaks of the Sawatch Range and Elk Mountains.  If you are lucky, like we were, you may get the hot springs all to yourself…you can rearrange the stones and boulders to cool off the water, which can be up to 130 degrees.  Once a “clothing optional” pool back in the 60s, bathing suits (or shorts) are required now.

Don’t miss the Hays Creek Falls which are somewhat close to the Penny Hot Springs.  Two miles south of Redstone, the waterfall, fed by snowmelt, cascades down the rugged sandstone rock walls and is a great Kodak moment.  No hiking here, just a pull-off along the highway for a photo op and a chance to see some natural beauty.

Always up for a hike, we chose Perham Creek Trail, a 3 mile out and back trail near Carbondale.  Although it was “only” a 836’ elevation gain, it was a hot afternoon and I struggled with this hike.  Piu was helpful and patient, but I wasn’t feelin’ it and didn’t enjoy being on a path that was so exposed to the strong sun.  We finished the hike and headed back to our campsite for some cold adult beverages and delicious grilled salmon.

The next day we chose a much better hike!  The Crystal Mill hike follows a jeeping trail from the tiny town of Marble, Colorado to the even tinier town of Crystal, winding its way alongside the Crystal River.  Four miles out and four miles back. Although this trail had more elevation gain than yesterday’s, the views were stunning, the shade was refreshing and the river was spectacular.  Along the way, we walked through a magical cloud of butterflies, saw and heard countless hummingbirds (“colibri” in French), and stopped to build cairns in the river and enjoy the day.  Lizard Lake was a beautiful multi-hued lake of blues and greens at the start of the hike.

At the four mile mark, you’ll be treated to the one of the most photographed sites in Colorado, the picturesque Crystal Mill perched above the river and surrounded by towering aspens, pines and conifers.  In operation from 1893 to 1917, the mill harnessed the river below to provide power for the air compressors inside the mill, used for mining ore.

We headed back to Denver, stopping for lunch at a Nepalese restaurant in Glenwood Springs that was outstanding.  I’d highly recommend it – it’s cleverly named “Nepal Restaurant” so it should be easy to remember.

Another fun day was spent in Grand Lake, north of Denver just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park.  Situated at nearly 8400’ elevation at the headwaters of the Colorado River, and sitting alongside Grand Lake, the largest natural body of water in Colorado, this quaint (read ‘touristy’) town has its share of ice cream shops (or should i say “shoppes”), gift stores and tee shirt purveyors.  And although it is a bit cheesy, I do love Grand Lake.

We rented a double kayak from a shack on the boardwalk, paying $48 for an hour (a tad pricey, don’t you think??) and paddled out into the cold blue waters of this snowmelt-fed alpine lake flowing from the Continental Divide (remember that?).  In some places, the lake is over 250 feet deep.  Fun fact: The Grand Lake Marina is located here and bills itself as the highest-altitude yacht club in the world.

It was a blustery but sunny day – as we paddled away from the shore the wind was breezy and brisk, which meant heading back to the shore was gonna be tough.  As in, uphill.  Or as Bob Seger sings, “against the wind”.  We got a good workout and a good laugh as we struggled to return the kayak in time.  We were wet, exhausted and we certainly earned a beer, and treated ourselves to some delicious French fries as well (see, we are eating French food!) then strolling around town and chilling on a wooden boat dock along the water’s edge before making the drive through Tabernash, Frazier, Winter Park, back up and over Berthoud Pass, through the tiny town of Empire (watch your speed!) and back to Denver.

Our final adventure – and one we had been religiously checking on conditions every single day – was a day of paragliding.  Piu is a paraglide pilot and has owned a paragliding business in France for the past 22 years.  He has logged thousands of flights – tandem flights with customers, and solo flights all over the world.  We met in Pokhara, Nepal when I tried paragliding for the first time, which is where he has spent the past few winters because of the ideal flying conditions there.  Pokhara claims over 300 days with perfect flying conditions due to the thermals there and the glorious weather.  Piu has flown from Pokhara to Kathmandu quite a few times – a distance of over 90 miles across the blue skies above Nepal.

There are a few take-off spots in Colorado for paragliding – Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Vail and Boulder, as well as the infamous Lookout Mountain in Golden high above the School of Mines just west of Denver in the foothills.  We checked the websites and his paragliding app daily, but conditions were not right – the wind was coming from the opposite direction needed, the clouds were omnipresent, the wind was non-existent…until finally, the very last day of his trip, conditions were perfect.  He had brought his glider with him just in case…we had actually hoped to go for a tandem flight together and he had planned to bring his larger tandem glider, but insurance regulations here in the USofA prohibited him from flying with a passenger unless he applied for permits, got special insurance, had a sponsor, blah blah blah- so we will just fly together in France in July instead.

We drove up the winding road on Lookout Mountain in Genessee off of I-70 to the take-off, located right next to the big “M” on the hillside from the School of Mines, which actually co-owns the launch location with the City of Golden.  Piu hiked up to the launch site, and I waited and waited…until his brilliant orange and yellow glider lifted off terra firma and into the wild blue yonder and he sailed effortlessly and gracefully across the blue skies of the Front Range.  I met him at the LZ (that’s what the cool kids call the “Landing Zone”!) down at the bottom off Highway 6 at 12th Street in Golden, where his smile, from ear to ear, let me know it was a good flight.  “Is it ok if I go again?” he asked.   Of course I said yes.  This is what he lives for.  One more flight into the stratosphere, one more perfect landing, and then we headed to Sherpa House in Golden for some Nepalese food to celebrate.  (It’s surprising how much Nepalese food there is in Colorado – our favorite was the one in Glenwood and our second runner up was the Himalayan Restaurant in Evergreen which we visited for lunch after our Three Sisters hike.)

He left the next morning, flying home to France to begin his crazy busy tourism season of paragliding and I began to get ready for a visit with my grandbaby, a trip to Chicago to see my sisters and mom, and then Part II of my year abroad starts on July 19 as I head to Paris for 4 days,  then south to see Piu in the Dordogne Valley region of France, and then on to my 2 months stay in Tuscany “housesitting” at a 15th century villa near Pisa and Lucca.

We must let go of the life we have planned so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.                                       Joseph Campbell