Western Trip Day 7 - Boulder, Brainard Lake, & Gold Hill

Our first full day in Colorado brought us to some more incredible places.  We visited Boulder,  a city outside of Denver that always intrigued me.  Stephen King has written frequently about it,  and symbolically used it as the good and polar opposite of Las Vegas,  which he fittingly  - and accurately - identified with the bad. I  found that many Coloradans seemed to mostly agree with that sentiment,  and were impressed by King's ability to see this.

Boulder is,  in many ways,  the ideal American city. It reminded me of some of my first trips to the west,  especially to the Pacific Northwest. Here in the Boulder area,  you see an approach to life that seems far more positive and reflective of what the country could be on a national level,  rather than what it presently is.

This is a very clean and vibrant city that feels young and optimistic,  and it is surrounded by incredible natural beauty.  It is close to the majestic peaks of the Colorado Rockies, although from the downtown,  you mostly still only see the foothills that essentially hide the taller,  more impressive mountains.

As we made our way outside of Boulder and deeper into the mountain country,  we saw a ton of people parked along the side of the road and either hiking,  climbing,  or both.  Obviously,  this area is a virtual paradise for the outdoors enthusiast.

We went through Nederland,  the last seeming town of significant size, before we were really into hardcore mountain country. The mountains,  and the views which they offered,  grew increasingly more impressive.

We had learned about Brainard Lake, which is not so much a well known tourist destination,  although it easily could be. This was a park in Ward,  Colorado,  which gives out on some breathtaking views of snowcapped peaks.

Ward itself is rather interesting.  Of course,  it is blessed by the idyllic Rocky mountains that it is at the heart of,  but the residents,  mindful of the strong appeal of the place,  wanted to do something to avoid getting priced out, knowing that the threat of being forced out by wealthy people was very real. And so,  what they did is line the roads of the town with old,  dead cars. Some of them are painted to become interesting in their own right,  and clearly lend this place a feel of being for free spirits,  a virtual paradise for hippies and free thinkers.

Close by is a similar community,  and one of the most unbelievable placesthat I have ever been to.  It is called Gold Hill,  and as the name suggests,  it had it's roots in the old days of the gold rush.  The town still retains much of the original look and feel of an old western town,  yet the residents live modern lives. We ate at the Gold Hill Inn, which serves locally produced food for a six course meal (so bring a good appetite after mountain climbing). You eat your meal  while music (mostly activist) plays. It was one of the most unique dining experiences of my life.

What a first full day in Colorado! On the way back to Boulder,  the moon looked positively beautiful,  hovering above the lights of the greater metropolitan area.  Not sure if my cellphone picture captured it in all of it's glory,  but I figured it would be worth adding nonetheless.