Denver, Colorado
The Girl, The Pioneer and Red Rocks Amphitheater
This story is an excerpt from A Beard Across America, read more excerpts here.
Near the top of my list of most excited cities to visit was Denver for multiple reasons: The buzz surrounding the entrepreneurial community, it was the last city before really making it “out west”, and my girlfriend at the time, Kimmi, was flying in to meet me there.
She would be joining me for the following nine days of the trip, going with me through Denver, Las Vegas, Napa Valley, and San Francisco.
I left Wichita, Kansas earlier that morning, quite earlier that morning, in anticipation of getting to Denver early in the day. I arrived around 4:00 PM.
When I drove into town, Kimmi and her mom were downtown at The 16th Street Mall waiting for Tanya, Kimmi’s sister, to get off work.
The girls finished up their shopping spree while Tanya finished her workday before we returned to Tanya’s house to meet up with her boyfriend, Geoff and to head to dinner.
We were off to one of their “go-to” restaurants, The Pioneer, where everyone knew Tanya and Geoff by name. The staff was friendly, the food was delicious and the atmosphere was on point. What stood out the most was their garlic hot sauce. It was so good, I bought a bottle on the spot to take with me on the rest of my trip.
After dinner, we returned to Tanya and Geoff’s house. Kimmi’s mom went home and the rest of us prepared for our first night out on the town.
The altitude levels proved to work to our benefit, we required a lot less alcohol before feeling the wonderful effects. We found out later it’s recommended to wait 48-hours before consuming alcohol when adapting to the altitude levels — I think we made it about four.
Our night was spent visiting a strip of bars on Broadway Street. First was a dive bar called 3 Kings Tavern to play pool. Then, a rooftop bar called The Irish Rover for a drink. And finally we finished the night at a bar that had pinball games as table tops. (sadly I can’t remember the name of that bar)
The next day, we went to Wild Eggs to start the day. They’re well known in the area for their delicious brunch.
We were off to one of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever seen, Red Rocks Amphitheater. If you’ve never seen Red Rocks in person, it was carved into three naturally formed boulders that create an amazing amount of natural acoustics.
Musicians playing there date back as early as the 1910's. The amphitheater itself opened in the early 1940’s.
We parked at the top and looked down on the stage, soaking in the wonderfully crafted venue and it’s natural, and man-made surroundings.
In the Visitor Center we took about an hour to learn about the history of Red Rocks and all the bands/musicians who have played there in the past.
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from A Beard Across America. To finish this story and more like it, sign up for your FREE copy of A Beard Across America at www.ABeardAcrossAmerica.com
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