Delightful Denver

Posted on by beautybeyondbones

I’ve discovered a new favorite city.

Denver, Colorado.

Home of the Broncos. Home of the Rockies. Home of rugged mountain men and crystal blue skies.

And I fell in love.

…With the city that is.

But quite honestly, I had an incredible stay. In between my shoot days, I had the pleasure of exploring! The city is a fabulous destination for young people, and I wanted to share with you my adventure!

You already know my church-filled weekend at Red Rocks Church and Holy Ghost Church. That’s the beautiful thing – people believe in God out here in the mountains. It was so refreshing compared to, say…NYC.

I bopped into daily mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception too — definitely worth the visit — even just for the stained glass windows!

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There is so much to explore in the city. And the weather was so nice that I did most of it by foot, or on their super-user-friendly public transportation system.

That’s the thing – there are so many different neighborhoods, each with their own distinct feel. There’s Union Station, LoDo, RiNo (River North Art District), Capitol Hill, Colfax, City Park, Five Points. Just get out and walk around! I had so much fun wandering into different shops and book stores and coffee shops, just getting a flavor of the area.

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I loved all the street art throughout all the different neighborhoods too. The graffiti itself is a work of art.

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Speaking of art…Denver has a vibrant museum scene! I spent one afternoon at the Denver Art Museum. My favorite exhibit showcased fashion and textile arts.

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Later that day I wandered into the Molly Brown Museum at her historic home! And yes – Molly Brown as in the “Unsinkable Molly Brown” – who survived the Titanic. She and her family have deep roots in Denver. It was really an interesting stop!

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And then the food. Wow – Denver has an incredible food scene. And lucky for me, they make a real conscious effort to be inclusive for people with gluten allergies out here.

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My favorite meal of the trip was from a Grain and Gluten Free restaurant called The Just BE Kitchen. And seriously it was like the menu was created for my Specific Carb Diet! I had this gorgeous “Enchanted Salad” with all these roasted veggies and pumpkin seeds and toasted coconut. I will definitely be trying to recreate it!

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And much to my surprise, they sold Generous Coffee at the register! Just last week, I went to an event for Generous Coffee in NYC! It’s a truly awesome organization that sells “life-changing” coffee to create and multiply good in the world. They’re providing jobs and opportunities for people in Honduras. And it’s co-founded by the former Bachelor, Ben Higgins. So pretty cool that this cafe supports the cause! (And this is not sponsored or an ad, I just really love their mission! You can learn more here.)

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I also enjoyed several smoothie bowls. The more almonds, the better!

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And to keep the cost down, I also had several dinners from the Whole Foods salad/hot bar. That is such a great tip for traveling on a budget. Stock up on snack/lunch foods from the local grocery store! (This is my favorite travel snack!)

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Next – the bar scene. Let me just tell you – there are so many watering holes in this city. Each with its own story. Each with a different vibe – relaxed, trendy, quirky, “granola.” You won’t be disappointed.

Another thing that doesn’t disappoint: nature. Denver is the perfect balance of urban sprawl and nature. There are so many walking/hiking trails. There’s a beautiful river that runs through the city, and people were literally swimming in it! But whatever you do…get outside!

While I was there, it rained quite a bit. So I ended up spending some time in my hotel room. But that was actually quite enjoyable. I was able to get a lot of work done, and would you look at this view?

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Downtown Denver, and I felt like a princess looking out at the tops of all the buildings.

But it’s right in the heart of downtown. Just a block away from the 16th Street Mall, which is another must-visit.

I had such a great experience at the Holiday Inn Express. If you haven’t watched my Instagram Story — go do it now! (I’m posting it right when this post goes live, so you have 24 hours.)

But look at their gym. It was incredible. I mean, it was nicer than my gym in NYC. They had four rooms of cutting edge cardio machines, weight machines, kettle balls, a refreshment center. I was floored with how nice it was.

And then of course, the free breakfast. That’s another one of my budget-friendly travel tips, is stay at a hotel with free breakfast! They even had an instant pancake machine. I mean…pinch me.

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So that was my trip!

