Our friend Jonathan got married this past October and we were so excited to be able to join for his special day, and also to get the opportunity to go to Colorado for the first time! The wedding was in Parker so we stayed there for the first few nights and then stayed at an Airbnb in Denver for the rest of our trip. All together we had six days in Colorado, and it wasn’t nearly long enough, but we still got to see so much!

The wedding was at a church in Parker, so just outside of Denver and the rehearsal dinner was at a Brazilian steakhouse called Fogo de Chão which was amazing! All you can eat meat is definitely right up Dan’s alley and they paired everything with tons of delicious sides and a giant salad bar too. It was so nice getting the chance to catch up and explore with friends who also made it to the wedding.

The highlight of the trip (other than the wedding) was definitely Pikes Peak. Denver was definitely more desert-like than either of us expected, but once we got to the mountains the whole landscape changed. Pikes Peak is just over 14,000 feet in elevation and we made it up to about 13,000 feet. Unfortunately, the top of the mountain was getting so icy that they closed much of the road down, but we were actually able to wait it out to get as far as we did which was exciting. Apparently the view that we got at the lookout that we made it to is actually just as good of a view as at the very top. They say that on a clear day you can actually see the curvature of the earth from the top of Pikes Peak.

After our drive up the mountain, we stopped by the nearby town of Manitou Springs which was incredibly cute and full of little shops. At one shop we stopped at Dan gave one of the women working there a good laugh by explaining how he was currently working to hike all of the 4,000 feet tall mountains in New Hampshire. Turns out in Colorado they have a challenge to hike all of the 14,000 footers like we do the 4,000 footers. We filled up on beignets, hot cider, and then made our way to Garden of the Gods – another must see if you’re able to rent a car. It’s right in the area which was super convenient, because then we headed back to a fondue restaurant we had walked by in Manitou Springs! It was decadent and we were nearly too tired and stuffed to drive back to our Airbnb.