This was one of those trips that I booked on a whim, forgot about until the week it was happening, and then proceeded to have the most amazing vacation with my best friends. In December when The 1975 Tour got announced I was looking at the dates for Seattle, but my eyes did the emoji face when I saw that the next show was at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. It was hands down the easiest decision to buy tickets to both shows. Many people compare the venue to The Gorge in Washington – but I have to say although they are both beautiful outdoor venues, they are gloriously different in their own way.
Now I’m sure many of you saw my snapchat (@ellofrankenbery hollaa), but there is no. way. to do it justice without experiencing this place. Internationally known, this venue sits between two towering red sandstone rocks.
I highly recommend anyone who has a love for music and outdoors to look out for this venue on any band tour. Tickets to Denver from Seattle are as low as $140 and the experience is priceless.
Things You Should Know About Denver
1. Springtime has VERY weird weather. I didn’t know this when I booked our trip. I didn’t really grasp this when people were telling me this season is very unpredictable. We got snow, 34 degree freezing rain, incredible blue skies and awesome sunsets… but be prepared for everything and anything!
2. Remember friends, you cannot buy alcohol at grocery stores yet. Liquor stores close as early as 5pm so remember to prepare if you’re planning a weekend. I forgot how lucky we are in Washington to be able to walk into a Safeway and get a bottle of wine!
3. Frontier Airlines is based out of Denver... but I can’t recall having a good experience with them. Southwest all the way baby!
4. There are a lot of awesome Air BNB’s for ridiculously good deals, but pay attention to the season. This city loves their Broncos and their Rockies… so book early unless you’re traveling in their off-seasons.
5. Red Rocks Amphitheater doesn’t allow selfie sticks. Sorry Jordan.
Okay, Are You Ready to Fall in Love?
Stella, Jordan and I collectively took over 500 photos in 4 days of the beautiful rockies, Boulder Flat Irons, and landmarks… in all kinds of weather. I’ll save you some of the tirades that happened in our hotel rooms, and show you the primes.
When we got to the airport, Jordan darted into one of those expensive knickknack stores and said she was buying something that she saw last time she was flying somewhere. That “knickknack” turned out to be a beautiful print by Frida Clements that was bigger than Jordan herself. Stella and I were doubtful it would make the entire weekend of crazyX3 so we snapped a photo of her with it and admired more of her artwork.
We got out of the freezing rain and into our Air BNB late Saturday afternoon and settled into our king sized bed that we decided we’d all share.
Our View from our Air BNB Rooftop! Look at those beautiful mountains ❤
Saturday Night we took a chance without a reservation at this restaurant in the Highland neighborhood called Linger–if you ever venture this way GO TO THIS RESTAURANT. Find a table in the upstairs lounge and order one of everything. They have beautiful cocktails and lovely waitresses and amazing global small plates. Not to mention complimentary valet parking… Have I said how much I love Denver yet?? They gave us free fish tacos and a small dessert mousse for Stellas 23rd celebration, as well as bars to check out after. I never felt intimidated by anyone we got served by in our weekend here. The went to Viewhouse for a few cheap drinks and dancing and the Gin Mill, both were full of people out celebrating. Click the photos below for their info!
The next morning we got on the waitlist for Snooze, another must visit for any brunch enthusiast. The wait is worth it, especially downtown where you have Union Station. Our bartender suggested a tattoo art gallery– because by this point, we wanted to leave a piece of Denver on us forever. (Jordan said she was never leaving!)
After an amazing colorful meal at snooze, we were off to Ritual Tattoo Art Gallery for a walk in appointment to each get three foxes… for fox sake.
lovely phallic doodles on the water closet door
They turned out so amazing! Many thanks to Jake Diamond!
Monday we headed out of the city and went to Chautauqua Park in Boulder, CO. We went shopping in the outdoor Pearl St Mall and ate at the Organic Sandwich Shop.
After some shopping we made the drive to Golden, CO to check into our hotel, The Table Mountain Inn. At this point we learned that it was necessary to buy alcohol early, and got to getting ready. Had ‘the best happy hour in Golden’ downstairs at our hotel and then ran around and took photos.
lolololol
I told a lot of friends and family that I went to Denver for Red Rocks + The 1975, but I think you can tell we did much more than that. They did put on an incredible show, including an acoustic song, Nana, that I didn’t get to hear in Seattle because Matty was ‘feeling blue’. I think he was stunned by the glorious venue he was in and felt connected to the new music they put out.
If you haven’t given this band the chance please go watch these beautiful music videos. Probably some of the more beautiful short films i’ve ever seen: Robbers, The Sound, and A Change of Heart being my newest favorite.
Trying to squeeze one last adventure before we left on Tuesday, we drove up to Lookout Mountain and got to see Golden on a beautiful clear day. Wrapped up our trip with some southern style ‘Po Boys, Mac and Cheese, and a Bloody Mary Sampler at Sassafrass and snatched the window seat home.
Granted we found a lot of reasons to fall in love this weekend. Four days wasn’t enough time to try everything and we will definitely be back. If you’re looking for cool restaurants to eat, fun bars to dance, or places to explore around Denver – feel free to comment below or reach out! I’m going to go ice my fingers from writing this huge blog post and head down to Greenlake Bar and Grill just in time for happy hour.
Not Your Average Adventures 