Anyway, there were a few things we left on the list to do in Colorado Springs. First was the Pioneer Museum, which is in the old courthouse (fit with a reconstructed courtroom) and featured a handful of exhibits telling the history of Colorado Springs and this area in great detail. It was just hte right amount of information without being overburdening - the two main exhibits showcasing the 150 years of Colorado Springs (it was founded in 1871) and then a random waltz around Colorado Springs history in what they called 'A to Z' which had 26 mini exhibits about something of Colorado Springs history.
The museum is free (donations requested) and is just really nice for a random town. My favorite exhibit probably was one around how in the late 1800s and early 1900s Colorado Springs made a large push to attract people with TB as the clean air and good weather could 'cure' people. Apparently this was a real cottage industry, as Colorado Springs was able to attract thousands of 'Cure Chasers' and also doctors who were looking to find a firm cure.
The final stop in 'The Springs' was Old Colorado City, a kitschy stretch of 6x2 blocks about 15 minutes outside the city proper. There are a few tourist traps, but there's also a bunch of great niche shops selling random wares, art, hanidcrafts, etc., along with some interesting looking old-school restaurants and saloons. The place was a nice little sendoff for Colorado Springs, which again despite it having a population of 700k still seems so quiant as a mountain outpost.
We drove back to Denver and went first to a brewery for a lunch. I didn't write too much about the breweries when I wrote first about Denver but that's a bit unfair. They're all still good. The one we went to today was first Counter Culture which had fine beer but is more known as a restaurant. Their burger was great. The other we went to today was Great Divide which remains excellent. They've opened a second location which is a little corner cutout of their main factory in RiNo which had a great vibe. A few other quick shoutouts for Mockery Brewing (a block away from the RiNo Great Divide location), Old Friends and Raices Brewing. That last one in particular brews 'Mexican' style beers and had a beautiful location at the South edge of Denver. I was probably too harsh earlier in saying that Denver has lost some of its lustre as a beer city - it remains excellent in that respect, it's just a lot of other markets have caught up.
The last bit of actual tourism on the trip was going to the Denver Botanic Gardens, which are this little slice of magic in the heart of the city. It's a place that you can just get lost in, with incredible well manicured gardens and pools and areas all over. There's nominally a structure and order to it - with areas that say showcase African flowers adn Asian flowers and lilies and what-not but the real way to experience the place is just get lost in it. I was there for about 90 minutes, I'm sure my Mom would be there for twice as long.
The last meal was at Cattivella, which is an upmarket Italian spot more on the East side of town (helpful as it was in the direction of the airport). It's not the most inspired pick, but the food turned out fabulous (another trip-hack: plan a nice meal for your last meal!). It was an old school Italian menu at a pretty fancy spot, as I got lamb ragu (really great) as a starter and a braise wild boar shoulder for a main. It was a hearty, not super healthy, but definitely tasty last meal for the trip.
After that it was off to the airport, adn the end to another great trip. I like this trip schedule of going Thursday Night to Tuesday Night - helps also to then have a short week when I return. There's a certain luxury also in having options to go out on nights that aren't super crowded like Thursday (switching that out for Monday). It's a great trip hack, my last of the trip for us all!
