12:39 pm, Jun 24, 2011
Somewhere along the 45-minute drive from Denver to Longmont, busy one-ways give way to county roads, and farms replace office parks. The view of horses roaming in grassy fields with tiers of fading-blue mountains in the distance would be ideal for a Front Range postcard. The town, which has turned into a commuting hot spot for Boulder, Denver, and...
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7:09 pm, Aug 28, 2010
It's a sunny Saturday morning in the dead of summer. You're in dire need of cooling off. The city streets are practically sizzling. Plan of escape: Cache la Poudre, just over an hour's drive north to Fort Collins. No, not for fishing, nor for swimming—although that is a likely, if unintended, possibility. We're talking tubing, in a good old-...
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7:09 pm, Aug 28, 2010
On a summer Friday, my husband, Chris, and I skip out of work early and head into my personal version of travel hell: the overcrowded Black Hills of South Dakota. Home to summer rituals that ooze Americana, like treks to Mount Rushmore National Memorial (nearly three million annual visitors) and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally (another 400,000 to 500...
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7:09 pm, Aug 28, 2010
Tucked against the edge of the Rockies, Golden might be best known as the birthplace of Coors and the deathbed of Buffalo Bill Cody. But this not-quite-mountain town is, of late, building a reputation as an art lover's hub. Sure, the scent of malted barley hangs heavy in the air, but this month it mingles with the sights and sounds of the...
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7:09 pm, Aug 28, 2010
From the rugged Medicine Bow Mountains of State Forest State Park to the cascading rapids of the Arkansas Headwaters to the sandstone outcroppings of Eldorado Canyon, Colorado has a state parks system that makes other countries jealous. Funny thing is, many Coloradans don't know about these outdoor gems. Whether it's because we're running to our...
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7:09 pm, Aug 28, 2010
A hiker can burn upward of 400 calories* an hour trekking through the Front Range—which means that your early-morning wake-up call and grueling five-mile hike have left you with a free afternoon and nearly 1,000 calories to replenish. Don't let them go to waste. Pair these four local hiking workouts with stops at some of the area's breweries—and a...
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7:08 pm, Aug 28, 2010
Five hundred years ago, the Spanish conquered the Southwest on horseback. They saddled their stallions in Veracruz and rode north from Mexico, mapping, declaring their lands, and setting up horse ranches. Today, many vestiges of this time have been lost, but the remnants of a sturdy horse culture remain. In fact, wild descendents of vaquero steeds...
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7:08 pm, Aug 28, 2010
The cool, choppy water of the Pacific swells below me. Frothy waves crash behind me, in front of me—all around me. I breathe in deeply, my stomach pressed against the smooth fiberglass of a longboard. I’m waiting for the perfect wave and the perfect chance to show myself that I can do this.Although I’ve lived in Boulder for 10 years, I grew up in...
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7:08 pm, Aug 28, 2010
The Game Creek Chalet Party on-mountain at this one-of-a-kind getaway. The low purr of the snowcat slows to a stop as it sidles up to what looks like a typical slopeside warming hut. Logan Johnson, our sociable personal concierge, quickly grabs our overstuffed bags, both sets of skis, and a soft-sided cooler and jumps down to the snow. Weighed...
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7:08 pm, Aug 28, 2010
You're starting to see them. A bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon here. A Riesling there. A nice little Merlot on the menu at that place down the street. All of them sporting labels that read "Colorado" somewhere near the all-important phrase "14 percent alcohol by volume." Yes, Colorado wines are steadily creeping their way into our liquor stores, our...
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7:08 pm, Aug 28, 2010
Sometimes bigger isn't better. Such is the case with the Central City Opera House, home to the fifth-oldest opera company in the country and well worth the one-hour trek from Denver. Intimacy is what sets this auditorium apart; with only 550 seats, every spot in the house guarantees a rich taste of small-theater chamber opera and mesmerizing...
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7:08 pm, Aug 28, 2010
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7:08 pm, Aug 28, 2010
McClure Pass The Route: From Carbondale, 30 miles west of Aspen, follow Colorado Highway 133 south along the Crystal River past Mt. Sopris, past the hamlets of Redstone and Marble, up McClure Pass, and into the fruit-basket town of Paonia. Both yellow cottonwoods and golden aspens line the road along the river and sprawl up and over the pass....
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7:08 pm, Aug 28, 2010
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