I had such a great time. Even more than the exploring, I think the best part was that I really felt God working on my heart while I was here. I always feel closest to Him in nature, and Denver is a great city for that.

But I was reading a great book called, The Right One, which I believe was recommended to me by one of you lovely people. And, I just feel like…He’s at work.

So maybe this trip was all part of His plan.

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Anywho – I’m hopping on a plane tomorrow. Heading to Ohio for another commercial shoot next week. So I’ll catch up with you then! Maybe I’ll have to do another city spotlight while I’m there 🙂

Or if you’re listening to my daily podcast, Oh What a Beautiful Morning!….I’ll talk to ya tomorrow!

Have you ever been to Denver? Where are you traveling this summer?

This post was made possible by my wonderful sponsor, Audible. Listening to audiobooks while I cook is literally my new favorite thing. And just for you, they’re offering a Free 30-Day Trial Membership. And with this free membership, you’re going to get 2 free audiobooks! Literally. Free. It is the best deal ever. And if for some reason, you decide it’s not for you, you can cancel within those 30 days and it’s zero money out of your pocket, plus, you get to keep the 2 audiobooks. Soooo…it’s pretty much a no brainer. Plus, it’s a free and easy way to support this blog! So thank you!! 

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beautybeyondbones

BBB: Because we're all recovering from something. // For speaking/business inquiries: beautybeyondbones@yahoo.com

169 thoughts on “Delightful Denver”

  1. Denver is one of my all-time favorite cites, particularly the Estes Park area with the mountains, trees and constant breeze. Just gorgeous and such a great place to truly experience the beauty of nature!!

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  3. YAAAY! This is my neck of the woods as well– I’m in Northern Colorado though. I live about an hour and a half away! SO glad you enjoyed beautiful Colorado– Jesus is good! 🙂

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  4. Denver is my favorite city (outside of Michigan or Tennessee). The Mile High City features 300+ days of sunshine, a Front Range vista of 14,000-ft mountain peaks, and some great vegetarian restaurants. Many people in Colorado actually pray in public before they eat a meal! I agree with “esoterica” that Estes Park is one of the most beautiful places in America. Travel safely and enjoy the journey!

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    1. Thanks friend! Oh yes I loved Estes Park! We had our sorority formal there! Haha I loved everything about Denver! Hugs and love xox

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  8. Next time you should come on up into the mountains. I live in an old mining town at 10,200 ft. Denver’s a cool city, but the mountains are even better.
    I was in Denver today for a doctor’s appointment… ironic, no?

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    1. Oh wow that’s amazing! Yeah there’s something special about the mountains. So ironic! Hah Hugs and love xox

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  9. I’ve got family out in CO, so we’ve been to Denver/surrounding parts numerous times since I was a kid. My family loves getting up into the mountains when we go visit — truly a beautiful place. 😍⛰

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    1. It really is such a beautiful city!! So glad you know too! 🙂 thanks for stopping by! Hugs and love xox

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  10. Wow! I wish I could have seen some sights while I was there. Unfortunately, I was with my family at the time, and they never want to see anything. Now that I am alone, I can see places. I hope to return and see more of the city. At least you had fun, and those photos are nice.

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  14. I’m glad you had such a great time! Even better that you continue to get more work. It sounds like things are starting to pop for you, and I’m very glad to see it happen. Love, hugs, and prayers…

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  15. If you get back you might try St. Dominic parish in the Highlands neighborhood. That is where the Dominican brothers spend their novitiate year.

    We have been to Denver once and loved it.

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  16. Hey!

    I have been to Denver twice…it changed in the 30 years between visits. Last time was in 2012 with a youth convention. A great city to be sure!

    The Lord be with you!

