Some of us flying from New York, some from Columbus, Austin and others from bay area Denver was in middle for all of us and a classic place for a reunion. Though it was February and there were high chances of snowfall this was the only place where flights tickets were cheap. It was a normal weekend so some of us were there for weekend 7 of us took an off on Monday.
We were scheduled to reach Denver at 12:30 PM but due to heavy snowfall our flight got delayed and we reached around 2:00 PM and it was already 3:30 by the time we picked the car and reached AirBnB. Due to heavy snowfall, It was looking almost impossible to go anywhere the next day but to our surprise it was sunny and roads were all cleared.
Airbnb
The First day we chose to go towards Colorado Springs and cover Garden of Gods and Cave of the Winds. We reached at the visitor centre of Garden of Gods at around 1:00 PM. From the visitor centre, you get this amazing view of the rocks with mountains in the backdrop. After spending some time at the visitor centre we drove on Juniper Way which is a loop circumscribing the Garden of Rocks. I would recommend doing this loop to anyone visiting the garden, you get to see the entire garden along with the gorgeous picturesque landscape. There are a lot of trails and walking area inside the garden if you want to explore, we roamed inside the park for some time. This place is so beautiful, calm and peaceful, it just feels great to walk around and soak in the beauty of the garden and admire the view.
Garden of Gods 
Gaden of Gods 
Garden of Gods from Visitor Center
Cave of the Winds is another half an hour drive from Garden of Gods. There is a tour of whole caves explaining their formation and history which we did but I did not enjoy the tour as much, it was more like any other cave tour you find at any other place. Its visitor centre is located on a hill and I really enjoyed the view of mountains from the visitor centre. Though the caves tour is not as I expected it to be, it’s a great place to go for sunset and enjoy the view. It was after a long that all of us were meeting we decided to head back to Airbnb and stay at home for the rest of the evening.
Cave 
Cave 
Cave
I was most excited about the Rocky Mountains and we spend the entire second day in Rocky. Since there was a heavy snowfall some of the routes were closed. On the way to Rocky, we drove through Lake Estates which was all frozen and with the backdrop of mountains it’s a sight to watch. We went to Glacier George for our first stop, there are a lot of lakes around George. Bear Lake was 15 mins walk from the parking and to our surprise, the lake was all frozen and we could even walk over it. We spent some time wandering around the lake, taking photos and just relishing the beauty of the mountains. Its places like these that reminds how tiny role we play in the whole ecosystem. Nymph lake was another 1 mile from Parking and some of us decided to go there. Nymph Lake view was pretty similar to Bear Lake as the lake was frozen. There are a lot of vistas points in the park, we stopped at some of them in between and then headed to Moraine Park. We drove till the end of Fren Lake Road stopped there for some time and then headed back to Airbnb.
EStates Lake 
Nymph Lake 
Bear Lake 
Bear Lake
Moraine Park
After dinner we went to one of the Arcade bar The 1up-LoDo in downtown, played some games and drank couple of drinks to end the day.
Market Street was another place that everyone suggested us to go and we decided to go there for lunch. It’s a good place to walk around, there are a lot of shops, restaurants, cafes this is a kind of place where I would like to spend my lazy afternoon.
Arcade Pub 
Arcade Pub
I had heard about Red Rock Amphitheater and seen its photos on Instagram and so I wanted to check the place out before leaving Denver. Red Rock Amphitheater was our last stop of Denver trip and I am really happy we covered it. It’s an open-air theatre and sits on top of a mountain west of Denver and offers 360° views of the surrounding area. The place is just stunning and is a must visit if you are in Denver. I can only imagine how would it feel to attend a concert in this amphitheatre.
Red Rock Amphitheater 
Red Rock Amphitheater 
Red Rock Amphitheater 
Red Rock Amphitheater
Though I was not able to spend much time in the Rocky Mountains the visit was totally worth it. It’s not just Rocky that makes Denver a place to visit, there is much more than that. Good nightlife, amazing views, Mountains, Gardens, Caves, Amphitheater; Denver is a place where most people will enjoy there time.
The Itinerant Analyst 
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