T H U R S D A Y

My brother, Brennan, and I set out for Colorado together to see a concert and visit our friend, Rachel. Neither of us had traveled here before nor knew what to expect. We took the earliest flight out of Jacksonville, FL at 5:30am on Thursday, April 26th. We arrived in Denver, CO by 10:00am (mountain time, don't let it fool you) and picked up our rental car. Free upgrade since they didn't have the model of car that we reserved. Check out that sweet 2018 Ford Explorer below. It was a "push to start" and such a smooth ride the entire trip.

We met up with Rachel for lunch and walked around town together along with a visit to VooDoo Doughnuts. It was crazy seeing a new place as we were also trying to catch up on each other's lives. Then we left the city to go see Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater. What a spot. I definitely plan on seeing a show at this venue in the future. We returned home and made dinner together.

F R I D A Y

The following day we went to Rocky Mountain National Park where some parts of the trail were still covered in snow. We couldn't have asked for better weather conditions and even got to see a herd of elk as we were leaving the park.

That evening was the night of the concert. We got to see Rainbow Kitten Surprise and CAAMP perform a sold out show at the Ogden Theater. Man, the energy in that venue was electric. Both groups are talented but, RKS is still one of my all time favorite bands with dance moves that you could only kill for.

S A T U R D A Y

The following morning, my brother and I got up early to make our 4 hour drive from Littleton, CO to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It was totally worth the trip. I rented a "sandboard" from the shop and had a blast while Brennan captured it all. After our visit to the park, we drove another 2 and a half hours to get food from a BBQ joint in Pueblo, CO before heading to our Airbnb location over in Beulah Valley.

Beulah Valley, CO is a cute little mountain town. There's not a whole lot of action and the locals are super kind. It's very quiet and relaxed, which is just what we needed after a jam packed couple of days. We headed out the next morning by stopping by the local coffee shop for a pick-me-up before our trip to see Garden of the Gods.

S U N D A Y

Garden of the Gods wasn't what I has anticipating. You literally drive through the park and it's only a small plot of land in the middle of Colorado Springs. Still a neat sight but, somewhat disappointing. So, we headed to Manitou Springs to get a feel for the culture of the area. We walked around town, I purchased some Navajo jewelry, and then we ate at the Manitou Brewing Company. Highly recommend it for the beer and food options, if that's your thing.

We drove another hour and a half to Littleton, CO. There we took a small break and headed to Chautauqua Park with Rachel. Steep inclines and rocky bends made for this hike. It was a tough one after all the driving I had done with little sleep. My energy was spent. There after we had dinner in Boulder, CO and stopped by Whole Foods on the way home for beer and snacks. We stayed up late talking about the adventures we had made so far and for the final day ahead.

M O N D A Y

I woke up again early on Monday morning by 6:30am to ride solo. I was on a mission to see the bison. I drove to two different sites, walked about 2-3 miles in search for them, and still had no luck. I returned home by 10:00am, tired and disappointed. Everyone else was just waking up and getting their morning started while I took off to bed for a quick nap. Then we got going and headed to Denver, CO so that we could meet up with some friends. I had coffee with my favorite married couple, Guy and Kayla. After that, Brennan and I met up to have lunch with our friends, Adam and Alex.

Adam and Alex had just arrived into Denver. So, we decided to take them for a little tour. We went back to the spot that I had been earlier to see if we could catch the bison. Again, they were really far away but, I am glad that we made another attempt. Then we took the two of them to Red Rocks. It was nice to see this venue again before leaving the following day.

T U E S D A Y

What a day this was. Brennan and I were up by 3:30am. We packed up the car and drove back to Denver, CO to return our rental car. From there, we shuttled to the airport and our flight didn't depart until 6:30am. Everyone boarded the plane and thought we were ready for takeoff until an announcement was made that the wing of the plane had struck a bird in the previous flight. Therefore, we had to sit and wait an additional 45 minutes before we were cleared for takeoff. I was falling in and out of sleep at this point. One thing that this flight taught me is that cheap flights are cheap for a reason. We flew back with Frontier airlines. It was crowded and the seats were uncomfortable - would not recommend. Just pay an extra hundred or so for a more reliable flight. It's worth it in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, this was a crazy quick trip. The days flew by and I know that we fit so many activities into this trip yet, it still feels like it wasn't enough. I definitely hope to return someday. Maybe I'll even have better luck with the bison next time...

1 0 P L A C E S T O V I S I T :

City, O' City - Denver, CO - Food
Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater - Denver, CO - Entertainment and Hiking
Bellwether - Denver, CO - Coffee
Chop Shop - Denver, CO - Food
Zeal - Boulder, CO - Food and Interesting Cocktails
Great Dunes National Park - Hiking and Activities
GG's BBQ - Pueblo, CO - Food
Manitou Brewing Company - Manitou Springs, CO - Food and Beer
Rocky Mountains National Park - Hiking
Chautauqua Park - Boulder, CO - Intermediate Hiking