azcoyote

Tis in fact the same one. We took it to Chicago Basin and used it for our start point for 5 days of backpacking through the basin. On the 5th day of our exit, we camped near the tracks and were planning on hiking out to the road the next morning to be picked up by our ride. Little did we know about the evening wine train that came by, stopped, and about 200 pax stretched their legs. We had all the train pax peeking in our tents, checking out what was on the stove, and asking about our trip.

what a hoot.

Lincoln

Nice, I have it bookmarked.

Oh nice, I was thinking I'd probably have to return it to the same location, good to know I wont suffer a penalty by dropping it off at the airport instead.

rtd131

There is a nice scenic Railroad in Georgetown (on the I-70, a little out of your way) that tours the mines and everything. Lasts a couple hours.

John Galt

I almost hit one Saturday at about 10:00 AM. close enough to where I was thinking "Front legs or back legs?"

I can't remember if I've ever seen them on I-70 or 285, though. This was a two-lane country road (Brook Forest) in Evergreen.

Lincoln

Is this the one? http://www.georgetownlooprr.com

It looks nice too, close enough to Denver that I could take a quick drive there while exploring the nearby scenic byways while I'm staying in the city.

njx9

I think it was six or seven years ago that I last saw an elk on 70, but it was just around the first right turn (heading up into the mountains) after the hogback at about 3am. I still have no idea how I neither hit it, nor lost control.

I've seen a lot more bighorn sheep on the highways, but they're usually just licking the salt off the pavement.

Lincoln

With some great trip ideas now given, I'd like to get some input on what you might consider CAN'T miss eateries, particular the kind of food the region is famous for (I'm gonna guess steak is near the top of the list.) One native said I simply can't leave until I've tried a huckleberry milkshake, so I've added that to my gorgefest list. I want to keep things low carb if I can though, with treats like gelato and shakes at a minimum, so I don't expect to visit specialty shops that serve those kind of treats often.

Other than that, very interested in finding dining experiences unique to this region. Any suggestions appreciated!

njx9

Fair warning, I have a fair amount of bias, and ymmv on all of the below...

Places to eat in Denver... I'd skip the steak. I've seen utterly no difference and I've never gone to a place that made it any better than I do at home. That said, if it's really your thing, The Fort is sort of a fun experience, though the Buckhorn Exhange is better.

Denver has some great Mexican places, but they tend to be 'hole in the wall' variety (Maria Elenas, for instance, has some of my favorite green chile, and by far the best tamales I've had in Denver, and while Santiago's has it's charm, the green chile is, imo, barely a step above canned).

In spite of the fact that we're landlocked, the sushi in Denver is generally excellent. Sushi Den seems to be a local favorite, but I generally find it's more because people want to be seen there than that their sushi is really all that much better than anywhere else (ymmv, of course). I'd generally go to Domo first, though it's not really the same style of Japanese.

Beyond standard ethnic food, you'd get into stuff like Fruition (a farm to fresh kind of place), Mizuna (totally not a unique place, but my favorite restaurant in Denver), or even the Cherry Cricket (great burgers).

As far as fast food, Illegal Pete's is what Chipotle would be if Chipotle tasted like anything.

I guess, ultimately, there's a lot of variety, depending on what you're looking for. I've found Denver generally does 'healthy' food better than nearly anywhere else I've traveled (in the US), but that seems to me to translate across everything. More fresh ingredients, more local focus (at the higher ends), etc.

Lincoln

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm largely interested in sampling the kind of foods I normally wouldn't experience back home and that's fairly unique to that region (e.g. Torchy's in Austin, TX or Skyline Chili in Cincy, OH). It's one of the things I love about travel, although unfortunately it also has a tendency of reminding me how crappy the food is back home.

John Galt

I like the green chile, but on the whole, I've been VERY unimpressed with the food here. I'm biased - Houston has one of the best restaurant scenes in America....however, to give you a more concrete idea...I've lost 50 lbs since I moved here. I have not eaten a single meal that I'd say was worth a flight specifically to enjoy - like I have in ORD, HOU, or SFO. Most of the great meals I've had here, the food was a supporting castmember - it was the setting that was special.

Some of it is personal taste - Dallas Mexican food tastes different from Houston Mexican food (Immigrants from Mexico settling in the HOU area tend to be from Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon. Not sure where Denver or Dallas immigrants are from...I'm guessing the interior somewhere, as you can get canned huitlacoche here but not HOU).

The best luck I've had are bakeries and diners in small towns. AND BREWPUBS. Coloradoans like them some good beer. Tommyknockers is good (Idaho Springs) but you can get brewpub grub anywhere. I'm a fan of Restaurant Kevin Taylor, but again, that kind of "New American" cuisine is not specifically Denver.

We spent 1 1/2 days in Santa Fe...good food there.

Lincoln

Since I won't only be in Denver (but Arizona, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota too), I wanted to make sure while I was blazing the highways that I wasn't blowing right by a hidden gem of a restaurant. Other than that, where to dine is not a priority. Heck my first stop will probably be Whole Foods (love that place!)

njx9

Did forget to mention the beer... While pub food is pub food, some of the events the brewers throw are terrific (Great Divide in Denver is fantastic at it), and have good food they bring in from around the city (in Austin's trailer style).

I guess, ultimately, I don't think there's 'Colorado food' per se, but since it's been such an immigrant state for the last twenty years, we've started to draw a lot of really good stuff from all over (though, it seems, primarily CA and TX).

Thinking on it, I might focus on specific dishes, depending on where you go (based on what you've asked). I don't know that I've ever had lamb better than the locally produced stuff. Buffalo is also far better here than anyplace I've had it. Depending on timing, the peaches are amazing. Maybe that will be more helpful.

When I'm in Santa Fe, I generally focus far more on the New Mexican food (which is not necessarily anything like Mexican/TexMex food). Tecolote Cafe is a favorite for breakfast, did El Parasol last time I was down and thought it was good, but not worth the apparently long line that's usually there (on hearsay, so it may never have a long wait), Tesuque Village Market was also excellent for breakfast and is right off 285, and the Rancho de Chimayo was a place we frequently went with the family.

Lincoln

I can't wait to get my hands on a buffalo burger again, the only time I had a chance to try one was in Vegas and I could not believe how good it tasted. I'll definitely be looking for it on the menu while I'm exploring the Rockies.

Diamondback

I'd recommend doing SD on another trip. I90 is quite a boring drive and adds a lot for you to make the big loop. You could spend the extra days in Jackson/Tetons/Yellowstone and then fly back out of SLC.

Lincoln

That's why I'm planning to do that particular leg of the trip first, just to get the plateau/prairie land driving out of the way. The reason I want to hit SD is not so because of SD but because I want to see Devils Tower. I simply MUST see Devils Tower. I HAVE to see Devils Tower. And since the tower is close enough to Mt Rushmore it'd behoove me not to extend the loop to include Rapid City too.

I'm assuming the break in seeing Devils Tower, then passing through the Bighorn mountains will help break up some of the monotony on my way to Yellowstone. I should be able to handle it since I drove the entire state of Mississippi once and managed to stay awake the whole time. Literally, straight as an arrow and flat as a pancake. My goodness. That's when having an iPod playlist filled with Van Halen and Def Leppard comes in handy.