You know what's awesome? Having friends as adventurous as I am—friends who aren't afraid to travel across the country to try on a new lifestyle. That's what my friend Dasha did over a year ago when she moved to Denver, CO.
A hiker like me, Dasha left her Brooklyn life seeking higher elevations. When I visited for her birthday weekend back in April, I had the privilege of experiencing some of Denver's gorgeous mountain views.
We also had the chance to explore a bit of Denver's nightlife and restaurants. I did a ton with Dasha in just the first 24 hours in Denver—but there's more! This 3 day weekend in Denver is in 2 parts. Here is part 1...ready, set, go!
South Broadway
Dasha looking lovingly into my eyes (lol)
I always have such a great time with Dasha (check out her blog here). Whether hanging out with her all over New York or traveling to Nashville for her birthday, she is one of my favorite people to hang with and travel with!
When she moved her life to Denver, Colorado a year ago, I knew this was a great opportunity for her. But, selfishly, I also knew it was a great opportunity for me! Hahaha! There's nothing better than visiting great friends and new places! :)
We wasted no time after I arrived in Denver at 8pm on a Friday in April. I had little energy after a full work week but that didn't stop us!
Out we went into Dasha's immediate neighborhood. We walked down her block to South Broadway. A strip of late night bars and restaurants were hopping with hipsters. Dasha already found her Brooklyn-esque folk in Denver.
She played tour guide and showed me what the street had to offer, including Landmark's Mayan theatre. There are only 3 remaining 1930s era art deco style theatres in the "Mayan revival" style and this is one of them! They regularly show old movies—so cool!
Down the block is Pie Hole. We had a quick slice of pizza there so we could check out the paper plate art and superhero art. In particular, Dasha encouraged me to use the restroom there so I could admire the comic book wallpaper. Oh, and the pizza was good, too (for not being New York).
With some extra pizza-energy, we went for a drink at Adrift. This tiki-style bar has my favorite, colorful, backlit lighting style. Yayyy! I'm such a sucker for good lighting. Their bartender chatted us up as we sipped at 2 fun tropical themed drinks—mine served in a tiki mug.
Okaaayyyy okaaay, Dasha—I like Denver already!
Mountain Views
The next day was time for what Dasha and I both came to Denver for—the mountains (and I came to see Dasha, too, of course!). After traveling around the world, I decided there are 2 things in nature that I love most to surround myself with: Beaches and Mountains.
I have beaches covered now that I live in Miami. What is missing here is the mountains, or anything even slightly elevated, for that matter. Basically, this means Dasha should expect at least a yearly visit from me so I can get my mountain fix. :)
After a yummy, home-cooked breakfast on Dasha’s porch, we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Dasha is a mountain lover and also a science/museum nerd.
From the museum, there are great views of the Rockies. So we went there first to check out some of the famous views of Denver from the museum's upper floors and green space out front.
Next, we drove about an hour to reach a hike behind the town of Boulder.
Along the way we stopped to take photos of the mountains and admire the prairie dogs next to the highway.
Soon we made it to Realization Point hike in the lower Boulder Nederlands of Colorado. The hike is short with great payoff views for little effort put in. Parking on Flagstaff road, we made our way down to the main trailhead.
This is a very popular trail but not too popular. We were able to steal many moments of solitude and have private conversations on this hike.
What I loved most about this short, easy hike was views of the snow-covered rockies to the West!
We also caught awesome views of the city of Boulder.
Mostly, Dasha and I enjoyed setting up the camera and taking ridiculous (okay, epic!) photos to make fun of instagram "influencers." Companies pay influencers to sell products through their Instagram pages. They usually have impeccably-set up and overly edited photos of them posing in nature and other settings.
Some quintessential influencer photos are of the subject touching a tree for no apparent reason or the subject leading the person with the camera somewhere ahead. We walked around joking, "We're like, Hashtag #SoInfluential!"
We probably spent an hour on this hike just taking photos and laughing our asses off.
I am so proud of Dasha—since I visited her in April she has climbed a bazillion mountains. She climbed as high as 14,000 feet and she keeps adding to her hiking repertoire.
Tennyson Street
After our day of healthy hiking, we went out for Dasha's birthday on Tennyson Street.
Happy Birthday, Dasha! :)
Tennyson Street is part of Denver's historic Berkley neighborhood. Back in the late 1800s, there was a popular trolley line that cut through here. The area was popular at that time but struggled in modern times in the midst of the recession. Only in the last 10 years or so has it seen a comeback with lots of cool places to go out.
We met up with a bunch of her friends at West End Tap House. Dasha knew a few people in town from other parts of her life. Many were living there or in town by happenstance for her birthday, including one of our mutual friends, Armando.
Armando, Dasha, and I all used to work together back when I was in graduate school. The place where we worked was a bit...wild. Let's say we all learned a lot from that experience and think of ourselves as "veterans" from there! So it's fun when we all get to hang out!
Eventually, we all moved down to have pizza at Berkley Untapped. We enjoyed this place for its laid back feel and cornhole outside. Food, more drinks, and a silly game to play out front—perfect for a bunch of drunks!
In Conclusion
I was in Denver for only 24 hours and I already saw and did so much! Dasha is good like that, though. I can always count on her to pick out great things to do. She is always motivated to show me around.
There's so much more left to share! The next day, we went to an epic art exhibit filled with fantasy and whimsy plus we visited the famous Red Rocks Ampitheatre. These experiences are coming up in my next post—stay tuned!
