Over the Christmas holidays, I spent a week touring Denver, Estes Park, and Cheyenne with my family. When I started this blog in 2009, the first trip I took was to Denver and Phoenix. It is fascinating to read over some of those posts, particularly this one about how wonderful Denver was. Well, times have changed. Much of the city center was a ghost town, partially because it was the holidays, and also because of the remains of the pandemic. But there are far more homeless (and recently arrived migrants), it is dirtier, and much less pleasant to walk around. The 16th Street Mall was under construction and there were a lot of empty storefronts. Living in New York over the past decade, I have seen the same changes. It is important to note that although it may appear as if America is on a downward trend, it is only in these left-leaning cities where this is happening, and really only in the downtown cores. These areas used to be more vibrant and safer, yet people continue to push for "progressive" policies, despite plenty of evidence they don't work. I feel for the bear at the convention center, banging his head in frustration.
Anyway, after a couple of quiet nights, I picked up a rental car and we drove out to Estes Park, which is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. It is beautiful, has several breweries with the crispest beer you can imagine (the water makes it that way) and about a thousand tourist shops. It is also home to the Stanley Hotel, which was the inspiration for Stephen King's novel 'The Shining', though the Stanley Kubrick movie was not filmed here. There is even a small hedge maze which leads to a statue of Freelan Oscar Stanley, who built the hotel, which opened in 1909. You can walk inside the lobby and there are a few stores downstairs. You can also sign up for tours, one of which focuses on the haunted aspect of the hotel.
Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain National Park is just a couple of miles away and worth a visit, though you should ensure your car is properly equipped with snow tires or chains in the winter, lest you run afoul of Colorado's traction law. Despite the rental car having Florida plates, its tires were good enough and we spent two days driving through the park, though not going too far in. It was rather busy and most of the parking lots were full, so we found some less travelled areas and relaxed there. We saw elk, deer, and several species of birds, and my daughter became a junior ranger.
The scenery is beautiful and hiking is something that I would like to try in the summer, but the park gets so busy that you need to reserve an entry time. Still, at about 90 minutes from Denver, this is a great spot to visit at any time of the year.
After three days here, we headed north to Wyoming, the 32nd state for my daughter to visit before her 6th birthday. We stayed in Cheyenne, a town with little sports and hence a place in which I had not spent much time previously. Again, there are a few breweries (my daughter did an impromptu performance at Blue Raven) and several western themed attractions, but the highlight is the Wyoming State Museum and State Capitol.
Both are free and the museum has a variety of exhibits on subjects beyond Wyoming, such as war trophies that included a samurai sword found in Hiroshima and a cap that belonged to Tomoyuki Yamashita, whose story is worth reading.
We entered the Capitol at about 4:15 on the Friday before New Years and unsurprisingly were the only tourists there. The building recently underwent significant renovations that are detailed in a booklet you can pick up near the entrance. We spent about 45 minutes here, and I was most impressed by the photo collages of past legislatures going back over a century. Wyoming is known as the Equality State because it would not join the union unless it could ensure that women could vote, a right that the territory had enshrined in 1869 in its first legislative session. Despite pressure from the U.S. Congress, Wyoming did not give up that right when they joined the United States in 1890. All of this is detailed in a display on the second floor.
Cheyenne has a few other western-themed attractions, but none were particularly appealing in the winter. There is a statue honouring the Buffalo Soldiers which is in a residential neighborhood but worth stopping by. Or you can just read the description from the Historical Markers database.
The highlight of our two days in Wyoming was Curt Gowdy State Park. Gowdy, perhaps the most famous sports broadcaster during my youth, was a Wyoming native and a noted outdoorsman. The park is about 30 minutes from Cheyenne along WY-210, also known as Happy Jack Road.
There were few visitors, and we spent a few quiet hours enjoying the scenery and taking small hikes. Although the temperature was slightly above freezing, the reservoir was frozen over and several people were ice fishing. You do have to pay an entry fee here, but it is well worth it to spend a few hours outdoors. The visitor center has some information on Gowdy that is quite interesting.
Midway between the park and Cheyenne is The Bunkhouse, a wonderful eatery that has been in business since 1898. Definitely plan to stop in here if you are taking Happy Jack Road into or out of Cheyenne. Below is a picture of its interior; the food is delicious with the steak sandwich my recommendation.
I do little touring when on my solo sports adventures, so it was nice to take the time to explore some places I had yet to visit. I look forward to more trips like this where we can relax without worrying about being on time for a game.
Best,
Sean
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