I always dreamed of traveling west everywhere.
As a child, my family vacationed primarily on the North Carolina coast or in the Blue Ridge Mountains—with a few trips to Walt Disney World saved for special occasions. I took three school trips to Europe during high school and visited California just before college. But my world was small, for the most part.
For years, I wanted to visit Colorado to see a concert at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. When Brandon and I embarked on our 50 in 5 adventures it was the first state we visited together where neither of us had been before. We explored Denver and saw my favorite band at the time, NEEDTOBREATHE, at Red Rocks before traveling on to Wyoming and Nebraska. We’ve returned to ‘Colorful Colorado’ several more times since our first visit in 2017 and have toyed with the idea of moving there (at least for a summer!).
I’ve always loved the mountains. Colorado feels to me like the mountains I know in North Carolina, but grown up. Every turn in the road brings a new peak into view. I like Denver, but I love exploring the small towns even more. Each one has a unique story and history. Frisco and Georgetown are favorites of ours, and Steamboat Springs is next on my list to visit next. We have a favorite German restaurant in Boulder and on our last visit, I realized my favorite New York City boba shop also has a Boulder location. We visited Colorado Springs in 2021, where I received the worst sunburn of my adult life. And in 2023 we returned to Red Rocks for another concert with The Head and the Heart. We flew to Colorado once for a long weekend just to see another favorite band, The Lone Bellow, perform with the Colorado Symphony.
We’ve toured Rocky Mountain National Park and attended the stampede in Greeley, which was truly a highlight of my life. We’ve driven I-70 through snow and rain and sunshine (probably in the same day!). It’s an easy, direct flight from Charlotte to Denver… and one I’d take again and again. At the very least, I must return for a meal at Casa Bonita.
For all of our Colorado adventures, there’s so much of the state we’ve yet to see. I look forward to slowly chipping away at all that’s left to do and experience. Maybe I’ll even learn to ski one of these days.
