denver anyone?

[maverick]

Enjoy Colorado. I've lived here for 12 years and really can't imagine being anywhere else (well maybe the Northwest--and not just to be closer to the store). I hope you have a great time.

hi Colorado!

it's beautiful here! i have a lovely view of the rockies on my way to the office (which is near the intersection of south quebec and east orchard in greenwood village). it was still light out when i left the office, so i drove down east orchard towards the mountains, through littleton, and then into some lovely neighborhoods (i'm not sure exactly where i ended up, as i had driven until it was dark). i was surprised at the long drive back to the hotel. i made my way back along co route 470 to route 25 and had some traffic along the way.

today is another day of meetings, and then on wednesday, i'll plan on getting an early start to the day. i need to be back at the airport by about 4:30pm to return the rental car and make my 6pm flight.

i still need to decide exactly where i am going on wednesday - there are so many love places to see, i feel like i need a month here!

i probably drank 4 liters of water yesterday, but my sinuses are feeling the dryness. no headaches fortunately.

[Climb14er]

hi folks!

i checked into my hotel and went to a near by whole foods to pick up some groceries. i haven't gotten any headaches. it is dry here, and i am drinking plenty of water. amazingly, it's warmer here by about 15 degrees than it was in dc!

folks here are very friendly and very chatty! i'm glad to be here!

Let me guess, if you're in a hotel nearby a Whole Foods and in Denver, I'd venture to say you're at the Lowes Georgio on Colorado Blvd. Or the hotel on Hampden Blvd, the Embassy Suites, as the Whole Foods is near there too. Just guess mind you.

I go to either of those Whole Foods, or the one in Cherry Creek. You could also be at that really neat swanky hotel there in Cherry Creek next to Whole Foods. LOL

Though the Georgio is not bad by any means, far from it.

Have fun!

[maverick]

Let me guess, if you're in a hotel nearby a Whole Foods and in Denver, I'd venture to say you're at the Lowes Georgio on Colorado Blvd. Just guess mind you.

I go to either the Whole Foods there, or the one in Cherry Creek. You could also be at that really neat swanky hotel there in Cherry Creek. LOL

Though the Georgio is not bad by any means, far from it.

Have fun!

heh - i'm actually at the staybridge suites surrounded by a bunch of other extended stay hotels. i wanted a place with a kitchen, so it fits my needs that way. it's not a fancy hotel, but it's alright.

i tried to do this with a residence inn in philadelphia and was rather disappointed. it just hadn't been kept up. so i moved to the sofitel, which, while it lacks a kitchen, was quite comfortable, spacious and clean otherwise.

it's hard to generalize a statement about many of these chains - it just depends on how they've been kept up. i've stayed at the residence inn and the townplace suites in fayetteville, nc, and they're relatively new hotels and they have a great feel about them. but the residence inn in philadelphia wasn't at all the same.

the loews looks really nice. i'll look into that the next time i'm here!

i was a bit surprised to find that there was a security guard at the whole foods i went to - about 5 miles from my hotel up route 25 towards the airport.

[maverick]

Take a drive, go to Boulder on 36W, once there, make a left (west) on Canyon Blvd and drive this up Boulder Canyon to Nederland. Go North on the road (72) to Estes Park via (7), this is called the 'Peak to Peak' Highway. You'll be seeing fantastic views of the Indian Peaks all the way to Rocky Mountain National Park. Spend hours there, driving and walking, and remember to bring some warm clothes and drink a lot of water (before you get to Colorado due to altitude) Return via 7 to Lyons, then south to Boulder then back to Denver.

hi!

i've been at a loss as to what exactly to do. there are so many wonderful recommendations from all of you and the folks here in denver. if i had known how beautiful this place is (and mind you, i haven't been up into the mountains yet), i would have planned to stay into the weekend. i think i could easily spend a month here and not get bored!

i think i'm good to go for tomorrow with 3 layers top and bottom (base layer top and bottom, fleece pants, wind pants, and 60g primaloft top and 100g primaloft top). i have gloves, hat, sunscreen, 4 liters of water, some fruit, and energy bars. i also rented snow shoes at rei (that i need to take back).

i've tried to map the route you described in google map. let me know if that looks right.

my concern is that it puts me in the car for about 5 hours. i am going to start out around 6am tomorrow, and i need to be at the airport by 4:30pm. that gives me about 5 hours to get out there and explore and take pictures. i don't know if that's good, or if it will go by in a flash.

also, one of the guys at rei suggested driving to echo lake, which is about an hour and 15 minutes away, and makes my total time in the car about 3 hours for the day. there are a few trails accessible from echo lake - chicago lakes trail, captain mountain trail, rest house trail. what do you think about this option?

is what i'm describing too ambitious for someone who hasn't hiked at these altitudes and in deep snow before? i can just see it - the local denver news coverage on thursday tells a story of an overly ambitious - no - clueless - man with beautiful crimson colored tom bihn bag lost in the snows of the rocky mountains...

thank you all again!

[maverick]

let me first start by thanking all of you for your wonderful recommendations!

i did the outing that climb14er recommended - except that i came back via route 36 rather than on route 7 from estes park.

i want to describe what i saw, but words fail me. i will share pictures, but they will fail to describe the majestic beauty that resides here.

if you haven't been to denver, put it on your short list of places to visit!

the east coast got hit with a snow storm, so i'm spending the night at a hotel near the airport and hopefully getting on an 8am flight tomorrow that i got rebooked on.

i didn't need the snow shoes. in hindsight, i wish i hadn't rented them at rei - because going back to return them and then making my way back to the airport took away about 40 minutes form my day. but i wasn't sure what to expect and so i played it safe.

i also wish i'd known my flight was going to be canceled - i could have spent more time out there today.

i need to go find some dinner. i'll post some pictures later this evening...

[maverick]

i posted the pictures here.

[maverick]

hi ams123!

yes, i think it really depends on the security officer. when i travelled last may with my ipad (which i no longer have), i was asked to remove it from the ristretto in which i was carrying it as i went through security.

i had the macbook air inside the cache, which was inside the imago, which was inside the aeronaut.

i'll let you know what happens as i go through security here in denver on the way back.

hi ams123,

my experience at denver international airport this evening was a little different from the one i had at washington dulles airport when i flew out here.

they had the full body scanners in the security line i picked. i saw some security lines had the old metal detectors - i'll pick my line more carefully tomorrow morning. i opted out of the body scan and instead went through the metal detector in the line next to mine. they did a pat down afterwards. far more thorough than what i've experienced anyplace else (pat downs are standard when you go through security in new delhi, india, but they are nothing like this). i think a child would be terrified being subjected to this.

i wasn't carrying the imago in the aeronaut this time. i didn't pull the macbook air out. i also forgot to pull out the liquids. they didn't like that. one security officer checked the end compartment of the aeronaut where the liquids were, and the other one checked the imago.

interestingly, both at dulles and at denver, they overlooked the fact that i had a safety razor with a blade inside. i realized this when i got to denver, and i had meant to toss it before flying back. i'm going to toss it now should they actually notice it when i go through security tomorrow morning...

[lotuseater]

What a difference a week made. A couple of days after you left we hit 71F. By the following Tuesday it was -9F as the high. Then by the Friday it was back in the 40s. The chinook winds coming off the Rockies can cause huge swings in temperatures in a relatively short time.