Denver
From phoebewiki
Field trip!!!!
Contents |
suggestions
- general ideas
- hiking
- hot springs [all too far away? :( ]
- driving on I-70 b/c it's freakin' beautiful [no good if it snows]
- ghost towns
- places to take pretty pictures
- hiking: suggestions from James Owen
I would highly suggest Estes Park, which is a wonderful town outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. The pass will probably still be closed as will many of the higher altitude hikes, but you should still have nice access in the Bear Lake, Fern Lake, and maybe Glacier Gorge Junction areas.
An easy hike I would suggest but one of great beauty is the a hike from Bear Lake to Emerald Lake, you pass by the Nymph and Dream Lakes on the way and then arrive at Emerald Lake which has one of the most impressive blue hues you will see in your life. You will also have some of the most amazing views of Flatttop Mountain and Hallett's peak once you arrive to your destination. As a kid and still today this has been a warm up hike for me and my family. Although super easy we love the hike.
Sky Pond and Lake of Glass is another great hike, which should be accessible by April. They are moderately traveled and sky pond is spectacular. More of a moderate hike.
Another great hike in the Bear Lake area, however a bit strenuous and maybe April is too early for this hike but worth every effort is a hike to the top of Hallett Peak (12,713feet). The views are amazing.
Oh and dont forget about Odessa Lake on the way you will pass cub lake, and fern lake!
- good pictures: suggestions from my friend who lives in denver
Driving up to the top of Lookout Mountain is a quick way to get some amazing pictures. It's basically in Golden. If you want to go a little further afield, Blackhawk and Central City both still have some abandoned buildings although they're rapidly being overtaken by casino madness, and Silver Plume has some picturesque old abandoned buildings as well. It's hard to get to an honest-to-goodness ghost town in a short drive from Denver, especially considering the variable weather in April -- no idea if it's going to be 80F and cloudless or 3 feet of snow. (The latest we've ever gotten a two-foot-deep-snow-in-one-day was May 9.)
A trip up to Red Rocks to see the weird geology and the dinosaur tracks is neat, and that's right beside Golden.
Schedule
- arrive on saturday sometime [my flight arrives sat. morning]
- saturday night: whatever, maybe explore denver/boulder. nb: phoebe wants to see her friend at some point.
- sunday morning: leave
- sunday: do something fun!
- sunday night: stay somewhere, possibly not in denver?
- monday: ????
- monday night: back in denver
places to stay
????
vehicle rentals
- phoebe will rent...
- e-z rentals is cheapest, yuck
notes
- we should invite brian mingus
- I want to coordinate with my friend John
- we should find a place to stay for sat night
