After a wonderful time in South Dakota I arrived at my next stop: Denver!

It was my first time in Colorado but it definitely won’t be the last. Amazing place, I would highly recommend it.

Some highlights:

• Reddest rocks
• Beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains
• Buffalo Bill’s grave

Idaho Springs

My first order of business was to see St. Mary’s Glacier. I unfortunately didn’t make it on the trail but saw the nearby lake! It was cold, no surprises for a glacier.

On the way back made a stop at Idaho Springs, a small mining town founded in the 1800s during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. According to legend the town’s name comes from the fact that a Native American tribe made the journey every year from Idaho to the nearby hot springs. A bit of a trek but sounds worth it!

Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Next I headed to the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre, an impressive rock structure used as an open-air music venue. The supposedly perfect acoustics make this a popular place for live recordings.

I sadly didn’t get to see a show but did a bit of hiking in the surrounding park, which was almost as good. Needless to say there were lots of big red rocks!

City Park

I started the next day off with a trip to City Park, home of the Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Great views of the skyline!

Boulder

Wanting to get closer to the mountains I next headed to nearby Boulder.

Flatirons

I was told I had to see the Flatirons, which I assumed referred to a mountain range. Turns out the Flatirons are actually famous rock formations located along a face of Green Mountain. Unsurprisingly these formations consist of flatirons, the technical term for steeply sloping triangular landforms.

There are 5 Flatirons in total. Can you spot them all?

After admiring the mountains from a distance it was time to drive up them. My first stop on the way up Flagstaff Mountain had an amazing view of Boulder.

Not knowing exactly what I was looking for I just kept driving into the depth of the mountain range. I eventually reached Lost Gulch overlook, and realized that this view was in fact what I was looking for. Magnificent.

Satisfied, I headed back down, and was blessed with more amazing views.

Lookout Mountain

Despite having already seen some breathtaking views I was hungry for more, so I headed to Lookout Mountain to watch the sunset. It was well worth the drive.

While originally here for the sunset views, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Lookout Mountain is also the burial place of Buffalo Bill.

William “Buffalo Bill” Cody was an American West hero of the late 1800s. At age 15 a rider for the cross-country mail service Pony Express (quickly made obsolete by the telegraph), he fought for the Union in the Civil War and later became an army scout. Generally a badass, Cody was awarded the Medal of Honor at age 26.

It wasn’t until after his military days that Cody earned his worldwide fame. He became famous for his performances in traveling shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier. In 1883 he founded Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, a circus-like traveling attraction. The shows consisted of feats of skill and reenactments of everyday West things like stagecoach robberies. They also featured historical western figures such as Sitting Bull.

Cody earned his nickname during a contract to supply railroad workers with buffalo meat. He and another hunter, Bill Comstock, competed in an 8-hour (!) buffalo-shooting match for the exclusive right to use the name “Buffalo Bill.” Cody emerged victorious after killing 68 animals to Comstock’s 48, thus becoming the rightful William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Impressive skills!

Cody said that he wanted to be buried on Lookout Mountain overlooking the Great Plains. Some family members said that he should be buried in Cody, Wyoming, a town that he founded in 1895. In 1948 a group from Cody wanted to move the body to Wyoming so they put up a reward; this resulted in the construction of metal guards over the grave, which proved to be successful at deterring potential grave robbers. Today Buffalo Bill remains rightfully on Lookout Mountain.

And with that my time in the Denver area came to an end. Next stop, Aspen!