Adventures around Denver: I heart Colorado's Front Range

Colorado has been on my mind lately; several areas have already been hit hard by wildfires this season. So it seems fitting to post (finally) some field notes from our trip to Denver in early May. The shots above and below have nothing to do with wildfire—just regular old sunsets over the Front Range from the condo we rented in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Our impetus for traveling to Colorado during that awkward time of year when winter activities are grinding to a halt but summer is still a ways off was a business trip of Jeff's. But I'll take whatever chance comes my way to head to the Rockies and see my Denver-dwelling little sister. Later this week I'll post about our day trips to Boulder and Summit County, but here I'll focus on our adventures around Denver.

Below clockwise from left: A pretty church on 9th...after we got six inches of snow in May. Another perfect sunset. A visit to my favorite—and the most swoon-worthy—bookstore in all the land, Tattered Cover on Colfax Avenue. The pavilion at Cheesman Park.

And another view from Cheesman Park, overlooking the mountains.

We spent a delightful morning at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Spring flowers were just beginning to bloom around the grounds, which was strange considering that our home in North Carolina was already feeling like a tropical rainforest of neon green foliage.

Can you guess Cricket's favorite part of our garden visit? Yep, this pond full of toads...which were doing what toads do in the spring, but I'll spare you photos of that.

We took a nice stroll through City Park with my sister and her little dog, known to Cricket as "Doggy Peter," to distinguish him from her two human cousins named Peter. I'm not sure what the girls enjoyed more: exploring the park or feeding Peter treats.

We also came upon this tree of nesting cormorants, which surprised me since I think of them as sea birds.

Now let's talk about food, because our family likes to eat. A lot. One highlight was our ladies' lunch at Udi's, which opened recently next to Tattered Cover. 

Another highlight was joining my sister and her friends for their tradition of "Sunday Supper" at Lala's Wine Bar + Pizzeria, which involved a four-course family-style meal for $10 per person, plus plenty of wine and ridiculous stories.

We also checked out several local coffee shops around town. Pablo's Coffee offered the most authentic coffee shop feel. Drip had the best mocha but little ambience. Roostercat Coffee House didn't serve up a great coffee but had a nice outdoor patio with a fire pit, which would have been a cozy spot to hang out had it not been hidden under six inches of snow.

A tasty brunch menu beckoned us to Shells & Sauce, an outing made extra sweet by the fact that my sister and her boyfriend offered to take the girls to the Denver Zoo so we could have a quiet meal. De-lish. (They even wore Nora out so much that she took a long nap.)

Check back Wednesday for photos from Boulder and Summit County. In the meantime, you can view a few photos from previous Colorado trips here and in my shop.

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