Denver/Boulder - Anything suggestions

With each minute that ticks by the SWMBO and I get closer to booking a little vacation out to Denver and Boulder in October.

I think we are going to sandwich the six-day trip (Thursday to Tuesday)around the 2009 World Champion New England Patriots playing the Broncos in Denver. Other than the game, we're looking for fun stuff to do.

We're into great live music, great beer bahs' (shocker), great food and maybe a little culture here or there... Our best times on vacation are when we can set an anchor somewhere, meet some cool locals, shoot the **** over a beer or two and relax.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

(whoops... meant the title to be "any suggestions"... oh well)

When do they play? Falling Rock is a must see for bars.

October 11th...

so if you know anyone looking to get rid of tickets let me know... I'm looking for something really close to the 50... preferably something like... I dunno... 12-15 rows from the field. You don't want to be TOO close. Oh, and face value or cheaper would be SWEET. Thanks.

Cape Brewing said:

the 2009 World Champion New England Patriots

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don't you mean 2010? Technically the Steelers have already won the Super Bowl in 2009, right?

I'd burn the tickets before selling them to a Patriots fan.

You will be in town during the post-GABF haze. Try visiting the breweries around. One little side excursion out of Denver I might recommend is drive down to Boulder, check out the breweries (Avery, Boulder Beer, etc) and scene there during the day then drive up through Lyons and visit Oskar Blues, then head up to Estes Park and stay the night (maybe at the Stanley Hotel where they filmed the exterior shots for the Shining) there and you can check out Rocky Mountain National Park the next day.

AZ_IPA said:

don't you mean 2010? Technically the Steelers have already won the Super Bowl in 2009, right?

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No... the upcoming season is the 2009 season and when the Pats win it, they'll be the 2009 Super Bowl winner... The Super Bowl is for the 2009 season, not when the game itself is played.

There are loads of breweries/brewpubs out here. Boulder probably has the most concentrated area on the Pearl St. Mall (Oasis, BJ's, Mountain Sun & more), but Denver has some great spots too (Wynkoop is my fave). You might see who's playing at Red Rocks, it's an amazing natural outdoor ampitheater built into the rocks. The American Homebrew Association is in Boulder too, it's not much to see really, but worth stopping by for the chance to meet Charlie Papazian.

October is pretty late for the mountains- you can drive to the top of a couple 14,000 footers, but probably not that late. Too early for skiing too, but a nice drive on the Peak to Peak highway would still be pretty sweet.

Parker36 said:

I'd burn the tickets before selling them to a Patriots fan..

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damn you sir... damn you right to hell!!!

Parker36 said:

You will be in town during the post-GABF haze. Try visiting the breweries around. One little side excursion out of Denver I might recommend is drive down to Boulder, check out the breweries (Avery, Boulder Beer, etc) and scene there during the day then drive up through Lyons and visit Oskar Blues, then head up to Estes Park and stay the night (maybe at the Stanley Hotel where they filmed the exterior shots for the Shining) there and you can check out Rocky Mountain National Park the next day.

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Cool... thanks! I think we were planning on actually spending most of our time in Boulder. We would fly into Denver., make out way to Boulder and then... I dunno... now that I'm thinking about it, we would probably come back to Denver for the game and then just stay in Denver until we left.

mattmcl said:

Too early for skiing too, but a nice drive on the Peak to Peak highway would still be pretty sweet.

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Just got up 2 weeks ago. Ski season is 12 months long if you want it!

Oooo... I forgot about Red Rocks... I knew that was out there.

Good call!

(looking online right now)

Cape Brewing said:

Cool... thanks! I think we were planning on actually spending most of our time in Boulder. We would fly into Denver., make out way to Boulder and then... I dunno... now that I'm thinking about it, we would probably come back to Denver for the game and then just stay in Denver until we left.

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Ya, you might want to split your time between the two. More opportunities for outdoor activities close by. Do you fish at all? Fishing is good that time of year.

AARARGHGHGH We're going to jsut miss Flogging Molly at Red Rocks! SONOFAHASKDFJKLJOIJ!!!!

Yeah, Red Rocks only has shows listed through Sept 26th... Wouldn't first/second week in October be too cold for outdoor shows?

Parker36 said:

Ya, you might want to split your time between the two. More opportunities for outdoor activities close by. Do you fish at all? Fishing is good that time of year.

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I enjoy fishing but certainly wouldn't claim it as something I do... We're more of... more of... kinda... sit, eat and drink people. If we can hop on a few horses, maybe... but the most energy I'm really looking to spend is climbing the stairs to my seat at the Pats/Broncos game.

Blues bars... just great local holes in the wall with a great tap selection... anything like that is right up our alley. We prefer the places where when we walk in, they look at us and say, "you ain't from 'round here is ya?" Big fans of those places.

Cape Brewing said:

Yeah, Red Rocks only has shows listed through Sept 26th... Wouldn't first/second week in October be too cold for outdoor shows?

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Probably, but no telling really. If you are into skiing, that is the primetime of year for ski movie premiers in Boulder. Really fun to go to, its basically a giant concert/party at local venues

cool... thanks for the suggestions! it's really appreciated.

Falling Rock is a must.

Go to New Belgium in Fort Collins and try some of their sours.

olllllo said:

Falling Rock is a must.

Go to New Belgium in Fort Collins and try some of their sours.

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Ya, I would also suggest a trip up to the Fort. its about 45 minutes from either Boulder or Denver. Also check out Odell while you are up there.

Cape Brewing said:

Blues bars... just great local holes in the wall with a great tap selection... anything like that is right up our alley. We prefer the places where when we walk in, they look at us and say, "you ain't from 'round here is ya?" Big fans of those places.

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Missed this one earlier. Now you HAVE to go to Oskar Blues (the guys who make Dale's Pale Ale amongst others). Live music almost every night specializing in blues/bluegrass stuff. You will definitely stick out, but the people are friendly and they have AWESOME beer.

olllllo said:

Falling Rock is a must.

Go to New Belgium in Fort Collins and try some of their sours.

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DONE!!!! :rockin:

thanks

Send me a PM and we can get beers.

If and when we officially book, I'll take you up on that...

I thought Denver/Boulder was a dead lock (I still think that's what we're doing) but the SWMBO is on a Europe kick... she's thinking Scotland or Belgium. I'm sure as hell not gonna fight her if she can find some decent prices for either.

Like I said though, I still think Denver/Boulder is gonna be the trip.

Prices for international flights are pretty darn good right now, a coworker just went to Ireland for $600 round trip.

yeah... but I have EXACTLY enough American airlines miles that her and I can fly round trip, first class all the way, to Denver and back... for $20. ($10 per person "booking fee")

Hmmmm... $20 vs $1,200... hmmmm....