For our summer vacation this year, we used another concert to book the location. The Avett Brothers, our favorites, play Red Rocks Amphitheater each year and that's always been a goal destination. It's a big-deal venue and artists generally create some special shows for the occasion. Also, I've seen two shows at Red Rocks and Dave & the kids have never been, so it became a must do.
The tickets were purchased first, in the early winter, so the rest was up to me to book. And Aspen became a dream destination, as did seeing my sister and her girlfriend in Vail. Here's how it shook out.
Denver
The first part of the trip was obviously all about the concerts. We stayed at the Spring Hill Suites in Lakewood, right near in the Colorado Mills shopping center. This was a dream location, because it was 10 minutes from Red Rocks, and near restaurants, shops and a movie theater (yes, we saw Superman and YES it was awesome).
We spent a day in Denver and eh, let's say you can skip the downtown area. There wasn't much to see and do. But Golden and Boulder were well-worth the stops. They were not only beautiful, but hoppin' with shops, places to eat, coffee bars and more. We ate at Snooze in Boulder and loved it. And Humble House Cafe in Golden, which was full of college kids and pretty good coffee.
Red Rocks is one of the best venues in the world and well-worth the trip to see a beloved band or artist. Parking is easy and free. And it's stunningly beautiful.
Aspen
This was a must-see on Dave's list and I'm glad we made the time. It was a four-hour drive from Denver up to Snowmass where we stayed at the Viewline Resort in Snowmass (don't highly recommend, the AC unit was incredibly loud).
And from there, it was a 10 minute drive to downtown Aspen. We parked and walk around Main and Galena Streets, weaving in and out of shops. The mountain views were incredible and I can see why people would love to live in this ideal buzzy town.
The resort was part of the Snowmass ski resort and wow what a world I didn't even know exists. They're these little villages with their own shops, restaurants and hotels. (Though, the prices are insanely high.) We explored for two days, including a very satisfying "hike" (walk in woods) with a coffee one morning that I got to just stare at wildflowers, babbling brooks and Aspen trees.
Beaver Creek
Our last and longest stay was at the Osprey in the Beaver Creek village. My sister had a hook-up that got us a great deal on two beautiful rooms in this picturesque ski village. It was the best hotel by far. And Beaver Creek was just outside the door with restaurants and shops to wander through when we had extra time. Being off-season, it was relaxed and easy to get around and walk into any spot to eat. The food wasn't too exciting, but everything else was perfect.
We took gondola rides to the top of Beaver Creek and Arrowhead and the views were just incredible. We explored Vail village that looks like a Swiss Village and Epcot center, in all the best ways, and watched a Women's Euro Cup game while eating pizza.
Overall
Even though there was probably more driving than we wanted, we got a lot out of the drives. We saw amazing views, great music and got to spend time with my sister who is very proud of where she lives and was excited to show it off to all of us. Alice as particularly interesting in Boulder's college, so we might be back sooner than we planned.
I also got to relive my family trip to Colorado when I was 14ish. And the backpack trip I took with the youth group I went on for a week in the mountains when I was 17ish.
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