Denver and the Front Range

Our first stop for the day was the 16th Street Mall in Denver, which is the downtown shopping district at the heart of the city.  The first destination was Larimer Square, which was commercial district with boutique shops and trendy restaurants.  Streets were closed for a couple of blocks as workers were setting up for some sort of  fashion/music event. Sarah bought at hat, and the clerk at hat store had ties to PA.  There is a free bus service that runs the length of the mall, so we rode it to the state capital complex.  We were able to get a photo on the 13th step of the capital building which is exactly one mile above see level. We also walked by Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, which is located at the north end of shopping district, along the Platte River

Steps of Colorado State Capital building,
at exactly 1 mile above sea level.

After spending the morning and lunch in downtown Denver, we headed northwest toward the city of Boulder.  Our first stop was Celestial Seasonings a tea company which started here and still blends and packages all of their products at this plant.  We have purchased their products, and I followed the Red Zinger bicycle stage race in the late 70's which they sponsored for a few years, until Coors took over the title sponsor role.  They had free samples, a video, and a factory tour (requiring hair nets).  The mint room made your eyes water and the general tea smell certainly induced a craving for tea, which they capitalized on by strategically making you exit through the gift shop.  We got a good dose of tea trivia, for what it's worth.

After our tea time, we went to Pearl St. Mall, which is the commercial district for Boulder.  It was what you would expect for a college town, lots of trendy shops, art galleries and restaurants with a veggie flair.  Anne really liked Peppercorn a 12,000 SF kitchen, gourmet food and home furnishings store.  I spent most of my time checking out the bike's around the mall, lots of "fixies" chained to whatever wasn't moving.

Being a endorphin junkie, I was quite aware of the large number of elite endurance athletes that call Boulder home.  We saw a lot of people riding bikes around town, whether for training or transportation.  The concentration of bikes was similar to what I would expect to see in Europe.

To end the day, we drove to National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).  Although this is a place I would like to visit some time, we went there for access to a trail head that allows you to access the Flatirons area of the Front Range.  Since it was getting late, we ended up only taking 20 minute hike up the Mesa behind the NCAR campus.  It did give us a preview of the mountain scenery to come tomorrow at Rocky Mountain National Park, and chance to take a few pictures.  Although the mountains that make up the Front Range of the Rockies are not quite as tall as the interior peaks, they do have a lot of exposed rock formations that add to the scenic value.  We saw a couple mule deer while exiting the parking lot.

View of Flatirons from the trail behind the NCAR complex.

Flatirons Formation in Winter
Source: Wikipedia