    Jim

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  17. Yes, been in and out of Denver a couple of times. Toured with a music group based in Loveland, about 50 or so miles north of Denver, so I flew in and out. But I never got the chance to do any sight seeing. Glad you got the chance to look around. I’ve always thought it would be nice to go back just for that someday. Thanks for looking around and posting pics! Have a save flight and enjoy your time in Ohio next week. 💐🤗🤗xox

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    1. Hey Kenneth! Oh wow that’s so awesome! Yeah there’s some cool stuff to explore. Thanks! Hugs and love xox

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  18. So enjoyed your post. I lived in Evergreen for almost 5 years. And Jimmy Evans is amazing. He and his wife have a huge marriage ministry here in Texas. We would love for you to come visit. Praying for you girl❣️💕

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    1. Awww I love evergreen! My bff from college lived there! Oh nice! Thanks for your prayers Missy 🙂 Hugs and love xox

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  20. It sounds like you had a fantastic trip! And it does sound like God is at work here. You discovered a church that, while not Catholic, it is God-centric, has a great number of active attendees, AND a large majority of the congregation is your age! If you are looking for a husband, it makes more sense to go where the pickings are plentiful, rather than few and far between, you know? If you are shopping for a Cadillac, you go to a dealership that has a large number of Cadillacs to choose from. 😉 I believe there are many roads that lead to God–perhaps He is showing you some of the roads that are more populated.

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    1. Thanks Lisa! Yes – God is alive and working overtime! Haha definitely in the market for a Cadillac haha seriously though that’s amazing advice. Thank you. Hugs and love xox

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  21. Yay!!! So glad you had a good trip and felt closer to God. Love the Paleo Gluten Free food offerings! As for spouses, it sure seems harder to find a good one these days, but God is able! Praying for you.

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    1. Thanks! Yeah definitely hard. But I’m trusting Him! Amen! Thank you for the prayers! Hugs and love xox

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  22. Pretty epic trip! I’ll have to live vicariously…I unfortunately don’t think I have time for a vacation this summer. You’re right though, faith is alive out here in the West. Just keep exploring it! 🙂

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      1. If an endless stream of legal cases, and drafting lecture notes for the classes I’m teaching in the fall counts as a “staycation,” then yeah, I think I’m doing it right. Maybe I’ll take a break though with a hike or something. Keep the (inspiring) blog posts coming, and God bless. 🙂

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      2. Oh gosh that’s tough. Yeah a hike will do ya good!! 🙂 good luck!! Hugs and love xox

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  27. Thanks for sharing your impressions about Denver and the many photos telling its own story, dear friend 🙂

    Best I felt with you that you felt our Father working in you while exploring this nice town. And this is we should feel wherever we go, wherever we are – to take Him with us – then He is very close to us, closer even than our own clothes and even skin. And what I really like in this report of yours: We usually only think of God when we have bad times, times of crisis, but to think of Him while feeling in a good mood, in happiness – this is really good and will bring us forward on our path back to Him.

    Thank you so much my friend – because you shared your happiness with me 🙂
    Didi

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    1. Thank you Didi! haha – yeah I got a little snap happy this post! I guess that’s what happens when you let a girl loose in the city with a nice camera! hahah Yes! I moset certainly did feel His presence there. Thanks for saying that 🙂 So glad we could share in that happiness together! have a great weekend! Hugs and love xox

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      1. LOL – you have to take care of your camera – that not you make the walk through the town with your camera, but the camera with you … LOL

        Hugs and love my dear friend 🙂
        Didi

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  29. Wow. Thanks for sharing. I lived there 26 years ago for a 10 month period (when Air Force had technical training there.) Glad to hear it is still the relatively cool place that I remember. Keep up the good work.

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  31. Oh my gosh. You need a book for a man? Ha ha. Reminds me of that Joan Rivers joke, “At 21 mom says find a doctor. At 22, eh…a lawyer, a CPA At 23, maybe a dentist? At 26, my mom says, how about anyone? Look at him right there.”

    I dated a woman in Denver but, I liked the trails better. Golden. Fountain by the air Force Base. Uh. The Pepsi arena downtown kinda connects the whole city by bicycle.

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      1. Obsession toward an ideal mate leaves one very alone. We did the math before remember? Even just wanting two things went from 1.5 million men in the five boroughs to like three tall guys in Manhattan.

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      3. If I was a rich man. I’d bother the crap out of you. You deserve someone that would bother the crap out of you.

