A Day Trip to Boulder, Colorado

Colorado has become a go-to for us in recent years. It all began because Denver is the only place I could find to go ski that was a direct flight from our home airport (JAX). For the past three winters, we’ve enjoyed skiing in Winter Park, but this past February we decided to try something new and wound up in Breckenridge.

We loved Breckenridge so much we ended up buying an interest in the new Grand Colorado on Peak 8 (a post on that coming soon), so we decided to return this week and get to know Breckenridge a little better. As much as I think we could enjoy an entire week here and relax a little, that’s not really our style. So, instead, we’ll be taking some day trips to Aspen, Vail and other nearby areas. And, on our way out of Denver, we decided to detour to Boulder for the day, having never been there. it was an easy 45 minute drive.

Local eats and drinks

First, let me just say what a beautiful time of year August is in Colorado. An especially enjoyable respite from the heat and humidity in Florida this time of year. We started our day with lunch at The Sink, which came highly recommended from our followers on Twitter. It didn’t disappoint. We had a pizza on their honey whole wheat, to which Chadd liberally applied the honey they brought to the table. A couple of local brews and a beautiful afternoon on the patio – what’s not to like about a meal like that?

Campus tour

We were able to snag a great parking spot in a small lot right by The Sink, so we decided to leave the car and walk over to tour campus. It was an easy half mile over to Folsom Field, which we were particularly interested in seeing since we both cover college football for a living. We couldn’t resist a photo opp with the buffalo statute outside the stadium. Thank you to the kind coed who pitied our attempts at a selfie and this shot for us.

The gates were all locked, but I was able to sneak some pictures between the gates. You can see the expansion project taking shape on the north end of the stadium, which is slated to be done in time for the 2015 season (click on any image to enlarge):

Colorado is also building a new indoor practice facility – the first in the nation that will be self-sustaining thanks to solar panels on the roof. Click on any image below to enlarge:

One of the most surprising things to me about the campus was the Tuscan-inspired architecture. The whole campus was absolutely stunning, from the architecture to the views of the surrounding mountains. I could definitely see why going to school here would be appealing.

Exploring downtown Boulder

We spent time in two different areas of town: The Hill (where we had lunch adjacent to campus) and downtown. The downtown area was just under a mile from where we parked at The Hill and we easily found parking in a garage. Downtown was full of the types of shopping and restaurants you’d expect in a college town, and it was very walkable with one pedestrian-only stretch down Pearl Street known as the Pearl Street Mall.

Boulder was definitely worth a day trip, and I can see the appeal of going to school here at University of Colorado Boulder. We highly recommend a visit if you find yourself in Denver or anywhere else nearby.