Mrs. DX has a work conference in Denver the last weekend in October and I will be there from the 23-25th Friday through Sunday. We are staying downtown and won't have a rental car but access to public transportation. I want to take the Coors Brewery Tour in Golden. Any other recommendations? Good places to eat?
If you are a meat-eater, check out the Buckhorn Exchange. It holds the oldest liquor license in Colorado, and is very much an "old west" sort of experience.
The last time I was there I had elk, venison, quail, buffalo, antelope, and a bunch of other animals. It isn't the cheapest place, but it's totally worth the experience.
Red Rocks amphitheater is also a super-cool place. Even if there isn't a show going on, it's a cool area to hike.
Coors field is also one of MLB best stadiums....if you care to watch a game. (the Rockies suck, so tickets should be easy to find)
Drink LOTS of water--- high altitude will mess you up (especially if you drink alcohol) Drink at least one pint of water per beer, and chug a couple of liters as soon as you get there. Seriously.....water is your friend.
Just ask it already. Yes you can buy pot on almost any street in the city. If you get edibles don't eat more then recommended and stay away from Colefax unless you are going to Petes Greek then its ok.
The view from Lookout Mountain/Buffalo Bill's grave/museum is pretty awesome, but no idea if there's any transportation from downtown.
If you're going to the Coors tour in Golden, also take in the Colorado Railroad Museum if you have any interest in trains - a great site. If you can get wheels, check out the Shelby American Collection in Boulder, I think they are open on Saturdays. It's a longish drive, but worth it. Plus 1 on the Buckhorn Exchange, and it's definitely downtown by the railroad tracks. Also if you can get wheels, a trip up the Pikes Peak highway (west of Colorado Springs)isn't cheap, but think of it as driving a famous track (at slow speeds, they don't allow any racing). Definitely drink lots of water if you're from the flatlands. Denver Art museum is great, with excellent Western art. Don't think the Clive Cussler auto museum is open those days. Another memorable (but expensive) restaurant is the Fort in Morrison, out by Red Rocks - a replica of Bent's old Fort. Google it for more.
xd wrote: Just ask it already. Yes you can buy pot on almost any street in the city. If you get edibles don't eat more then recommended and stay away from Colefax unless you are going to Petes Greek then its ok.
I'd recommended eating half what's recommended, then waiting 2 hours and going from there. Some people don't react well to peaking out for 3 hours and you can go from zero to eleven real quick if you take too much.
Get wheels if you can. I don't know if there's public transportation from downtown all the way to Golden, though I'd guess there is. Golden is awesome. I'm not a drinker (or wacky tobaky) guy, so I can't tell you about the Coors tour, but the town of Golden is really cool. If you can get wheels, you can take Rt 6 West out of Golden towards Idaho Springs. Curve after curve, and all with beautiful views. Tons of driving fun.
And yes, tons of water. I'm a fitness buff, and the first time I went there, it kicked my butt just doing half the workout I normally do.
Golden is awesome, I went to college there (and grew up down the road a bit).
Coors tour has two versions. A long tour, and a short tour. the long one shows you the equipment and brewing rooms and stuff, which is neat because I think the golden plant is possibly the largest volume brewery in any single location in the world (I'm sure they will tell you though). then at the end you get to enjoy 3 free beers.
The short tour skips all the talk and goes straight to the 3 beers. In college we called the short tour 'Coors Lab'. "What do you have tuesday and thrusday at 10 am?" "Coors Lab"
In downtown, check out devner microbrew tour - http://www.denvermicrobrewtour.com/ - it is a really awesome way to learn about beer, the history of Denver, and spend a few hours. Full disclosure, my best friend started it from the ground up about 6 years ago and still owns it today. Book early, the tours usually fill up. Both routes are awesome.
Also, Denver has 'car2go' which is a service where you rent one of their fleet of smart cars and only pay by the minute when you are actually inside the car. Free parking anywhere in denver, and there are so many cars you are never more than a block or two away from the next closest one. Works great, I love the system. If you go outside Denver city limits, that is fine, but you effectively stay on the clock until you bring the car back.
Finally, very likely at the end of October it will be t-shirt weather during the day. But it also could be snowing. Likely not anywhere in between. Bring a few options.
Joe Gearin wrote: Drink LOTS of water--- high altitude will mess you up (especially if you drink alcohol) Drink at least one pint of water per beer, and chug a couple of liters as soon as you get there. Seriously.....water is your friend.
Amen. Never hurled so hard in my life as I did in Denver. I blew chunks of things I never ate. It creeps up on you.
rcutclif wrote: Finally, very likely at the end of October it will be t-shirt weather during the day. But it also could be snowing. Likely not anywhere in between. Bring a few options.
In my several visits to Denver a few years back, I liked it so much we very much considered moving out there. This was the primary reason we decided not to. I just couldn't live with 70 degrees one day and a blizzard the next....from October to May.
curtis73 wrote:Joe Gearin wrote: Drink LOTS of water--- high altitude will mess you up (especially if you drink alcohol) Drink at least one pint of water per beer, and chug a couple of liters as soon as you get there. Seriously.....water is your friend.Amen. Never hurled so hard in my life as I did in Denver. I blew chunks of things I never ate. It creeps up on you.
Denver is one thing, mountain vacations are another beast again. I believe in Breckenridge the potency of one beer equals 3 at sea level.
The "Light Rail" train has expanded greatly, and will take you around the city pretty efficiently. There are also "rental" bikes you can grab throughout the city to get around. Denver is extremely bike friendly, and the Cherry Creek path is a great way to get around.
Hit up the Blue Bonnet on Broadway if you like Mexican food---it's a Denver staple and awesome!
Colfax can be fun if you like live music, although it can be a bit rough. The Bluebird, and the Ogden host good live bands, and if you are into dives, see if the Lion's Lair is still open---- it's a total dive with a great history.
I went to school in Boulder and would occasionally go down to Golden for Coors Lab. I understand it was a regular Friday thing for School of Mines. When I went you could only get one beer and one refill. We got around that by having a different guy go up to the bar with two glasses in hand for the refill. Made it three each that way! :)
There's also the little-known Forney Museum of Transportation on the north side of town http://www.forneymuseum.org/.
Some cool cars, trains, motorcycles and bikes. You know you're old when you start seeing your childhood toys in museums! That have a little pedal surrey thing there that is identical to one we had as kids.
Foodwise you'll be craving everything, but it will all taste amazing. It'll do that to you.
Using the bikeshare is def on the list. I plan on renting a bike one day and just riding around. I'm going to hit the REI store since they have a climbing wall and members can climb for free.
92dxman wrote: Using the bikeshare is def on the list. I plan on renting a bike one day and just riding around. I'm going to hit the REI store since they have a climbing wall and members can climb for free.
Or you could go to Red Rocks...... nature has rocks there that you can climb for free too! 
Just an update:
I left Friday with mrs dx and came home Sunday. I'm waiting at the airport as we speak for her to land. We stayed right in downtown Denver near the 16th street mall. Friday, we got a rental and drove down to Colorado Springs to visit friends of hers. The altitude kicked both our tails and we were feeling it. Saturday we took a trip to golden and did the coors tour (awesome!!) and ate at bobs atomic burgers and then I walked around downtown denver while mrs. Dx had a conference function. Then went out to eat at maggianos for her birthday. Sunday was pack up day and I flew home and got home early Monday morning. All in all a great trip and we'd like to go back in the summer and explore more.
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