Denver & Golden, CO

Aug 27     Fruita - Golden, CO     251 miles     5 hours

It was raining this morning so we didn't leave until 930am. Joe drove right thru with no stops. We were a little nervous on this drive thru the mountain passes with the rainy weather but we just took our time thru the mountains. The rain wasn't as bad as we thought it would be.

Leaving Grand Junction

Golden, Colorado is beautiful. We're staying at the Clear Creek RV Park, $50 per night, full hookups, Good Sam rate. It's situated right outside downtown Golden with scenic views and the bubbling sounds of Clear Creek. Our site is right along the creek. The only negative is there's a walking trail right behind us. So between us and the creek there's a lot of foot traffic. Lots of people running, hiking, biking, and going up with their tubes so they can tube all the way down, about 1/2 mile runs.

Enjoying a glass of wine

Aug 28     Golden & Denver

Got up late this morning and walked into town for an early lunch at Capital Diner. Pretty good. Everything is within walking distance in Golden. Lots of walking trails, seems like everyone is active around here.

Walking to town

In the late afternoon, we went into Denver to meet Scott and Donna. They drove in from Las Vegas. We're going to the Broncos preseason game tomorrow night. We had dinner at Grimaldi's Pizza and walked part of the 16th Street Mall. A tree-lined promenade of red and gray granite that runs through the center of Downtown, Denver. The Mall is filled with outdoor cafes, renovated historic office buildings, sparkling glass-walled skyscrapers, shops,restaurants, and retail stores. Lots of bums and sketchy people hanging out at night. Not the safest place.

Dinner with Scott & Donna

Aug 29     Game Day

This morning we went to the Golden Farmers Market. This is probably the best farmers market I've been to. They had everything....fruits & vegetables, baked goods, flowers, pastas, honey, wines, beef, chicken & buffalo meat, sausages, dog treats, food trucks. Was kind of crowded but the best thing was, almost every vendor had samples. I tasted everything, didn't have to eat breakfast! We bought a lot of stuff.




The RV and Kia was pretty dirty from our drive from Grand Junction. We wiped down both vehicles, took us kind of long and it was hot!

Afterwards, Joe and I cooled off in the creek. Today is Saturday and the creek is full of people in their tubes.

See the people in their tubes

Appaloosa Grill at 16th Street Mall

We drove into Denver to meet Donna and Scott for the big game. We had a late lunch at Appaloosa Grill, then took the light rail to the Sports Authority Mile High Stadium. Lots of people, it was like a sea of orange. So many Broncos fans, unbelievable.

Outside the stadium

Introducing the team

The stadium's capacity is 76,125 and tonight's attendance was over 73,000. What an awesome experience, so much to see. Can't wait for another opportunity to see an NFL game.










Aug 30      Golden

Buffalo Bill's grave

Lookout Mountain

This morning we took a drive to Mt Zion, Lookout Mountain and checked out Buffalo Bills Grave. It was a winding road all the way up the mountain with lots of bicyclist.

On the way down we went around the backside to avoid all the bicyclist. Thought we knew what we were doing but got lost.
                           







Back in Golden we drove to the Coors Brewery for the tour. Was real crowded, people waiting in line in the hot sun. The wait was an hour so we decided to skip it. We found a Walmart to look for tubes so we can go down the creek. Unfortunately, all sold out.

This is our last night at Clear Creek RV Park. We're going to try free camping at Cabela's tomorrow.

Aug 31   Golden - Thornton, CO     27 miles   45 min

Before leaving Golden, CO we went to the Coors Brewery and took the tour. It's located right here in Golden, Colorado. Was a pretty good tour. We could have up to 3 glasses of beer but I only had 1 because Joe didn't want any...he said he knows what beer taste like. I guess he only drinks when he has to pay for it.

The hospitality room was nice

Nice place for free

We drove to Cabela's in Thornton, not too far only about 27 miles. Cabela's allow free RV camping in their parking lot. We went into the store to shop and when we came out Joe noticed something leaking from the engine. It looked like the radiator was leaking. He called around for someone to look at this for us and finally got Ford in Longmont, a little ways north from here. But they can't see us until Wednesday.