In July 2021 I had the opportunity to go to Colorado with my friend Quyen. It was my first time visiting the state and I thought it was fantastic. We stayed in Denver for four days, each day taking a day trip to various locations around the state. ### Colorado Springs: Garden of the Gods We arrived in Denver at 8am on Friday and immediately proceeded to the Garden of the Gods. <iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m16!1m12!1m3!1d24848.564530405667!2d-104.88433042740981!3d38.87662730249861!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!2m1!1sgarden%20of%20the%20gods!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1628263826571!5m2!1sen!2sus" width="600" height="450" style="border:0;" allowfullscreen="" loading="lazy"></iframe> This area is known for its red-rock features. ![[garden-gods-me.pic.jpg]] ![[garden-gods.pic.png]] [Second Photo Source](https://www.gardenofgods.com/your-visit/visit1/trails-and-hiking) After hiking around the park for a good 2 hours, we visited Cheba Hut. Maybe the best sandwich chain I have visited yet. ![[cheba-hut.pic.jpg]] ### Mt. Evans: Hell's Hole On the second day we had planned on visiting [Mt. Evans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Evans), but it turns out that you need to make reservations due to COVID. We found a trail to hike in the area nearby called [Hell's Hole](https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/hells-hole-trail). The trail was 4 miles up to a valley at 12,000 feet; a fantastic and isolated place. ![[hells-hole-me.pic.jpg]] ### Mt. Evans: Summit On the third day, we got to visit Mt. Evans! This was my first time going above the timberline, and it feels like a whole other world. Fortunately, Mt. Evans has the highest paved road in North America, so we were able to go up to the top in the car, a gentle introduction to climbing above 14,000 feet, which I hope to do more in the future. ![[mt-evans-me.pic.jpg]] ![[mt-evans-1.pic.jpg]] ![[mt-evans-2.pic.jpg]] ![[mt-evans-goats.pic.jpg]] Apparently, Mt. Evans was also the site of a lot of high-energy physics research, so we got to see the observatory as well. The Mt. Evans telescope is the 3rd-highest observatory in the world! Prior to visiting Mt. Evans, we spent the morning in Denver checking out the aquarium and the air and space museum. The aquarium had a special feature: a tiger! Across from the tiger was a giant macaw, who I'm sure spends a good portion of his time taunting the tiger from across the room. The air and space museum had by far the most nuke casings I've seen in one place. Somewhat unsettling, but we did get to see their bearer: a B-1 Lancer. ![[b1-bomber.pic.jpg]] ### Manitou Springs: Manitou Incline Our fourth and final day in Colorado had us climbing the infamous [Manitou Incline](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitou_Incline). The trail ascends almost 2,000 feet in a short 0.88 miles. It took me an hour to finish climbing, but the world record is less than 17 minutes! ![[manitou0-incline.jpg]] ### Reflection I really enjoyed visiting Colorado. The weather was clear and beautiful for the duration of our visit, so we were able to visit a lot of excellent features. It's a huge state though, and I'm hoping to go back. --- #Blog #2021/8 *August 6, 2021*