Golden, Colorado

We LOVE this town!  Golden is a special place for us.  We discovered it 41+ years ago when we were here on our honeymoon.  We have been back many times and it never disappoints.  Golden is located just west of Denver at the base of the front range of the Rockies, along Clear Creek.  It is home to Coors Brewery (actually now "Miller-Coors") with free tours and samples, and a small college, Colorado School of Mines.  It has grown over the years and sprawled out more, but has maintained its’ downtown and the same welcome sign. 

We have been staying in the Clear Creek RV park owed by the City of Golden.  It’s a small park located along Clear Creek with full hookups available at many sites.  It’s been nice to stay in one place for over a week and we’ve been able to get caught up on household tasks and errands.  I have given the washer and dryer in our RV a good workout and am happy with it.  Giving the RV a good cleaning when we got here felt good too. So far everything working great on the RV.

We have enjoyed the ½ mile walk from our RV to the downtown area as well as the numerous walking paths around Clear Creek and Golden.  The City offers many public parks; there are baseball fields, tennis courts, playgrounds, and my favorite – a “bike library”.  Bikes are available to be “checked out” free of charge for 2 hours or $10 for the day, and they also supply bike helmets.

Clear Creek-Lookout Mountain

Looking west from Golden you see "M" on the side of Lookout Mountain.  This is for the Colorado School of Mines.  Driving up Lookout Mountain there are several spots to pull over and look out over Golden which is situated between the two "Tabletop Mountains". On a clear day you can also see downtown Denver. 

Golden from Lookout Mountain

Denver from Lookout Mountain

 I have to mention Red Rocks Amphitheater located just outside of Golden, near Morrison.  It is a great concert venue with quite a history of famous performers.  The venue is actually owned and operated by the City of Denver and it is open during the day for visitors, including several exhibits inside and a "Hall of Fame".  It is also used it as an exercise spot (running up and down the stairs will get the heart pumping) and they hold an Easter Sunrise Service here every year. 

 

South of Breckenridge

One reason we planned on being here this week in September is for the Aspens.  If the timing is right, you can catch the fall color display.  When the Aspens change to bright yellow in contrast to the dark green pines on the side of a mountain, it’s a site I can’t get enough of.  This week the Aspens were turning especially in the “high country”.  Driving west from here you start going up in elevation and we took some pictures along Mt. Evans Road and over by the ski town of Breckenridge.  A healthy dose of respect for Mother Nature is in order through.  We could not figure out why the last five miles of Mt. Evans Rd to the summit had already closed for the season.  When we got up the road as far as we could go it was 39 degrees with snow showers; snow had already been reported at the top and they cannot take any chances on these narrow roads with no guardrails. Yup, we get it!  Once back down the mountain to town, it was in the 70’s.  Colorado has it's fair share of Winter weather, especially in the mountains, but also boasts 300 days of sunshine a year.  The blue sky at these altitudes is really something.

Mt. Evans - above tree line -cool & blustery

Mt. Evans Road

Woody's Woodfire Pizza

Table Mountain Inn Grill & Cantina

Lastly, Golden has several restaurants I can recommend; including Woody's Woodfire Pizza, Table Mountain Inn Grill & Cantina, and Riverside Grill.


We will be leaving Golden soon.  Next stop will be near Alamosa, Colorado and then a few days in Colorado Springs  We will be visiting the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Garden of the Gods, and maybe Pikes Peak.