Things to do in Colorado
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Outdoors Geek
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Yobel Market
Their motto is, 'inspiring awareness and promoting justice.' The stock is all fair trade and sustainable wares made by craftsmen and women from around the world. They have African market baskets, wonderful beaded jewelry, groovy T-shirts and handmade soaps.
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Ruebens Burger Bistro
An owner-operated temple to the all-natural, hormone-free, gourmet burger, all christened with cycling-themed names. The Mountain Biker comes with avocado, arugula and swiss cheese, while the Paris Roubaix is topped with whole roasted green chilis and swiss and cream cheeses. Ruebens also offers intriguing dishes like a build-your-own mac and cheese, and moules frites.
It's a good bet the owner shaves his legs.
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Dushanbe Teahouse
No visit to Boulder is complete without a meal at this incredible Tajik work of art, a gift from Boulder's sister city (Dushanbe, Tajikistan) that boasts incredible craftsmanship and meticulous painting. The fare ranges from Amazonian and Mediterranean to, of course, Tajik. Outside is a lovely, shaded patio. It's an intimate place to grab cocktails or dinner on a warm summer day.
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Sink
- Boulder, USA
- Restaurants › Pub
Waiters bob and weave under the low-slung, graffiti scrawled ceiling of the Sink, a Hill classic that's been around since 1923. Colorful characters cover the dimly lit, cavernous space – a scene almost worth a visit itself. Almost. Once you've washed back the legendary Sink burger with a slug of a local microbrew, you'll be glad you stuck around.
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Range Gallery
Local photographer, Kathleen McFadden, owns and operates this sweet storefront gallery in Old Colorado City. There's a quirky Americana sensibility to her work. You'll see shots of old rusted gas pumps, lonely roadside diners and fish-eyed horses, and curved-frame prints of cascading rivers and gnarled trees. Impressive and transporting.
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Med
A Boulder classic, this friendly, festive joint brings all the many flavors of the Mediterranean under one roof (and patio). Think wood-fired pizza, gyros and terrific tapas from gambas to bacon wrapped dates to bruschetta. There's a full bar and some fantastic deserts. Terrific happy-hour deals and a fun crowd most nights.
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Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway
Travelers have been making the trip to the summit of Pikes Peak (14,110ft) on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway since 1891, when Spencer Penrose built it. Katherine Lee Bates was so impressed by her 1893 trip to the summit that she was inspired to write 'America the Beautiful.' Diesel-powered, Swiss-built trains smoothly make the round-trip in three hours and 10 minutes, which includes 40 minutes at the top.
The train makes no official stops, but engineers will drop hikers at Mountain View, where you can hike the 1.5 mile to the six-mile mark of the Barr Trail at Barr Camp (9,500ft), which makes for a 7.5-mile hike up. It's the best way to day hike Pikes Peak, and you may as…
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Garden of the Gods
A compound of 13 bouldered peaks and soaring red rock pinnacles accessed by a network of concrete paths and trails. From the main parking area you'll see the Kissing Camels, White Rock and Tower of Babel right away. The Cathedral Towers and Sleeping Giant are further on.
It's a great place for families, as little ones love rambling the paths, while lovers snuggle or quarrel in shadows, and resident deer prance among the brush. This land was originally purchased in 1879 by Charles Elliot Perkins. He'd always wanted to make it an official public park and his kids carried out his wishes after his death. It became a park in 1909.
To be clear, this is not a wilderness…
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University of Colorado at Boulder
It is possible for prospective students and curious visitors to tour one of the finest public universities in America, and one of the best schools overall. It's a beautiful campus set above downtown, on what is known as the Hill. Free tours begin with a one-hour informational session followed by a 90-minute walking tour.
As you stroll, remember you are moving in the footsteps of notable alumni such as astronaut Scott Carpenter (one of 17 astronauts with CU diplomas), Apple's Steve Wozniak, Sidney Altman (one of six Nobel Laureates), Robert Redford (didn't graduate), South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone (smoked a ton of dope, did graduate), actor Jonah Hill…
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Osaki's
There is no finer sushi in all of Vail, and possibly the state of Colorado, than here. Osaki is a star disciple of Nobu Matsuhisa (yes, that Nobu). He worked in the LA restaurant, when Nobu only had one shop, and eventually opened this hole-in-the-wall temple devoted to all that is sweet, tender, raw and holy (we're talking about fish!).
It's not cheap, but what Vail haunt is? Plus, if you go with one of the combo dinners you'll get out for under $50. And whatever you do, do not leave without tasting the salmon. It's simply spectacular. Osaki offers 30% off rolls in the summer, and reservations are advised in peak season. You'll find it hiding behind Campo de Fiori.
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WC3
- Aspen, USA
- Restaurants › Cafe
Next door to the famous tavern in ramshackle Woody Creek, this community center cum cafe is just as groovy but in a different way. Instead of drunken antics and mishmash wallpaper there's local art, a sweet front garden, plenty of indoor seating and healthy, soulful lunch fare.
Choose one of four kinds of curry or tuck into a bowl of gumbo or a panini. The vegetarian soups have earned high praise, and the coffee is tasty too. Plus there's a range of used books for sale. Lots of them. Including a corner dedicated to the Good Doctor himself. We're talking about a terrific selection of Hunter S Thompson's masterworks, including some vintage Rolling Stone issues from the…
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Boulder County Farmers' Market
A massive spring and summer sprawl of colorful, mostly organic local food. Here you can find flowers and herbs, as well as brain sized mushrooms, delicate squash blossoms, crusty pretzels, vegan dips, grass-fed beef, raw granola and yogurt. The market stretches from Arapahoe to Canyon along Central Park and around the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, which offers free admission on market days.