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  37. Great stuff! Your enthusiasm comes through. You are such a joyful person! Denver’s a great place and your post makes me want to go back and see it again. Take care… 🙂

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  38. I live North of Denver and I’m so glad you had a great experience. Glad you got to visit our state and had SO many amazing experiences and pleasant things to say. Denver is one of a kind. Most of us out West are unique and WAY different than you city folk. Glad you learned what “granola” means as well 😆 Thank you and come again!

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    1. Oh nice! Thanks Sean. Yeah it was such a beautiful city. I loved the way of life. One of kind for sure! Hugs and love xox

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  40. So you entered the tourism business…to make money off your Jesus. Sucker in with Jesus to sell them things. Sounds a little like a term I heard one time called, ‘priestcraft’ Basically, it means ‘fake.’ Packaging that you sell as though you had ownership what is inside, but you do not, unless of course you are this Jesus that you are trying to pander in order to sell your tourism. Selling Jesus for money is called ‘blasphemy’, by definition. Don’t know if you were aware of that, Jezabel.

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  42. Another excellent post! You’re such a great, intentional writer. I have visited Colorado just once (north of Denver) and I want to go back…permanently. Your meal looked delicious! I will have to check the book out. I am currently reading Dr. Cloud’s book, “How to get a date worth keeping.” It is very insightful but also very different. I am learning and processing a lot. Would be interested in your thoughts on the book you’re reading. Again, thanks for sharing your journey!

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    1. Thank you so much James! Ooh sounds like an interesting book! Yes! I’ll definitely write a post about it when I finish! 🙂 Hugs and love xox

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  44. I love that you love big cities. I lived in Denver for several years and it just was not my cup of tea. Speaking of tea… if you like tea, The Brown Palace Hotel has a great afternoon tea. Hemmingway’s has amazing fish and chips (not sure if they have stuff you can eat but maybe this is more for those reading the comments?). Next time you’re in Colorado, let me know and I’ll show you, Colorado Springs! 🙂

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    1. Thanks Melissa! Yeah we all have our own tastes in location! Oh nice! I actually stayed right right across the street from the brown palace hotel! Thanks!! Hugs and love xox

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  45. Thanks for sharing your stay in Denver. It brought back memories of the many summer stays I spent in Denver. Well, not quite accurate to say in Denver since the Rockies as a magnet drew me to drive there. Now, you’ve got me thinking of returning. So glad you had a positive spiritual experience while you were there. Believe in the Light.

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  46. Ever been to Denver? Yes, I grew up there from ‘64 to ‘70. So it’s been a while. But I remember sledding on Ruby Hill before it was even a park. I remember the Platte river floods that took out most of the bridges in the city, fishing derby’s in Washington Park, the bear statue in front of the museum, the Gates Rubber factory, and visiting wild bill hickock’s grave on lookout mountain.

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  47. I fell in love with Colorado the minute my parents and I stopped at the Air Force base’s gas station when my father’s last duty assignment was in Colorado (Lowery AFB, if I remember and spelled it right), back when I was 17. It was the first state I’d lived in that had light, fresh, arid air, beautiful, towering, and majestic mountains, and less bugs. lol Love the climate there and the scenery. Twice I’ve left the state not because I wanted to but because I had to. I lived in the Castle Rock and Denver area from 1987-1995, and then the Colorado Springs area from 2007-2013, and have gone back on vacation once. My husband and I want to retire there and are hoping to be back in the state in four years, when our youngest is done with high school. LOVE COLORADO, and I’m so glad you got to visit and enjoyed it. 🙂

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    1. Thanks friend! Oh yes the climate and scenery are second to none. Castle rock! I have friends from there 🙂 Hugs and love xox

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  48. Dad used to take us fishing up in the mountains, camping and ghost town hunting. We took the Silverton-Durango narrow gage train for my 8th birthday. Colorado has lots of good memories.

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    1. Aww what a fun memory! I’ve taken the Durango train!! It was so fun and other-timely. Yes it does! Hugs and love xox

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    1. Yes definitely visit with your family! There’s so much fun stuff to do and see! (There’s even an amusement park just outside the city!) Hugs and love xox

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