My in-laws are arriving within a couple weeks to spend a month in Denver with us. I’m really excited to show them the area before they move here next year. Trust me, I’ve spent many an hour convincing my father-in-law to uproot their lives in Georgia and join us out here in the Rockies. My mother-in-law was easy because she wants to be near us and future grand-babies. I’m also working on getting my family up here so we can show the children life in the mountains.
Racer K and I have been trying to come up with ideas of what to do when we have guests, other than the regular eating and drinking establishments downtown. While it’s important for our visitors to see the historic Larimer Square, with its cute shops, tasty restaurants, and the beautiful lights strung across the street, there’s so much to do here in Denver.
First off, we are thinking about a trip out to Golden, home of real, old cowboys; where the gold rush was a big deal. It is also the home of Coors Brewery, where they still make their beer with fresh, cold mountain water. No, we do not drink this stuff normally. Lets be honest, it does not taste good. However, Coors is a big deal out here in Colorado and from what I’ve heard, the beer tastes better at the brewery. So, that’s a must.
Golden also has several other local breweries and some cute, local restaurants. It’s also home to Table Mountain, but I don’t think we will be climbing that with the in-laws.
Next on the list are the places I’m actually hoping to take my niece and nephew when they visit. Denver is home to beautiful botanic gardens, a large zoo that just added a two-toed sloth to their residents in hopes of producing some sloth babies, and an animal sanctuary, home to bears and big cats in need of protection. If you have nature lovers in your family, these are musts to see!
There are some distinctive Denver restaurants that are a must. We’ve already eaten at Biker Jim’s and met Jim himself. I’m a huge Anthony Bourdain fan, so we talked about Tony’s visit to Denver when he ate at Biker Jim’s and tried such delicious hot dogs as the rattlesnake and reindeer dogs. We tried both and can attest to their tastiness. Also, Buckhorn Exchange, Denver’s oldest restaurant, is home to a local delicacy: rocky mountain oysters. Ok, I’m not really looking forward to this one but I’m an adventurist, so I’m in. I’ll also enjoy a steak while there. Then, there’s the most famous of all these distinct restaurants: CASA BONITA.
South Park didn’t change a thing about Casa Bonita when they made an entire episode about this Lakewood classic. There are cliff divers and roaming mariachis, there’s a puppet show for kids, and free sopapillas at the end of the meal. YAY! We haven’t been yet and I’ve been forewarned to simply order the taco salad because the food isn’t particularly good. Perhaps it will at least rise to Taco Bell mediocrity but you don’t go to Casa Bonita for the food, you go to sit near the waterfall to enjoy the full experience.
In the winter, I can’t wait to strap on my ice skates and enjoy the free Southwest Skyline Park rink or head out to Evergreen Lake to skate on the world’s largest Zamboni-maintained rink. I’m hoping to get the kids out there and next winter, when the in-laws live here, perhaps they’ll join us on the ice.
I’m sure there’s still plenty more I haven’t even mentioned, like walking on the Pearl St Mall in Boulder, plus all the beautiful hikes in the area and climbing 14ers like Mt Evans. I know we won’t have a shortage of things to do when we have guests so the real challenge will be narrowing down the options to show our families the best of our new home.