Colorado Food, Shopping, Wildlife and Downtown Denver

A Little Bit of This and That with Travel

(Not a sponsored post. All images property of Debbie Ross/debbiethisandthat.com)

If you read the title of this blog post, it sounds like a lot of info to cover, doesn't it?  Today, I will be sharing more about our Colorado trip focusing on several aspects of the fun. Namely, some of the great food we enjoyed, shopping we did, wildlife we saw and our excursion to downtown Denver. Whew....let's get started! If you happened to miss the first post I did about our Colorado trip to the Rocky Mountains, you can catch up here.

Food

What's a vacation without great food?  Although the focus of our trip really wasn't about eating....we did manage to get in some good eating along the way at some fun dining spots! 

One day we drove the entire length of Trail Ridge Road from one side of RMNP to the other going from Estes Park to Grand Lake on the other side. We ate at a restaurant we had visited before called, Sagebrush BBQ and Grill. It is on the site of the former 1800's courthouse and jail. We were seated next to an antique jail cell door. The whole restaurant is designed around an old west theme.  

I indulged in a yummy burger while Mr.thisandthat enjoyed the chicken sandwich. Of course, what's a sandwich without fries?!

Our first night in Estes Park, we chose to eat at Peppers Mexican Grill. We had eaten there during last year's trip and wanted to return for another delicious meal.

I tucked into a veggie quesadilla......

While hubby enjoyed a vegetarian salad. 

All of the ingredients were so fresh and delicious. Definitely worth a second visit!

Shopping

Now, you didn't think I would go all the way to Colorado and not do at least a little shopping did you? I dedicated one day in downtown Estes Park to visiting some of my favorite stores.

Purchased this lovely reversible table runner at Granny Gingham. Love to shop in this store. Can always find something I like!

Also found some new bling at Dakotah Jewelry. This pink bracelet is a wrap around style and will match perfectly with the ring I purchased at the same store last year. They don't have an online website that I could find, but you can Google them for more info.

And you know I had to do some thrift shopping while I was traveling! The hubby and I discovered a local community thrift store in Estes Park last year and returned to it this year after eating at one of our fave restaurants in Estes Park, The Big Horn. Couldn't believe it when I found this Vera Bradley purse for a mere three dollars!! The thrift store is located in the same shopping plaza as The Big Horn.

I came home and researched this particular pattern. Evidently, this pattern is called "Maison Blue" and is a rare, retired pattern that was manufactured between 2002-2004.  Score!!!

Wildlife

This fella greeted us as we came into Estes Park so I snapped a photo. Then he took off in flight....

The wildlife we saw was varied and exciting to see....although, alas, no Bighorn Sheep! I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

The picture above was taken with my phone and doesn't do justice to this beautiful herd of over 100 elk. (My regular camera battery had died). The elk were calling to one another as family units gathered together in the field just inside the park. There were tiny baby elk in the center with one male sitting with them while the females surrounded the babies in a circular fashion. One head female placed herself between the herd and all of the human onlookers. When the herd decided to move on, they lined up in family units and walked together in a line up and over a knoll. It was a gorgeous site to behold!

Downtown Denver

Although we have visited family each year in a suburb of Denver, I have never been to downtown Denver until this trip. We rode the train into downtown which was a lot of fun and avoided the crazy traffic and trying to find parking. 

Our final destination on the train was Union Station which was HUGE and filled with people. 

Downtown Denver was bustling with people, tall buildings and a street fair going on as we walked around.

It was also EXTREMELY hot.....must have been 100 degrees....I was pretty uncomfortable.

I thought this huge chess set was kind of fun.  People were playing as part of the street fair.

There was a giant checker set also. 

It was so hot downtown, though, that it was with relief that we boarded the train and headed back to the suburbs. I have to say that although it was great to see downtown Denver.....I'll still pick the mountains as my favorite spot every time!

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So, those are some highlights from my most recent travels. Hope you enjoyed coming along with me. It's great to be back home!

How about you?  Been on any travel adventures of your own lately? Eaten at a great restaurant?  Suffered from the scorching heat of summer?  Hope you'll take a moment to share. It's always so great to hear from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

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