The idea sparked one summer day, two friends laying by the pool. I had just gone to a local music festival to see one of my favorite bands and mentioned they were playing at Red Rocks Amphitheater in September. Turns out, seeing NEEDTOBREATHE at Red Rocks wasn’t just on my bucket list. Before we could change our minds, flights were booked and concert tickets were purchased.
Early morning on a Wednesday in September, my friend Jess and I set out to the airport to catch our flight to Denver. The plan was to see the concert Wednesday evening and spend as much time outdoors as possible. We had no specific plans for the latter, but were eager to make the most of our time.
With a full day ahead of us we headed to Golden, Colorado, home of Coors Brewing Company and the School of Mines. A walk down main street (i.e. Washington Ave) left us with hours of entertainment from shops, dining, and hiking. A local tip led us to Lubahn Trail, a 2.5 mile trail loop leading to the base of the Castle Rock cliffs. This gave gorgeous views of the town below and the perfect opportunity to stretch our legs after a travel-filled morning. We were graced with a similar view on the other side of town as we traveled up Lookout Mountain on our way to Evergreen, CO.
Side note: Evergreen, CO is a hidden gem 40 minutes West of Denver. We decided to stay in Evergreen (vs. Denver) for a few reasons. A. Staying out of the metropolitan area is slightly cheaper. B. Our main event was taking place in Morrison, CO which is conveniently located between Denver and Evergreen. And C. The tentative plan for Thursday was to ‘hike in the mountains’, by staying in Evergreen we were well on our way to whatever the destination may be.
Seeing a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater has always been a dream of mine. The venue is breathtaking, something to see in itself. To be able to see NEEDTOBREATHE at Red Rocks is on another level.
We arrived early to walk the grounds and see what else the venue has to offer. We toured the Visitor Center, Colorado Music Hall of Fame, and took in the views before the sun went down and the music started. The New Respects took the stage first, followed by The Lone Bellow, both acts were a welcomed warm-up for the main show. NEEDTOBREATHE was everything I had imagined and then some. It was a beautiful night and they played a couple hours of sweet, sweet music. Our tickets were in row 19, the perfect view for when the lead singer emerged for a slow jam in row 18. We decided to spend a little more money on tickets ($100 each) to get reserved seating versus general admission, would absolutely go this route again. One of my favorite things about going to a concert is leaving with a new favorite song. I had at least a couple new favorites after this show, and countless memories to take with me.
Thursday brought a new day and a new adventure. We opted for a quick continental breakfast at the hotel, then hit the road for St. Mary’s Glacier near Idaho Springs. This popular destination includes a short hike with breathtaking views. It’s about 0.75 miles to the base of the glacier, Saint Marys Lake, so a pretty short round-trip hike depending on how far you choose to go. Once off of the freeway, there’s an 8-mile winding road to get to the two gravel parking lots. Here, you’ll need $5 and a pen to fill out the permit to place on your dash. The trailhead is located in between the two lots, and from there the hike is fairly self-explanatory. The whole thing is an uphill climb which was tough at first for us Midwesterners but we acclimated and made our way up. We started to question ourselves near the top when lots of spur trails appeared, but by this time as long as you’re moving up the hill you’ll eventually run into the lake. The trail itself wasn’t packed with people, but we saw enough to know we weren’t alone and on the right track. Views of the lake and glacier are incredible and plenty of people were basking in the glory of this final destination, but I recommend continuing on up the glacier. We didn’t hike the whole thing, hoping to save some time for other sites, but we managed to get about halfway (see featured image of this post). This is a must see regardless of the season, but Fall is spectacular.
It was only noon and we were eager to squeeze as much adventure into the day as possible, this is where Mount Evans comes in. Also located near Idaho Springs, Mount Evans stands at 14,264 feet and is part of the Front Range. On a tip from a friend, we decided the reputation and location of the mountain made it the perfect stop. Before we headed up Highway 5, we made a pit stop at the Idaho Springs Visitor Center for a map and the local gas station for food and fuel. It’s about 22 miles from Idaho Springs to the “base” of Mount Evans, Summit Lake Park in our case. The first half of which is a gorgeous drive filled with pine trees, fall colors, and amazing views. We then passed through the Forest Service Station near Echo Lake and paid our dues ($15 for a vehicle permit). The second half of the drive up had me white knuckling the steering wheel a bit, driving on the outside edge of a road (cliff?) is not my idea of a good time. The lot at Summit Lake was full, plenty of people were heading up the mountain before it closed for the season. Once you reach Summit Lake, Mount Evans Scenic Byway actually continues up almost to the summit and is the highest paved road in North America. This last 6 miles between Summit Lake and the top of Mount Evans closes after Labor Day to protect natural resources at the summit, but this doesn’t stop hundreds of tourists from traveling to the top. We took an unconventional route to the top, but we had come this far and were determined to reap the rewards. The altitude hit us hard at times, reminding us to slow our pace. It was a gorgeous day, but got pretty winding depending on which side of the mountain we were on.Lots of water breaks, coconut cream pie Lara bars, and trail mix were involved. We may have stopped to lay on the sun-soaked black pavement once (or twice). So, three hours and six miles later we were on top of the world.
The trek down only took about an hour and consisted of lots of shortcuts. It was starting to get dark (and cold) and we were eager to sit down for a good meal at this point. We headed to Beau Jo’s for some Colorado Style pizza. Our waiter suggested the Hipster (roasted garlic-olive sauce, spinach, red peppers, pineapple, pepperoncici peppers, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses) and it did not disappoint. Honey is served with all of the pizzas to be used on the crust, but that didn’t stop us from putting it on the pizza too. By the time we got back to our hotel, we were exhausted and sleep came easy. Jess was staying in Denver through the weekend and I had an early flight Friday morning to take me to my next adventure. We packed as much excitement as possible into the 36 hours we spent exploring Colorado. It was a trip I’ll never forget.
Related post: check out what I wore