Prepared food booths offer gyros and tamales. Live music is as standard as the family picnics in the park along Boulder Creek.
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Bitter Bar
In places like NYC, LA and San Francisco, prohibition-era cocktails have gone from back alley whispers of the impossibly hip to mainstream in a few short years. Boulder now has their version, and who cares if it's set in modern pan-Asian environs. These cocktails, and the rums, whiskeys, tequilas and gins used to alchemize, are the best sips in town.
It also offers monthly classes at $35 per person, which buys you the knowhow to mix two drinks that would make a Mad Man weep. You'll leave with three recipes and a gift from the barkeeps. Check the website for dates.
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Chautauqua Park
This historic landmark park is not just the gateway to Boulder's most magnificent slab of open space (we're talking about the Flatirons) it also has a wide, lush lawn that attracts picnicking families, sunbathers, frisbee folk, and – gasp – even studious students from CU down the road. It also gets copious hikers, climbers and trail runners.
This was once an important site for the inspired rural educational organization, the Chautauqua movement. These days, it's a park, a lodge and an auditorium where world-class musicians perform each summer.
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T-Lazy-7 Ranch
Saddle up onto a snowmobile in the winter, or onto a fine steed in the summer at this working ranch down the slope from the Maroon Bells Wilderness Area. It calls itself the oldest working ranch in Aspen. Rides will take you into the spectacular Maroon Bells Wilderness and are highly recommended for families.
Overnight rides ($450) take you all the way to Crested Butte. Snowmobile tours run up to Klondike Cabin in the White River National Forest or Maroon Lake in the Maroon Bells Wilderness. It does sleigh rides in the winter too.
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SAME Café
- Denver, USA
- Restaurants › Café
This nonprofit cafe was founded by two former food-bank workers, who wanted to provide healthy, by-donation lunches for those who were struggling to make ends meet. The standard American cafeteria fare is delicious. Walk-in volunteers are welcome, though you can reserve a spot in advance online.
Volunteering here or dropping in for lunch is one of the most unique and heart-warming dining options in Denver, and demonstrates the most progressive thinking in the city's sustainable, local, community-oriented food movement.
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Salt
One of downtown's newest and most happening spots also serves damn fine farm to table cuisine. We're talking small plates like crispy pork belly BLT, heirloom tomato salad and local beet carpaccio. Entrees include fresh fettucine and slow-roasted leg of lamb, and several fresh seafood options. Cocktails are creative and personalized.
The house always feels good, whether you dine downstairs in the basement pub or in the bright brick-wall dining room with a glimpse of the open and rocking kitchen.
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520 Grill
A (mostly) healthy (kinda) fast-food grill, if there is such a thing. Sandwiches are creative, spicy cococtions. The achiote chicken is grilled and piled on the pita with roasted red peppers, avocado and cheese. The Veg Head is an alchemy of roasted portobello mushrooms and garlic, with a pepper medley dressed in balsamic.
It also serves a good-looking much loved kale and quinoa salad along with epic traditional and sweet potato fries. Locals are devoted to it. The best part? It's affordable!
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Frasca
Frasca has been considered Boulder's finest restaurant since it opened. The service is top shelf and the rotating menu features the freshest farm-to-table ingredients available. Reservations must be made days or even weeks in advance.
The menu includes dishes like braised pork shoulder canneloni, house made gnocchi and grilled quail served with local peppers, leeks and wilted pea shoots. This restaurant is as fancy and as snooty as Boulder gets.
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Pikes Perk Coffee & Teahouse
With a fantastic rooftop boasting unobstructed views of Colorado Springs' signature mountain, Pikes Perk is our all-time-favorite regional coffee shop. Read a magazine, write a novel or just a chat with friends in the cozy 2nd-floor lounge or on the rooftop deck when the weather's nice.
Pike's Perk serves the usual range of espresso drinks, all excellent quality, as well as a range of pastries, bagels, breakfast burritos and other light meals.
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Boulder Cafe
Score a sidewalk table and check out the Pearl St Mall street performers while waiting for your buffalo burger. The perennially popular Boulder Cafe is one of those 'all things to all people' kitchens, which means anything from shrimp enchiladas to penne pasta or skillets of trout and teriyaki steak to a damn fine raw bar can be yours.
From 3pm to 6:30pm, all appetizers and drinks are half-price. That's the time to go raw.
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Sundown Saloon
Only come here if you can stomach outhouse chic bathrooms, throwback tunes, an impossible-to-distinguish odor upon descent into the basement, pick-up shouting (it's straight impossible to hear in late night), vicious competition on the shuffle board or pool tables (free 'til 10pm) and waking up hungover from the cheap Pabst Blue Ribbon ($6 pitchers).
Every town needs an 'end up bar,' and you will end up here.
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Dancers
Frozen in joyful two-step, Jonathan Borofsky's whimsical Dancers invite rushing traffic to stop and play. The centerpiece of Sculpture Park, they supervise live music and lounging picnickers in summer and rise eerily from the snow in winter. Initially a controversial buy for conservative citizens, they're a symbol on scale with Denver's ambition to be the cultural capital of the West.
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Mateo
A casual new dining hall with minimalist panache, an upscale but not fancy-pants, crowd, and a damn fine kitchen specialising in French comfort cuisine. Think braised lamb shoulder served over pasta, pork belly over organic rice, and moules (mussels) frites. Cheeses are artisanal, ingredients mostly local and the wine is quite fine. Half-priced moule frites ($6) on Mondays.
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