It’s official, I have the post vacation blues and just over here daydreaming about how I can move out west. Any suggestions? At least I can relive our Colorado trip through this post and start planning where we will go next! The last couple years I have gone on trips to celebrate my birthday and I think I need to make that a tradition because traveling is just the best. Last year, my husband and I went to Austin Texas and I competed in a Spartan race. This year, I made it a girls trip and went to Colorado with my mom and two sisters to explore and here is a rundown of what we did!
Day 1
We flew into Denver in the early morning and went straight to brunch at Just be Kitchen. This is a newer cafe in downtown Denver that offers a ton of paleo options and it is absolutely adorable. They have a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. I ended up getting the Fulfilled Breakfast Burrito which was wrapped in paleo tortilla with eggs, sausage, “cheddar wiz”, sweet potato hash, pork green chili, cilantro, scallion and jalepeno. It was to die for! I have never ordered a burrito of any sort at a restaurant because they are always stuffed with foods I can’t eat and wrapped in a flour tortilla. This burrito was out of this world good! My sisters got the Simplicity and it came with these adorable and delicious paleo biscuits that I think I need to recreate. My mom got the Faith Open Chicken Sandwich. Everything tasted amazing and I left there feeling amazing which is always a win when eating out! They also have amazing drinks!
It was a good thing we fueled well at breakfast because the next part of the day was all about hiking. We made our way to Boulder to the Eldorado Canyon State Park. I had planned to hike the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail because online it said it was an easier hike and I figured that would be better for me being preggers. Well, we passed it coming in and instead we found the Eldorado Canyon Trail map which showed a 3.5 mile trail into the mountains that took you to a raging river and then you have to hike the 3.5 miles out. At that moment, that didn’t sound that bad. However, we later learned that this trail was marked as moderately difficult which we very soon learned through experience. I was determined to make it to the raging river at the end so when my mom and older sister decided to turn around my younger sister and I kept going. To get to the river, we had to hike about half a mile down into this valley and the trail got a little hairy at times as we had to somewhat boulder over massive rocks. The way down wasn’t so bad, but the way up was intense. It did, however, make the rest of the hike feel much easier! We made it to the river and it was beautiful! These pictures don’t do it justice. The hike out of the mountain was much easier as it was majority a decline. We ended up hiking for 3.5 hours which didn’t seem like that long at all. This trail was absolutely amazing and beautiful and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a challenge!
After the hike we headed to downtown Boulder to Pearl Street. It’s a 4 block street lined with restaurants, shops and street performers that is closed off to traffic. We stopped at a pub for some food (I got bacon wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese) and then walked around to different shops and stopped for some ice cream. After that, we headed to dinner! We went to Blooming Beets which is another restaurant with a lot of paleo options. We all ended up getting tacos which they had two version of. I got The Superfood Tacos which were on a cassava-coconut tortilla with friend cauliflower rice, avocado, chive aioli, grilled chicken, bacon and power greens. One of my sisters for the Grilled Chicken Tacos that were on a cassava-coconut tortilla with crispy sweet potatoes, house made chicken, salsa, lemon garlic aioli and powergreens. Both tacos were amazing, but I ended up like my sisters better. We washed dinner down with molten chocolate LAVA cake and an ice cream sandwich that we all shared. Everything was amazing! I highly recommend this restaurant if you are ever in Boulder! The only downside is that they don’t have air conditioning so we were a bit toasty since Colorado temps were above average and in the 90s!
Day 2
We started the day with brunch at Morning Collective in Denver. This is another great tasting restaurant with tons of healthy and gluten free options. I got the Healthy Loaded Bowl which I asked to be dairy free and a gluten free blueberry pancake. The bowl was loaded with veggies and fingerling potatoes and topped with two eggs. It was fresh and just what I needed after our intense day of hiking!
After breakfast, we headed to Colorado Springs to the Garden of the Gods where we hopped on a jeep tour of the park. They also offer trolley and segway tours. Our tour guide, Dakota, took us around the entire park giving us an extensive and interesting history of the park. It was really cool! It would have been fun to hike the park as well, but we wouldn’t have been able to see near as much as we did on the tour. Definitely a beautiful park to stop at if you are traveling with kids.
We then drove a short distance to the Broadmoor Seven Falls. We were lucky enough that all seven falls were open because we later found out a few of them have been dried up the last few years. This was another stunning park and great to go to if traveling with a family! You can even climb 200 some steps to the top of the falls which we of course did!
Dinner was at the Ivy Wild School Brewery & Pub which was an old elementary school turned into a brewery and restaurant. It was so cool! It not only has a restaurant and brewery, but it also has a cafe and bakery and event space. The original gym and bathrooms are used and they even cook all of the food in the original kitchen. It was a really awesome find! I got a bunless burger with bacon and mushrooms and sweet potato waffle fries. The bakery had a flourless chocolate cake which I wanted so bad, but had to pass because I was too full! If you are ever in Colorado Springs, definitely check this place out!
Day 3
Our last full day was all about living the city life in downtown Denver! We headed straight to Union Station for brunch at Snooze an AM Eatery. Snooze has a really big menu with tons of gluten free options and it is so easy to build the perfect breakfast that fits your lifestyle. I built a three egg omelet and got a gluten free peanut butter cup pancake. Everything was amazing once again and I so badly wished we had a Snooze closer. The only thing is, if you go here expect to wait. They are busy all.the.time. Worth it though!
We bopped around Union Station and then made our way to the 16th Street Mall. This is a mile long street packed with shopping, restaurants and attractions. We walked, but you can also take a free shuttle to different areas. We wandered and stopped at a few stores and bars. I wished I wasn’t so full from brunch because there were cute food vendors along the street that I definitely wanted to try.
Day 4
Our travel day home we squeezed in one more brunch at Root Down in the Denver airport. This is another great option for gluten free eaters or anyone looking to eat fresher healthier foods while traveling. I got Carrot Coconut French Toast with a side of scrambled eggs and it was perfection.
Recap
Where we ate:
- Just be Kitchen
- Blooming Beets
- Morning Collective
- IvyWild School Brewery & Pub
- Snooze an AM Eatery
- Root Down
What to do:
- Eldorado Canyon Sate Park
- Pearl Street
- Rattlesnack Gulch
- Garden of the Gods
- Broadmoor Seven Falls
- Union Station
- 16th Street Mall
This was an amazing trip and I can’t wait to go back and explore more! Hopefully this was helpful if you are planning a Colorado trip any time soon!
