Planning a Colorado vacation

[vzuden]

My wife and I are looking for advice on sights to see for a non-bike vacation. She will be in Colorado Springs for business the week of Aug 31 and I will join her Sept 4. We plan to rent a car and see whatever we can fit into a one week time period.

 

We are are no longer into extreme hiking but when we do a vacation we are on the go and trying to see as much as possible so we tend to prefer scenic and historical sights.

 

Since she will be in Colorado Springs we will start out from there and will end up in Denver where are flights are in/out.

 

thanks in advance for any tips/help

[BigLenny]

Vzuden,

So we can make the correct suggestions, are you saying you and your wife are going to have a week to travel after her business meeting? Or, how many days are y'all gonna be able to travel and sight see?

[vzuden]

We will have a week to use up.

[gmarshall]

With a week you could see half the state. Near the springs you have:pikes peak,garden of the gods, Air Force acadamy, Olympic training center. A short drive royal gorge train, royal gorge bridge, whitewater rafting on the Arkansas river. Gambling and great scenery in cripple creek.

 

we've lived here almost 2 years and are still exploring the state.

north of Denver rocky mtn Nat'l park is a must see.

[Chaplain Dusty]

Estes Park is a good are north of Denver.

 

Chaplain Dusty:bagpipes-emoticon:

[syscrusher]

Here's the list, 19 hours and 22 minutes behind the wheel, 944 miles.

 

Just plug these places into your GPS or Google maps and you will see the best of what Colorado has to offer for scenery.

Maybe diverge a little from the main slabs along the way for extra enjoyment.

 

Colorado Springs, CO - Garden of the Gods

 

Cañon City, CO - Royal Gorge

 

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Montrose, CO

 

Durango, CO - Hwy 550 "The Hwy With the Million Dollar View"

 

Mesa Verde NP - The most interesting place in Colorado

 

Telluride, CO - Gorgeous "Box Canyon"

 

Colorado National Monument, 1750 Rimrock Drive, Fruita, CO 81521 - Very, Very nice place to visit

 

Estes Park, CO - Rocky Mountain NP tourist trap

 

Ward, CO - Odd little town in a pretty nice spot

 

Boulder, CO - Quite a lot to do here.

 

Denver International Airport, 8500 Peña Blvd, Denver, CO 80249 - your extraction point

Edited July 25, 2015 by syscrusher
mo betta

[midnightventure]

The train at Durango is good but time consuming. My wife and I bought 1 round trip ticket. I rode out and she met me. She rode back to Durango and I drove.

[vzuden]

@syscrusher - that was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the thorough response!

[GolfVenture]

I would highly suggest a visit to the United States Air Force Academy. They have a nice visitors center. You can also stand at the Chapel Wall and view the campus. At the Chapel Wall, if you see any Cadets with a single silver squiggle line, that is a Doolie or a freshman. I would suggest taking the inititive to start a conversation. Then ask if he can give you a guided tour of the campus. I'm not sure but it could be parents weekend. If it is, it will be an absolute zoo there and try to avoid that weekend. When I was a Doolie there I would have love to have given a visitor a tour of the campus. First your get to walk on campus like a human being. Your eyes can gaze all over and you could swing your arms walking. Talking is allowed and normally greeting an upper class cadet with our shouting. Oh and did not have to square all corners. You would make a Doolies day .. Great... Class of 1977 ... Females were allowed a cadets in August of 1976... Just a bit of trivia... Enjoy...Cadet Rank.docx

Edited July 31, 2015 by Golf&Venture
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[vzuden]

@Golf&Venture

 

i have a fair amount of experience with Air Force bases. My daughter, son in law, and one of my sons all served in the Air Force. Another son in law was Army. I do recall the pride they all expressed when we visited. I appreciate your advice and while I may not visit, you brought back some pleasant memories. Thanks